Tracy Engel
Senior Geospatial Data Coordinator
Senior Geospatial Data Coordinatortracy.engel@practicalfarmers.org
Tracy Engel joined the Practical Farmers of Iowa staff in September 2024 as a senior geospatial data coordinator. In this role, she is working to design and implement a new enterprise geographic information system data architecture that will support spatial analytics and on-farm research analyses.
The new GIS infrastructure and related data integration workflows will also help PFI staff across departments use data more collaboratively, from planning farmer-led events to making it easier to share updates about PFI’s research projects and other activities with PFI members.
Tracy grew up in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and received a Master of Science degree in geography from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville in 1996. While there, she focused on environmental studies and did coursework in ecology, biogeography, wildlife management and natural resources. Tracy has over 30 years of experience in GIS and has worked in both the public and private sectors to support projects in natural resource management, environmental remediation, telecommunications and renewable energies.
Tracy currently lives in Jefferson, Iowa, on a small hobby farm where she gardens and raises Nigerian dwarf goats. She and her Vizsla, Tasha, enjoy hiking in Iowa’s state parks and sharing the occasional snack. Her cat, Twilight, is a famed mouser who is also a people-lover.