Stewards Magazine

“I was drawn to SEAS by the promise of an education that highly integrated technical training with application in environmental science and ecology,” says Kurtz. “What I did not expect going in was how much grad school would change how I understood the human dimension of the natural world. I learned to be more critical of common narratives and assumptions that I and others carry.”

Kurtz carries that perspective into his role at Chesapeake Conservancy, a nonprofit organization in Baltimore. His job is to find technical solutions to help the conservancy’s partners make decisions and implement strategies to improve the Chesapeake Bay watershed for people and wildlife. Toward that aim, he builds geoprocessing workflows to create new datasets—such as high-resolution land-use/land-cover products—and transforms data into insights about the bay watershed. He also builds and maintains web applications that allow public access to the organization’s datasets. 

Beyond his role as a geospatial analyst, Kurtz enjoys an eclectic range of interests. In addition to hiking, birding and cooking, he plays the clarinet— sometimes with a Klezmer band in Baltimore for synagogue events, along with the occasional wedding. He’s also started learning embroidery. 

“But I spend most of my non-work time with Simon, my 2-year-old son,” says Kurtz. “We like to explore outside together, and sometimes he’s strapped to my back for an early-morning birding trip at our neighborhood park. I’m excited to pass on my family’s love of nature and the lessons I’ve learned about our responsibility for the world to another generation.”