Curriculum Vitae

Download the PDF version   Updated November 2026

Education

2022

Master of Environmental Data Science, Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, University of California, Santa Barbara

2018

Certificate of Marine Diving Technology, Santa Barbara City College

2014

B.A. in History, Humboldt State University

Minors in Mathematics and Scientific Diving

Work Experience

2024–Present

Data Scientist, University of California, Berkeley

Investigating the impacts of climate change on human well-being and the environment with remote sensing and machine learning at the Center for Effective Global Action.

2023–2024

Data Scientist, University of California, Santa Barbara

Mapping the footprint of artisanal-scale mining in Africa using remote sensing and machine learning at the Environmental Markets Lab.

2022

Data Science Fellow, University of California, Santa Barbara

Preparing, processing, and synthesizing the data used to calculate Ocean Health Index scores at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis.

2021

Teaching Assistant, University of California, Santa Barbara

Twentieth-Century United States Economic History, Department of Economics.

2017–2021

Biological Science Technician, Channel Islands National Park, Ventura, CA

Scientific diver for the Kelp Forest Monitoring Program for five seasons.

Publications

Refereed

2026

Carlson, C.J., Carleton, T., Odoulami, R.C., Molitor, C., Trisos, C.H. “The past and future impact of climate change on childhood malaria in Africa.” Nature, 657(8131), 487–494. doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10840-w

2026

Betti, L., Sanni, F., Sogoyou, G.Z., Agbagla, T., Molitor, C., Carleton, T., Rolf, E. “Mapping on a Budget: Optimizing Spatial Data Collection for ML.” Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 40(45), 38233–38241. doi:10.1609/aaai.v40i45.41162

2026

Frazier, A.E., Nelson, T., Kedron, P., et al. (31 authors, incl. Molitor, C.) “Advancing Conservation Science and Practice through a Geographic Approach: Platforms, Personnel, and Partnerships.” Conservation Science and Practice, e70410. doi:10.1111/csp2.70410

2025

Molitor, C., Cohen, J., Lewin, G., Cognac, S., Hadunka, P., Proctor, J., Carleton, T. “Monitoring Maize Yield Variability over Space and Time with Unsupervised Satellite Imagery Features.” Remote Sensing, 17(21). doi:10.3390/rs17213641

2024

Ogunniyi, O.E., Carleton, T., Carlson, C., Odoulami, R., Trisos, C., Agboka, K.M., Donat, M., Delgado, C., Molitor, C. “Decadal Prediction of Climate Change Impacts on Childhood Malaria in Africa.” AGU Fall Meeting. Abstract

In review

In review

Christensen, D., Carleton, T., Molitor, C., Rolf, E., Yan, K., Biswas, S., Blair, G. “Estimating the Footprint of Artisanal Mining in Africa.” NBER Working Paper. doi:10.3386/w33646

Datasets

2026

Carlson, C., Carleton, T., Odoulami, R., Molitor, C., Trisos, C. “Dataset: The past and future impact of climate change on childhood malaria in Africa” (Version v1.0). Zenodo. doi:10.5281/zenodo.20399793

2022

Clawson, S., Frazier, M., Halpern, B., Cohen, J., Menzies, P., Molitor, C. “Global Ocean Health Index 2022 assessment.” Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity. doi:10.5063/F1GT5KNH

Books

2025

Molitor, C., Carleton, T., Rolf, E. “MOSAIKS Training Manual.”

Reports

2024

Carleton, T., Mangin, T., Ludwig, M., Molitor, C., O’Reilly, E. “A framework for integrating wildfire into the Climate Vulnerability Metric.” Environmental Markets Lab.

2022

Sprague, J., Moore, K., McClain, J., Molitor, C., Kushner, D. “Channel Islands National Park Kelp Forest Monitoring Program: Annual Report 2015.” National Park Service. doi:10.36967/nrr-2288646

2022

Sprague, J., Kushner, D., Grunden, J., McClain, J., Grime, B., Molitor, C. “Channel Islands National Park Kelp Forest Monitoring Program: Annual Report 2014.” National Park Service. doi:10.36967/2293855

In prep.

Molitor, C., McClure, T., et al. “Channel Islands National Park Kelp Forest Monitoring Program Kelp Forest Community Trend Report for 2005–2019.” Natural Resource Report Series. National Park Service.

In prep.

Molitor, C., Sprague, J., et al. “Channel Islands National Park Kelp Forest Monitoring Program Annual Report 2019.” Natural Resource Data Series. National Park Service.

In prep.

Molitor, C., Sprague, J., et al. “Channel Islands National Park Kelp Forest Monitoring Program Annual Report 2018.” Natural Resource Data Series. National Park Service.

In prep.

Sprague, J., Molitor, C., et al. “Channel Islands National Park Kelp Forest Monitoring Program Annual Report 2017.” Natural Resource Report Series. National Park Service.

In prep.

Sprague, J., Molitor, C., et al. “Channel Islands National Park Kelp Forest Monitoring Program Annual Report 2016.” Natural Resource Report Series. National Park Service.

Conferences and Talks

2026

Invited workshop member. “Environmental Data Science Summit: Turning Data into Action.” National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), UC Santa Barbara.

2025

Summit leadership and facilitation team. “Innovation Summit: Environmental Tipping Points & Transformations.” Environmental Data Science Innovation & Impact Lab (ESIIL), University of Colorado Boulder.

2025

Instructor. “Multi-task Observation using Satellite Imagery & Kitchen Sinks (MOSAIKS) Togo Data Lab Training.” Environmental Markets Lab (emLab), UC Santa Barbara.

2024

Invited workshop member. “Specialist Meetings to Advance a Geographic Approach to Conservation Science.” Center for Spatial Studies and Data Science, UC Santa Barbara.

2024

Instructor. “MOSAIKS Workshop: Combining Satellite Imagery with Machine Learning to Address Global Challenges.” Indaba X Autour De L’IA: Le Grand Atelier du Digital 2024, Lomé, Togo.

2022

Presenter. “An open-source pipeline for remote sensing of crop yields under environmental change in sub-Saharan Africa.” New Horizons in Conservation Conference, Yale School of the Environment.

Awards

2022

MEDS Academic Achievement Award

2021

MEDS Recruitment Fellowship · Advanced Technology Grant · National Park Service STAR Award · PADI Elite Instructor Award

Other Work Experience

2019

Second Captain, Truth Aquatics, Santa Barbara, CA

Operating a 75’ vessel and accompanying skiff.

2019

Diver/Tender, Underwater Construction Corporation, Stevensville, MI

Commercial diver and tender at the Donald C. Cook Nuclear Power Plant.

2017–2019

Deckhand/Divemaster, Spectre Dive Boat, Ventura, CA

Recreational dive boat operating in Channel Islands National Park.

2015–2017

Head of Water Department, Pacific Outfitters, Eureka, CA

Managed the scuba, fishing, and kayak departments for a locally owned outdoor store.

2014–2015

Director of Scuba, Malibu Divers, Malibu, CA

Managed dive staff and scuba classes for Camp Emerald Bay on Catalina Island.

Volunteer Experience

2019–2021

Education Program, Channel Islands National Park, Ventura, CA

Developed an R Shiny web application to engage students in learning about kelp forest ecology.

2014–2017

Scuba Instructor, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA

Volunteer dive instructor for the Scientific Diving Program.

2013–2015

Diver, Reef Check California, Mendocino, CA

Volunteer diver for nearshore rocky reef citizen-science monitoring.

Technical Skills

Languages (fluent) Python, R, Bash, LaTeX, SLURM
Languages (proficient) SQL, PowerShell, MATLAB
IDEs VS Code, Positron, RStudio, JupyterLab, MATLAB, JMP, Overleaf
Version control & containers Git, GitHub, Docker, Apptainer
Virtualization Kubernetes, VirtualBox, Hyper-V, VMware Workstation
Databases pgAdmin, SQLite, Microsoft Access
Google Cloud Earth Engine, Kubernetes Engine, Compute Engine, Cloud Build, Container Registry, Cloud Run, Vertex AI, Kaggle Notebooks, Colab
Microsoft Planetary Computer, Azure Machine Learning Studio
HPC UC Berkeley Savio condo cluster; UCSB Braid-2 condo cluster and Pod cluster

Diving and Boating

Boating USCG Merchant Mariner Credential, Master Near Coastal (≤100 tons), 2019 · USCG Assistance Towing Endorsement, 2019 · California Waterways Boating Safety Certificate, 2012 · Michigan DNR Boating Safety Certificate, 2003
Scientific & commercial National Park Service Dive Examiner, 2020 · National Emergency Response Dive Team, 2020 · AAUS Scientific Diver, 2012 · ADCI and ACDE Commercial Diver, 2018 · Hyperbaric Chamber Operator, 2018
Instruction PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer, 2015 · NAUI Instructor, 2014
Technical rEvo III Closed Circuit Rebreather (200’), 2015 · AP Inspiration Closed Circuit Rebreather (150’), 2018 · ANDI Occupational Nitrox, 2018 · STI Ice Diver, 2011
Equipment Regulator Repair Technician (Atomic & Aqualung), 2014 · Cylinder Visual Inspector, 2014