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About Me
About Me
Dr. Chelsea Lissette Cervantes De Blois is a project manager and geospatial product expert with extensive experience leading complex, cross-functional initiatives in high-stakes government, research, and technology-driven environments. She currently works in the U.S. Department of State’s Office of the Geographer and Global Issues, and manages the Central Asia portfolio, overseeing and synthesizing all-source regional information to support strategic analysis and decision-making.
With over 16 years of experience, Dr. Cervantes De Blois has led and coordinated projects focused on human–environment dynamics, migration, technology, and health, leveraging geospatial modeling and both qualitative and quantitative datasets. Her work centers on translating complex technical and analytical inputs into clear, actionable outputs for diverse audiences, including senior leadership and cross-agency stakeholders.
Prior to her role at the U.S. Department of State, Dr. Cervantes De Blois managed and contributed to multi-stakeholder collaborations, consultancies, and research initiatives with organizations including the World Bank Group, the United Nations, the German Federal Ministry, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, and commercial partners across the United States, Serbia, and Kyrgyzstan. These experiences strengthened her ability to align diverse teams, manage competing priorities, and deliver outcomes across institutional and cultural boundaries.
Dr. Cervantes De Blois holds a PhD from the University of Minnesota in Geography, with specialization in remote sensing, cartography, geographic information systems, and population studies. She also earned a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in Eurasian and Caucasus regional studies and holds a bachelor’s degree in soil sciences and agricultural and applied economics. Her interdisciplinary background informs a project management approach grounded in technical fluency, strategic judgment, and execution.
Geospatial & Data-Driven Delivery
Geospatial & Data-Driven Delivery
Dr. Cervantes De Blois leads projects that leverage spatial analysis, geospatial modeling, and data visualization to support decision-making in complex environments.
She transforms qualitative and quantitative datasets into clear, actionable deliverables for diverse technical and non-technical stakeholders across government, research, and technology-driven initiatives. Her work ensures that complex information is understandable, accessible, and ready to guide strategic decisions.
Environment & Policy Execution
Environment & Policy Execution
Dr. Cervantes De Blois has a unique and extensive background in environmental and climate-impact projects, with experience supporting three U.S. Special Envoys.
She has led and contributed to high-impact initiatives across government and international organizations, including serving as an invited visiting researcher at CGIAR, where she co-authored three World Bank reports on Mexico's Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) as a food security, agricultural, and climate impacts expert.
During her PhD, Dr. Cervantes De Blois worked at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) office in Baku, Azerbaijan, focusing on environmental and climate projects. She also served as a delegate for the Stanford U.S.–Russia Forum (SURF), collaborating with scientists from Stanford University, Moscow’s National Research University Higher School of Economics, and Moscow State University on permafrost degradation impacts. This work culminated in presentations for senior officials, including Vladimir Barbin, Senior Arctic Official of the Russian Federation, and Antoly Antonov, Russian Ambassador to the United States.
Dr. Cervantes De Blois combines this domain expertise with a strong focus on aligning stakeholders, managing complex projects, and delivering actionable insights in politically and scientifically complex contexts.
Regional Expertise & Audience Fluency
Regional Expertise & Audience Fluency
With deep expertise in Eurasia and Central Asia, Dr. Cervantes De Blois combines geospatial and demographic methods with advanced regional and language skills to operate effectively in data-sparse, high-stakes environments. She synthesizes complex regional dynamics and translates insights into actionable recommendations for senior decision-makers across agencies and cultures.
Dr. Cervantes De Blois knows Russian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, and Persian, which was supported by prestigious programs including the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) in Baku, Azerbaijan (2019); the Boren Fellow in Azerbaijan (2017-2018), the Title VIII from the U.S. State Department in St. Petersburg, Russia (2017); and several Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowships.
Her unique and in-depth research training equips her to apply spatial sciences and demographic methods to carefully manage complex human-environmental systems in data-sparse regions at a global scale, enabling strategic decision-making and high-impact project execution in multi-stakeholder contexts.
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