Ethan McMahon is Senior Manager, Air Quality and Chief of Party, Clean Air Catalyst. He is excited that “The Catalyst” engages people to use data to take action and improve their lives. He looks forward to collaborating with other programs that address climate, air quality and sustainable cities.

Ethan spent 27 years at the U.S. EPA helping cities and states build capacity to address climate change and championing the use of open data to solve environmental problems. Many of his projects are at the intersection of citizen science, the Internet of Things, and data analytics. He launched EPA’s Smart City Air Challenge, where communities managed data from hundreds of air quality sensors, made the data public and included local governments as partners. Ethan also managed NASA’s International Space Apps Challenge, a global hackathon in 95 locations that yielded over 670 projects. In addition, he created a challenge with NASA, the State Department and EPA that inspired 91 teams to integrate air quality data from satellites, reference monitors, and low-cost sensors. Prior to EPA he was a consultant at Arthur D. Little, where he analyzed the life cycle impact of replacements for high global warming potential chemicals, developed high efficiency heat pumps and tested flammable refrigerants.

Ethan has degrees from Tufts University in Mechanical Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering. He has two grown sons and he and his wife live in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC.

When he’s not in his (home) office, you might find Ethan playing soccer, kayaking or hiking in the woods with family and friends.