Who We Are: Louise Maffitt

Photograph of Louise Maffitt A Senior Research Associate for the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology’s Institute for Engineering Research and Applications (IERA), Louise Maffitt has thirty years of experience as a producer, program manager, and information management specialist for public, industry and government entities. Working with scientists, public policy experts, federal agency staff, public stakeholders and environmental consultants, Louise has worked to facilitate “open” dialogue and help build consensus; to clearly communicate the objectives, methods and results of risk-based decision support initiatives; and to coordinate the efforts and resources of multi-disciplinary collaborative teams. Ms. Maffitt is versed in decision support; infrastructure systems research; interdependencies analysis; and network modeling approaches. She develops multi-platform information products in which highly technical content is tailored to the needs of diverse audiences.

In addition to her work as a consultant to Sandia National Laboratories’ environmental decision support and infrastructure interdependencies modeling programs over the past eighteen years, Louise has been technical writer and editor for three highly-acclaimed cancer survivorship and supportive care books, working closely with physicians and researchers at Stanford University Medical School and the University of California San Francisco.

Following her early career as an aerial photographer and graphic artist, Louise became a producer of weekly public and cultural affairs programming for PBS. Responsible for story development and research, interviewing, scripting, location/field direction, and videotape editing, she mastered the fundamentals of multitasking and cat herding before moving on to independent documentary and film production. The understanding gained from interviews with scientists, including Hans Bethe, Linus Pauling, and Edward Teller, led her to a dedicated commitment to making scientific knowledge accessible to the general public.

Louise has been a contributing member of numerous award-winning teams, garnering accolades from project leaders, institutions, and professional associations. Her roles on individual projects are outlined below.

CASoS Engineering Initiative / Phoenix Pilot