Kim Beckmann is a distinguished design cartographer and Faculty Emerita at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Throughout her 27-year teaching career, she served as an Innovations Teaching Fellow at the UW-Milwaukee Lubar Entrepreneurship Center starting in 2016 and became a Stanford University d.School Teaching Learning Studio Fellow in 2019. Kim's research continues to focus on advancing design cartography, particularly in ecological applications.Since 2015, Kim has served as Creative Director and Designer for the UWM School of Freshwater Sciences research team, led by Professor John Janssen, to map fish habitat. Supported by a $190,000 grant from the Fund for Lake Michigan, this project focuses on enhancing habitat development in Milwaukee Harbor and its surrounding rivers. In collaboration with the Milwaukee Estuary AOC Fish and Wildlife Technical Advisory Committee and Harbor District Inc., the team produced critical maps that balance ecological restoration with economic development.In 2018, the team expanded its research with a $255,000 grant, mapping coastal harbors along western Lake Michigan. Kim’s data visualizations supported ecological initiatives and fostered local economic growth.After retiring from her teaching position at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in September 2023, Kim embraced her passion for education, nature, and entrepreneurship by founding Artful Understory, an LLC dedicated to inspiring a community of plant enthusiasts and naturalists. The organization fosters deep connections between people and the natural world, promoting a lifestyle enriched by the beauty and benefits of plants. Artful Understory’s mission is to inspire a love for gardening through educational workshops and by transforming clients’ environments, health, and well-being with biophilic design and the inclusion of nature.