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Diana Moanga
Lecturer
Diana A. Moanga, PhD, is a Lecturer in the Earth Systems Program at Stanford University's Doerr School of Sustainability and serves as Manager of the Spatial Analysis Center. She teaches a comprehensive suite of geospatial courses including Remote Sensing of Land, Fundamentals of Geographic Information Science, Advanced Concepts in Geospatial Information Science, and Independent Study classes, and has been recognized with Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability's Excellence in Teaching Award in 2025.
Dr. Moanga's research centers on coastal resilience, land system science, and conservation, with expertise in GIS, remote sensing, and spatial analysis. Her work focuses on understanding land use and land cover change processes, particularly examining the effects of environmental and anthropogenic stressors on coastal systems. She is especially passionate about advancing our understanding of coupled socio-ecological systems, mapping coastal hazards dynamics and developing resilience metrics.
She earned her PhD in Environmental Science Policy and Management from UC Berkeley in 2020, where her dissertation research employed geospatial techniques to study land use and land cover changes across California. Her doctoral work explored management impacts on California's coastal lands, agricultural transitions in the Central Valley, and wildfire activity under future climate regimes. Prior to her doctoral studies, Diana completed a Master's in Marine Affairs and Policy from the University of Miami in 2015, where she examined the spatial and temporal characteristics of harmful algal blooms and studied coastal zone management and coral conservation.
Before joining Stanford as a lecturer in 2023, Dr. Moanga served as a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University's Department of Earth System Science and previously at Florida International University's Sea Level Solutions Center.
Dr. Moanga's research centers on coastal resilience, land system science, and conservation, with expertise in GIS, remote sensing, and spatial analysis. Her work focuses on understanding land use and land cover change processes, particularly examining the effects of environmental and anthropogenic stressors on coastal systems. She is especially passionate about advancing our understanding of coupled socio-ecological systems, mapping coastal hazards dynamics and developing resilience metrics.
She earned her PhD in Environmental Science Policy and Management from UC Berkeley in 2020, where her dissertation research employed geospatial techniques to study land use and land cover changes across California. Her doctoral work explored management impacts on California's coastal lands, agricultural transitions in the Central Valley, and wildfire activity under future climate regimes. Prior to her doctoral studies, Diana completed a Master's in Marine Affairs and Policy from the University of Miami in 2015, where she examined the spatial and temporal characteristics of harmful algal blooms and studied coastal zone management and coral conservation.
Before joining Stanford as a lecturer in 2023, Dr. Moanga served as a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University's Department of Earth System Science and previously at Florida International University's Sea Level Solutions Center.
Education
BA, University of Miami, Marine Affairs (2013)
MS, University of Miami, Marine Affairs and Policy (2015)
PhD, University of California Berkeley, Environmental Science Policy and Management (2020)
Contact
(407) 808-7901
(407) 808-7901
Mail Code
4216