Chris Mcdowall
Natural Hazards Portal Lead
New Zealand
Summary
👤
Senior🎓
Top SchoolChris Mcdowall is a data-focused product and project lead with 11 years of experience building public-facing information systems across New Zealand, now leading the Natural Hazards Portal at Toka Tū Ake. He combines hands-on data analysis, Python, GIS and cartography skills with product ownership to turn complex spatial and health datasets into clear visual stories and actionable insights. His background spans public health surveillance, data journalism, and digital stewardship—roles that honed his ability to communicate technical findings to diverse stakeholders. Previously he led national surveillance analytics and managed search and infrastructure for DigitalNZ, reflecting a strong mix of technical and managerial experience. Chris’s PhD in Geography and early informatics research give him a research-driven approach to practical system design. He’s known for translating messy real-world data into robust visualisations and searchable systems that support decision-making in emergencies and public services.
11 years of coding experience
11 years of employment as a software developer
PhD, Geography, PhD, Geography at University of Auckland
Github Skills (6)
atlas9
python-client9
api8
api-client8
python6
collections4
Programming languages (3)
Github contributions (5)
fogonwater/simple-color-extract
Aug 2019 - Nov 2022
Contributions:5 PRs, 7 pushes, 3 branches in 3 years 3 months
fogonwater/tepapa-py
Mar 2019 - Dec 2022
Accessing the Te Papa collections API with Python
Contributions:8 commits, 3 PRs, 7 pushes in 3 years 9 months
apipythoncollections
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