Zoe Zaloudek first began working at the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) in May 2005 after earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She currently works for the Coordinated Hazard Assessment and Mapping Program (CHAMP) group at ISWS. The CHAMP group primarily develops Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) and other flood risk products for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). As a Geospatial Application Developer, her work includes the automation of a wide variety of tasks using Python, in addition to the creation of web mapping applications. Additionally, she assists with Hazard Mitigation Plans for counties and other projects in Illinois. Previously she also worked with the Midwestern Regional Climate Center, visualizing a wide variety of climate data using static and interactive maps.
During her time working at the ISWS, Ms. Zaloudek has earned the designation of both GIS Professional (GISP) and Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM). After taking multiple courses at the University of Illinois as a non-degree-seeking graduate student, she enrolled in the Johns Hopkins University, and in December 2016 she completed her Master of Science degree in GIS. She enjoys photography (digital and print), genealogy/history research, digitization/preservation of physical media, and anything weather related.