Data Manager Profile: Helen Thomas

NPS / Helen Thomas

Merging a Technical Background with a Love of Nature

"I have a different kind of background from many folks in the Inventory & Monitoring program. I'm not a biologist or ecologist—my education and experience are along the lines of information technology and systems, mostly software and database systems. My brother pursued information systems, and that’s what initially got me into that area of focus. I loved the problem-solving aspects of it. At one point, one of my dream jobs was an academic position.

I also always had a love for the outdoors and the natural world, even though my family would only visit parks occasionally. I grew up in a small town in Maryland. The first parks that I remember visiting were Great Smoky Mountains and Assateague Island. Both left lasting impressions on me. Once I was on my own, my first camping trip was to Big Bend. That was when I decided that I really needed to live in the West.

There's always been something about the desert that's attracted me. I love the climate and the flora and fauna—the techniques that plants and animals use to survive are just amazing."

Pathway to the Parks: From Academia to Software Startup

My first job was in the Washington, DC, area working for a consulting company, helping to design, develop, and implement a new financial system for a federal agency. After a while I got the itch to go back to school, so I started working part time on my Master's in Operations Research. I'd had some exposure to that field as an undergraduate and found it intriguing. It's heavily focused on math and using analytical methods to support decision-making. It was a great experience, but as I was nearing the end of that degree, I realized that my career options were limited without a PhD If I were going to pursue a PhD, I decided it would need to be in a field that was better aligned with my education and experience. I applied for the Information Systems PhD program at the University of Arizona, which led me out to Tucson.

In that program, I was focused on database systems, which has always been a passion of mine. I was fortunate to work with a great advisor and research group. We formed a software company focused on commercializing some of our research work, which led to a product designed to improve website speed and performance. We had some success as many large enterprises were building out their eCommerce sites in the late 1990s. It was a great experience, but we ended up selling our assets to another larger company as the dot-com bubble burst. As our software startup was winding down, I pursued my earlier dream of an academic position by accepting an assistant professor position at Carnegie Mellon University. I had an amazing experience there, but I realized after just a few years that I wanted to do more applied work. I knew that I needed a change, and that I needed to go back out West. I applied for a position with the NPS Volunteers-In-Parks program. Almost right away, I got accepted for a position at Petrified Forest National Park. So I headed back to Arizona for a few months. It was kind of a bold leap for me. I was living in park housing, doing volunteer work several days a week, applying for jobs and exploring the "big city" of Holbrook during my free time. That's when I found the Northern Colorado Plateau Network data manager position and applied for it. I was offered that position and accepted it.

Life as a Data Manager: Exciting Challenges and New Opportunities for Collaboration

I was at the Northern Colorado Plateau Network for about 13 years. I’ve been in my current position as the data manager for the Sonoran Desert Network since 2019.

This has turned out to be my dream job. There’s such a variety of challenges in the work that we do, and so many opportunities to learn new skills.

Our network is part of the Southwest Network Collaboration, which is a joint effort among three Inventory and Monitoring networks—the Sonoran Desert Network, the Chihuahuan Desert Network, and the Southern Plains Network. We share protocols, training, data management, field crews, and reporting responsibilities for several monitoring protocols.

The traditional model for staffing at I&M networks has been to have a data manager dedicated to a network. While this may be a successful model in some situations, it has some limitations. A data manager supporting a network alone requires a very broad set of skills,which can result in a ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ situation. Having a data management team that supports multiple networks, such as the Southwest Network Collaboration (SWNC) data management team, allows specialization based on skills and interest. This results in both breadth and depth of skills across the team. The SWNC DM team has a regular weekly call where we'll often dive into problems, reviewing databases or code. It's a good learning experience for everyone. The idea is both to share expertise and align our technologies and processes as much as possible. We envision a model where data management across multiple networks becomes more powerful when we all use the same technologies and processes. We are currently testing this theory by adding the Northern Colorado Plateau Network to our data management team. Our goal is to expand this alignment of technologies and processes on a regional scale.

We all have such varied backgrounds and skills. I know that if I can't figure something out, I can reach out to another team member for help. That's one of the things I enjoy most about working as part of a team.

Managing Work-Life Balance

I find it really helps me to spend time outside each day. One of my favorite activities is hiking. I also really like running, cycling, and camping. I especially love summer in Arizona when it's really hot, because the trails are quiet.

I also like reading and watching movies. It's important to take your mind off work every now and then.

Advice for Young People Interested in Data Management

Try and get a good background in a broad set of skills, including database systems and some programming in addition to science. Getting some exposure to at least one programming language can help you find out if you're good at it or if you like it, and you can easily pick up another one. Try lots of different things, and don't be afraid of failure.