Profile
Educator and former emerging-tech strategist. Ten years across AI strategy at Hypergiant, Russia/Ukraine open-source intelligence, and cross-cultural education, including a Fulbright year in Kolomna. Now teaching middle school and building project-based curriculum with a global lens. Current focus: digital tools that deepen learning instead of decorating it.
Experience
Middle School Lead
The Howard Gardner School · Alexandria, VA
Jun 2024 – Present
- Lead middle-school humanities, designing project-based units with a global lens that treat 13-year-olds as the real thinkers they are.
- Teach writing and integrate digital tools chosen to deepen learning rather than gamify it.
- Help shape curriculum and culture at the school, where I'm also an alum.
Administrative Team Member
The Howard Gardner School · Alexandria, VA
Aug 2023 – May 2024
- Supported day-to-day school operations, communications, and writing as part of the administrative team.
- Moved into teaching responsibilities that led to the Middle School Lead role.
Executive Assistant
Department for Statistics & Data Sciences, University of Texas at Austin · Austin, TX
Jun 2022 – Jul 2023
- Managed all departmental communications, including listservs, website, TV displays, and social media.
- Coordinated the SDS Seminar Series and served as administrative point of contact for speakers.
- Assisted the Department Chair with faculty affairs, scheduling, and daily logistical support.
Outreach Program Coordinator
Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies (CREEES), UT Austin · Austin, TX
Jan 2021 – Jun 2022
- Coordinated K–16 outreach across UT Austin area-studies centers via Hemispheres, the International Outreach Consortium.
- Developed, implemented, and promoted initiatives and collaborations with post-secondary institutions.
- Assisted in writing and reporting on grants from the U.S. Department of Education and other funders.
Associate Strategist → Strategist
Hypergiant Space Age Solutions · Austin, TX
Sep 2019 – Aug 2020
- Performed extensive market and competitive research to position the team and clients within the fast-growing field of artificial and machine intelligence.
- Led and developed materials for client-facing AI workshops.
- Collaborated with sales, design, and development teams to identify and build new products and solutions for enterprises exploring AI.
Project Manager
Innovation Matters · Washington, D.C.
Mar 2017 – Sep 2019
- Developed educational media — videos, blog posts, and online courses — on strategic planning, managing innovation, and biomedical translational research.
- Built project schedules, work plans, and resource requirements.
- Ran projects from conception to completion using Slack, Airtable, and Trello.
Russia/Ukraine Research Intern
Institute for the Study of War · Washington, D.C.
May 2018 – Aug 2018
- Researched open-source information on Russian military activity in English, Russian, and Ukrainian.
- Wrote and quality-controlled daily briefs on military, diplomatic, and political developments across Russia, Ukraine, and the former Soviet states for government and national-security clients.
Special Project Assistant
Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Services, UT Austin · Austin, TX
May 2017 – May 2018
- Helped build UT Austin's Russian Online Program (“Будем на связи”), the online Russian sequence created by Dr. Heather Rice, developing audio-visual materials and appearing in many of the instructional videos.
- Curated instructional content — language and culture videos, voice recordings, and interactive quizzes — for learners from undergraduate to Ph.D. level.
Fulbright English Teaching Fellow
State University of Social Studies & Humanities · Kolomna, Russia
Aug 2015 – Jun 2016
- Taught American culture and history to Russian university students.
- Developed a writing curriculum for foreign-language learners.
- Presented at the Conference for English Teaching in Russia.
Education
M.A., Global Policy Studies
UT Austin — LBJ School of Public Affairs
May 2019
M.A., Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies
UT Austin — CREEES
May 2019 · Focus: National Security, Cyber Security & Emerging Technologies
B.A., International Business & Russian
Juniata College · Minor in Peace & Conflict Studies
May 2015
Fellowships & Leadership
- Brumley Next Generation Senior Fellow, Security Institutions & Technology — 2018–2019
- Brumley Next Generation Fellow, Security Institutions & Technology — 2017–2018 (advised by Prof. Paul Miller)
- IREX U.S.–Russia Experts Program Fellow, CREEES
- President, Graduate Public Affairs Council — 2018–2019
- Fulbright English Teaching Fellow, Russia — 2015–2016
Areas & Skills
Curriculum design
Project-based learning
Edtech / digital tools
AI strategy & research
National security analysis
Policy research
Open-source intelligence
Russian (professional)