About Rebekah Jones
From the rural Mississippi Gulf Coast to Forbes' 2020 and first-ever Technology Person of the Year, Rebekah's unlikely rise to internationally-acclaimed scientist, national hero and pop culture icon started during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
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Rebekah stood up to corruption when asked to manipulate COVID-19 data in Florida. She used her fame for good when running against Congress' most-hated representative - Matt Gaetz. Continuing her mission to serve as an advocate for evidence-based decision making and an informed public, Rebekah joined former Congressional candidate Dr. Cindy Banyai to help shine a light on dark mistruths and the people who propagate them.
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GRANTS, AWARDS AND HONORS
2021 & 2022 – National Whistleblower Day Honoree
2021 – Finalist, DAMA International 2021 Data Management Excellence Awards
2021 – Constantine & Cannon’s Whistleblower of the Year
2020 – Forbes’ 2020 Tech Person of the Year
2020 – Winner, Samuel Lawrence Foundation Prize
2020- Elemental’s 50 Experts to Trust During a Pandemic.
2020- Fortune Magazine’s 40 Under 40 (2020) in Healthcare
Education
2016-2018
Florida State University
Ph.D. Geography. 2016- 2018 (ABD), Dissertation working title: Using Native American Sitescapes to Extend the North American Paleotempestological Record through Coupled Remote Sensing and Climatological Analysis.
2012-2014
Louisiana State University
M.S. Geography, Mass Communication. May 2014. Thesis title: Quantifying the Impact of Hurricanes, Mid-Latitude Cyclones and Other Weather and Climate Extreme Events on the Mississippi-Alabama Barrier Islands Using Remotely Sensed Data
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Awards:
2016: Grant Award, The National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine: “Multidisciplinary knowledge integration to support Louisiana coastal indigenous communities’ response to natural and technological disasters and adaptation to climate change.” GIS Research and grant co-author, $312,000
2016: Grant Award, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Rockefeller Foundation's National Disaster Resilience Competition, Relocation and Settlement of the Isle de Jean Charles Band of the Biloxi-Chitimacha Tribe, Researcher, grant co-author and advisor, $48,000,000
2015: Winner, First Place, Gilbert F. White Thesis/Dissertation Award from the Hazards, Risks and Disasters Specialty Group of the Association of American Geographers, Annual Conference; San Francisco, Ca.
2014: Winner, First place, Graduate Student Paper Presentation Contest, Paleo-environmental Change Specialty Group of the Association of American Geographers, Annual Conference; Tampa.
2014: Winner, Second Place, and Audience Favorite, Three Minute Thesis Competition, Louisiana State University (University-wide)
2014: Grant Award, West-Russell Field Research Grant: “Catastrophism, Gradualism and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.” $500
2013: Winner, First Place, Graduate student poster competition, Southwestern Division of the Association of American Geographers 2013 Annual Conference; Nacogdoches, Texas
2013: Dean Appointment to the Louisiana State University Transition Advisory Committee, one of two graduate students representing the student body.
2007-2011
Syracuse University
B.A. Geography, Newspaper and Online Journalism. Cum Laude. August 2012. Focus points: Environmental and Political Journalism, Remote Sensing, and Natural Hazards.
SELECTED KEYNOTES AND PRESENTATIONS
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2022 Whistleblowers of America keynote address, Sept. 2022
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2022 National Whistleblower Day speaker, July 2022
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2022 Florida Young Democrats, Panelist and Gala Speaker, April 2022
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2021 National Whistleblower Day speaker, July 2021
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2021 American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting, Keynote
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2020 PBS Newshour Special Event, Panelist
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2020 NEURISA Chapter Annual Meeting, Keynote
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2020 Data Science Conference on COVID-19, Keynote
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2020 Women in GIS Special Event, Special Event