Work

Helping organizations see patterns they've missed and building systems that actually work in messy reality

Here’s my trajectory: Six years studying how fascist networks moved between Tunisia, France, and Italy in the 1930s—tracking people, money, and ideas across borders using archives in three languages. At the same time, I taught undergraduates how to think historically, which mostly meant helping them realize the “obvious” explanations are usually incomplete. Then three and a half years in Tunisia coordinating research programs while navigating post-revolution political complexity.

The through-line? Translation. Not just languages (English, French, Spanish, Arabic), but frameworks. I help people understand why the same problem looks completely different from different angles. I build systems that account for that complexity instead of flattening it out.

Right now: Looking for roles where these capacities matter, especially mission-driven work. I’m also open to organizational strategy, learning and development, program management, and knowledge architecture. I’m drawn to problems that don’t fit in neat boxes, places where cross-cultural fluency and synthesis create real impact.

How I Think: Three Things I Bring

I See Connections Others Miss

I’ve never been good at staying in one lane. Studied fascist networks across three countries. Ran international research programs. Taught students how to connect Foucault to colonial institutions. Organized conferences on Libyan cultural heritage. Interviewed scholars about everything from Ibadi manuscript digitization to North African Jewish documentary film.

What links these? Pattern recognition. I take disparate information and turn it into frameworks people can use—not just interesting observations, but tools that change how you approach a problem.

Concretely: Mapped fascist influence across Tunisia, France, and Italy using archival sources in three languages. Designed systems keeping hundreds of researchers working when Tunisia’s politics got complicated. Created weekly “provocations” making theory concrete enough for undergraduates to argue about. Brought together Libyan diaspora researchers to discuss heritage preservation after the 2011 revolution.

I Build Things That Work in Reality

Strategy without execution is just planning. I design programs and systems that function when things get messy—when budgets shift, politics change, stakeholders disagree, nobody has enough time.

This means accounting for cultural nuance, institutional constraints, competing priorities. Building systems flexible enough to handle reality’s complexity.

Concretely: Engineered complete program lifecycles for international initiatives. Developed risk strategies keeping operations running when Tunisia’s political situation shifted. Organized a humanities conference on Libya with researchers from Tripoli, Benghazi, Ghadames, and the Jebel Nafusa—coordinating across institutions, securing speakers, managing logistics. Created information architecture making organizational knowledge accessible instead of buried.

I Bridge Cultures and Disciplines

Four languages. Three and a half years overseas. Graduate training across the social sciences, humanities, and technology. Conference presentations in Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, and throughout the United States.

This isn’t credential-stacking, it’s how I think. I don’t just translate words—I translate frameworks. I help people understand why solutions working in one context fail in another, how to build approaches accounting for those differences.

Concretely: Coordinated alignment across scholars, government officials, cultural institutions with competing priorities. Interviewed researchers from Johns Hopkins, Columbia, University of Rochester, Al Akhawayn about everything from Moorish refugees to Tunisian librarians. Designed programming honoring Tunisian context while meeting American institutional requirements.

Where I’ve Applied This

Program Coordination & Strategic Operations

Program Coordinator

Centre d’Études Maghrébines à Tunis

2022 – 2025

I kept international research collaboration running during Tunisia’s post-revolution years while expanding what the center did. This meant maintaining existing systems under constraint while launching new initiatives—conferences, workshops, a podcast series, public lectures.

The challenge: How do you keep operations running when politics shift? How do you get stakeholders from dozens of institutions working together? How do you grow programming while managing limited resources?

What I built:

Why this matters: I can build and maintain complex systems under constraint. I navigate ambiguity—political, cultural, institutional—while delivering results. I pair strategic thinking with operational follow-through, which means plans actually happen.

Teaching & Learning Design

Instructor

Northeastern University

2020 – 2022

I taught undergraduates history—helping them see that the “obvious” explanations usually miss half the story. The goal wasn’t to memorize Hegel or Gellner but to develop frameworks they could actually use.

What worked:

Students consistently said they felt “seen and appreciated” while developing analytical skills. One wrote: “One of the best professors I’ve had at Northeastern… This course was great due to the interactions and conversations with my peers due to the facilitation of Professor Scalone.”

Why this matters: I translate complexity into clarity without dumbing it down. I create environments where people feel safe admitting confusion and curious enough to work through it. I facilitate rather than lecture—people learn by figuring things out.

Research & Analysis

Doctoral Research

Northeastern University

2016 – 2024

I studied how fascist networks formed and moved between Tunisia, France, and Italy in the 1930s. This meant tracking people, money, and ideas across borders using archival sources in three languages—often incomplete, sometimes contradictory, always requiring interpretation.

The work wasn’t just finding documents. It was pattern recognition: seeing how informal networks operated when formal institutions failed, understanding why some ideas traveled while others didn’t, mapping how power actually moved (not how org charts said it should).

I won the World History Association/Phi Alpha Theta best graduate paper prize in 2018 for this work; I also presented findings to international audiences who knew far more than I did about specific contexts but hadn’t connected these dots.

Why this matters: Deep analytical rigor. Comfort with ambiguity and incomplete information. Structuring messy qualitative data into coherent arguments. Communicating complex ideas to people who’ll push back if you’re wrong.

What I Bring: Skills in Context

Strategic Synthesis

Making sense of complexity, designing knowledge flows, solving systems challenges, navigating cross-cultural contexts, finding stories in data

  • Enables: Organizational strategy, program design, research, knowledge management

Research & Analysis

Deep qualitative analysis, advanced research methods, contextual understanding, data structuring, pattern recognition

  • Enables: Strategic intelligence, program evaluation, competitive analysis, knowledge synthesis

Program Design & Execution

Project scoping, proposal writing, financial planning, roadmap development, stakeholder management

  • Enables: Initiative launch, change management, cross-functional coordination

Facilitation & Communication

Synthesis writing, high-impact presentation, framework design, workshop leadership, technical content development

  • Enables: Learning strategy, team development, thought leadership, stakeholder engagement

Digital Architecture

Interface design, UX thinking, platform management, technology adoption strategy, information structuring

  • Enables: Knowledge systems, digital transformation, process optimization

Global Fluency

Multilingual competency (English, French, Spanish, Arabic), international stakeholder alignment, contextual analysis, negotiation in ambiguity

  • Enables: Cross-border programs, cultural strategy, international operations

Recognition & Credibility

Published book reviews in World History Connected and H-Empire. Presented research at forums including:

What this demonstrates: Capacity to synthesize complexity, lead discussions among subject matter experts, apply analytical rigor to geopolitical and cross-cultural challenges.

Additional Experience Building This Foundation

Substitute Teacher

Lincoln-Way High School District 210

Delivered effective instruction across diverse subjects with minimal preparation. Managed inclusive classrooms, including special education cohorts.

Graduate Assistant

World History Association

Coordinated logistics and managed communications for global academic nonprofit. Executed annual conference including scheduling and digital facilitation.

Information Commons Assistant

Irwin Library, Butler University

Provided client support and managed technical systems. Developed information literacy resources and digital guides accelerating access to materials.

What I’m Looking For

I’m seeking roles where cross-cultural expertise, systems thinking, and strategic synthesis create real impact. I deliver results by seeing connections others miss and building solutions that work in complex environments.

I excel in organizations that:

This could look like:

  • Mission-driven organizations (non-profits, foundations, NGOs, social enterprises)
  • International program management and coordination
  • Learning and organizational development positions
  • Strategic operations and organizational effectiveness roles
  • Knowledge management and information architecture initiatives
  • Strategic research and competitive intelligence functions
  • Positions requiring cross-cultural or global coordination
  • Roles bridging academic, nonprofit, and organizational contexts

If you’re working on initiatives that span traditional boundaries—where someone who can synthesize complexity, coordinate across cultures, and build systems that actually work would add strategic value—let’s talk.