NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
Public Relations and Corporate Communication
Master’s Degree

WEBSTER UNIVERSITY
International Relations
Master’s Degree

UNIV. OF MARYLAND GLOBAL CAMPUS
Communications/Journalism
Bachelor’s Degree

CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK
M.F.A. in Documentary Studies

SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY/PROJECT MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE
Project Management Professional (PMP)

MEDIA OPERATIONS CHIEF
U.S. Air Force (Joint Base Andrews, Md.) |
• Serve as liaison to the White House, Department of State, Department of Defense, Secret Service and other agencies to facilitate national media coverage of senior American and foreign leaders, including the President.
• Lead and manage a team of military personnel to support high-profile events, including the dignified transfer of Rep. John Lewis’ remains, the NDAA signing by the President and the 2021 inauguration. Coverage resulted in 35.9 billion views in broadcast media and online with an ad value equivalency of $465 million.
• Work with military units and partners to develop and communicate policy on issues affecting service members, their families and the local community, such as the base’s response to the COVID pandemic.

CEO
Expeditionary Communicators (40+ countries) |
• Create strategic communication plans, multimedia products, reports, fact sheets, briefings, and newsletters for clients such as the UN, International Rescue Committee, and U.S. Department of Agriculture to achieve strategic objectives. Write talking points and speeches for small business and non-profit leaders such as the executive
director of the Green Beret Foundation.
• Researched and wrote a 40-page report on Russian-led disinformation campaigns in sub-Saharan Africa for NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence.
• Researched and wrote a 50-page human rights report for policy advocacy on addressing sexual violence in the Central African Republic by interviewing 100+ people and conducting 10 focus groups.
• Conducted training on strategic communications, media relations, media production, and social media for the U.S. military, non-profit organizations, small businesses, and academic institutions, including a U.S. Army Reserve unit, Boston College, the New York Film Academy and the Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association.

DIRECTOR, VISUAL MEDIA
International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism (D.C.) |
• Develop and implement countering violent extremism policies to strategically challenge ISIS and al Shabaab propaganda by designing and disseminating counter narratives designed to dissuade potential recruits.
• Research and analyze evolving militant jihadist use of online media by interviewing former extremists in Syrian Kurdistan prisons and elsewhere to produce stories distributed in over 20 languages, annually reaching approx. 20 million people, mainly in Iraq.
• Serve as an expert panelist and present research at international counterterrorism events organized by the UN, NATO, the Kenyan government, the Jordanian military and others.
• Spearheaded the creation of The Real Jihad (a website designed to present arguments against joining extremist militant groups and positive alternatives to militant jihad) and Escape Hate (a similar site for white supremacists).

FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT
Various media outlets (40+ countries) |
• Produced video, radio, photo, print and analysis as a journalist for variety of news publications, such as NY Times, Washington Post, Associated Press, Reuters, Middle East Institute, and National Review.
• Interviewed foreign presidents, diplomats, legislators, fighters, police, soldiers, non-profit leaders, community leaders, and others in Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Ukraine, and other conflict environments.
• Lived in and reported from the Central African Republic for a year, breaking the story of the American military ending its mission against the Lord’s Resistance Army.
• Reported extensively on Syria crisis from rebel-held Syria, Kurdish Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Turkey, covering both intricacies of the conflict and the humanitarian aftermath. In-depth reporting on the Syrian town of Moadamiyah contributed to humanitarian access being granted to besieged people there.
• Covered the Ukraine conflict on the ground since the beginning -- from Euromaidan in Kyiv, from Crimea before and during the Russian invasion, and from Eastern Ukraine before and after the fighting began.

LESSONS LEARNED ADVISOR
U.S. Special Forces Command (Afghanistan) |
• Collected and analyzed lessons learned from U.S. special operations forces by interviewing Green Berets, Navy
SEALs and Marine Corps Special Operators, Afghan security forces, and other groups in hostile environments throughout Afghanistan. Presented proposed policy revisions on topics such as counterterrorism strategy, countering improvised explosive devices, governance, and cooperation with development organizations.
• Analysis was presented by SOF Commander Brig. Gen. Christopher Haas to ISAF Commander Gen. John Allen who then shared it when meeting with President Karzai about the future of the Afghan Local Police.

SOCIAL MEDIA & WEB MANAGER
U.S. Central Command (Tampa, Florida) |
• Managed the external communications in five languages for USCENTCOM via its website, blog and social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and YouTube.
• Focused communications efforts on counterterrorism operations and U.S. military policy in the Middle East.
• Regularly developed and reported unbiased qualitative and quantitative data to senior DoD leaders.

JOURNALISM ADVISOR
Internews (South Sudan) |
• Advised and trained South Sudanese radio journalists on behalf of USAID at five community radio stations in remote rural areas of South Sudan in the run-up to the region’s first democratic elections in 24 years.
• Developed and led workshops with key community leaders, security forces and reporters on human rights, freedom of expression, media’s role in democratic societies, and other topics.

PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER
U.S. Peace Corps (Romania) |
• Conducted two-day multimedia journalism workshops in 13 cities, teaching approximately 380 high school students, 65 teachers, eight university students, and eight journalists.
• Organized a week-long national journalism camp for 60 Romanian high school students, 10 Romanian teachers and 10 Peace Corps volunteers. Collaborated with U.S. Embassy Bucharest to garner interest nationwide.

NEWS DIRECTOR
U.S. Navy (USS Peleliu, San Diego) |
• Supervised 10 sailors in mid-level management role, leading the newspaper and newscast production.
• Earned top DoD photojournalism award for news coverage of the 1,800 embarked Marines conducting amphibious training.
• Deployed to the Middle East, including Iraq. Honorably discharged as non-commissioned officer.

NEWS PRODUCER/REPORTER
U.S. Navy (Tokyo, Japan) |
• Researched and reported from across Asia and the Pacific on U.S. foreign policy and military activities for AFN Pacific Report, a daily, internationally-broadcast 30-minute video news program broadcast to hundreds of thousands of deployed service members. Won multiple DoD media awards.
• Managed the production of AFN Pacific Report for one year with a team of Marines, airmen, sailors and soldiers. Also produced stories for the AFN radio newscast broadcast on American bases around the world.
• Worked with U.S. State Department and embassy staff throughout Asia to develop and coordinate talking points and key messages to promote U.S. policy interests.