Work

I am a broadly skilled researcher and information professional, providing analytical and technical support for the architecture of information systems. My clients and partners look for guidance on delivering reliable, manageable, and secure systems.


CURRENT POSITION

Principal Consultant | Capco | New York, NY

Technical leadership, solution architecture, and consultative professional services for financial institution clients.

Director | Levenberg Services, Inc. | Crawford, NY | Contact Me

Drawing on my experience in both information technology and in academic research, I offer customized support to clients with a range of services:

  • Designing, developing and implementing information systems
  • Securing and maintaining cloud hosting systems
  • Automating technical analyses and processes
  • Standardizing and improving organizational structure and practice
  • Testing and documenting organizational knowledge and processes
  • Conducting academic and applied information research
  • Synthesizing research findings in concise, readable reports

I work with a wide range of industry clients, including construction, retail, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, and professional services firms. I earned my PhD in Cultural Studies at George Mason University, studying network infrastructure development in West Africa.


PRIOR EXPERIENCE

Lead DevOps Engineer | David Zwirner Gallery | New York, NY | 2022

Building practice area and processes in support of a growing engineering department. Document and improve cloud and software systems, including complex web applications and inventory management systems. Advise C-suite on strategic direction towards digital transformation of the organization.

Principal Engineer I | Mobiquity Inc | New York | 2019 — 2022

Professional services and technical consultation, mostly around DevOps and systems engineering disciplines. Concentrated on the deployment and reliability of cloud infrastructure, containerized microservices, web applications, and mobile applications. Partnered with financial technology product and services company Backbase USA for most of my time, helping them drive digital transformations for their client financial institutions.

DevOps (Consultant) | AlphaPipe | New York, NY | 2012 — 2019

Advise on and implement the systems administration, cloud architecture and orchestration, and operations automation for the high-availability and high-performance applications developed under strict compliance requirements for this finance technology firm.

Technical Architect (Consultant) | Anant Corporation | Washington, DC and New York, NY | 2011 — 2019

Jack of all trades at web development agency. Responsible for information architecture and C-level technology management consulting. Trusted to deliver client projects, ranging from strategic analysis to full-stack development to technical support to marketing, on time and under budget.

Presidential Research Scholar | Cultural Studies Department | George Mason University | Fairfax, VA | 2010 — 2013

Research fellow in PhD program. Conducted research towards dissertation on the Internet in West Africa. Assisted professors with book research and editing, course syllabi, and organization. Manage the department’s website.

Editor | The Circus Book | New York, NY | 2008 — 2018

Prose Editor for literary journal. Launched, and continue to maintain, the journal’s self-hosted website. Relied on by collective’s members to nurture and curate non-fiction prose for the journal and website.

Multimedia Technician | John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts | Washington, DC | 2011 — 2012

Volunteer for the Millennium Stage’s nightly free performance, operating high-definition cameras for live concert streaming.

Freelance Writer | Washington, DC | 2010 — 2011

Created original content for high-traffic web sites to attract search engine queries from around the world. Answered questions on eclectic and important topics to readers. Tilled the soil of the content farms.

Production Manager | Drunk With Hope in Chicago | Washington, DC | 2010

Trusted to design, install, and operate lighting, sound, and props for several productions of this one-woman show in the Capital Fringe Festival, and at Georgetown University.

Digital Media Specialist | Office of Scholarly and Literary Publication | Washington, DC | 2009 — 2010

Created new media promotional strategies for Georgetown authors and the Office. Conducted research, wrote for the in-house blog, and reached out to readers by growing the email listserv.

Research and Teaching Assistant | Communication, Culture, and Technology Program | Georgetown University | Washington, DC | 2009 — 2010

Teaching Assistant for introductory and upper-level graduate courses. Edited course syllabi, led discussion sections with MA candidates, wrote for the course blog, coordinated with guest lecturers, and managed assignments.

Retail Associate | Glover Park Hardware | Washington, DC | 2008 — 2009

Provided exceptional customer service and technical assistance. Frequently called into management roles on the sales floor and in the back office.

Research Assistant | Judaic Studies Program | Binghamton University | Binghamton, NY | 2008

Compiled a collection of Hebrew short stories for an upper-level undergraduate course. Implemented a database of the findings for future teachers and researchers.

Teaching Assistant | Department of Africana Studies | Binghamton University | Binghamton, NY | 2007 — 2008

Lectured and managed assignments for Hip-Hop class. Co-organized and co-hosted final performance; compiled the video recording for that performance. Managed and produced all aspects of an original play for African Theater class the following semester.

Apprentice | Dutchwerks LTD | Columbia MD | 2005 — 2010

Worked and studied under master toxicologist. Trusted to provide professional services of all kinds and to interact with high-value clients. Doubled the firm’s productivity during recession.

Apprentice | Atlas Electric Service | Elizabeth, NJ | 2003 — 2008

Worked and studied under master electrician. Trusted to perform professional repairs and installations of complex electrical systems.


SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Review of ‘Farm Worker Futurism: Speculative Technologies of Resistance’ by Curtis Marez (University of Minnesota Press), Lateral 8.2 (2019).

Co-Editor (with Tai Neilson and David Rheams) | Research Methods for the Digital Humanities. London, UK: Palgrave MacMillan, 2018.

Modernity, Silence, Revolution: Schmitt, Adorno, and Derrida.” in Movements in Time: Revolution, Social Justice and Times of Change. Eds. Cecile Lawrence and Natalie Churn. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2012.

Editorial Assistant | The Renewal of Cultural Studies. Ed. Paul Smith. Temple University Press, 2011.

Editor/Direct Publisher | Obscure Stories of the Civil War. Paul N. Herbert. 2011.


SKILLS | Tools

Cloud Computing | Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud

CI / CD | Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Azure Pipelines, Bamboo CI, CircleCI, FluxCD, ArgoCD, quite a few more

Containerization | Docker, Kubernetes, Helm, Rancher, Lima, TAS/PCF, OpenShift, Istio, Anthos

Infrastructure as Code and Configuration Management | Ansible, Terraform, SaltStack, Chef, Puppet, various managed services

Source Control | Git, Subversion, Mercurial, various workflows

Programming / Scripting | Bash / POSIX Shell, Batch, Powershell, C, Python, Java, JavaScript, YAML / JSON, miscellaneous other things

Networking and Security | DNS, Certificates/SSL/TLS/mTLS, SDN, Firewalls, service meshes, caching, CDNs

Application Servers | HTTPD, Tomcat, JBoss, NginX, IIS

Content Management Systems | WordPress, Drupal, Joomla

Operating Systems | Windows, Linux, MacOS

Databases | MSSQL, PostgreSQL, mySQL / mariaDB, MongoDB


FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Hebrew | Proficient

Latin | Reading

French | Reading

Spanish | Reading


EDUCATION

PhD | Cultural Studies | George Mason University | 2018

Dissertation: “Weak States, Strong Backbones: Telecommunications Policy and Internet Infrastructure Development in Ghana, Nigeria, and Liberia”

I argue that telecommunications policy which promotes backbone infrastructure strengthens gatekeeper states. Ghana, Nigeria, and Liberia have each pursued policies that reinforce their existing political-economic institutions and structures, acting as gatekeepers in pursuit of effective gate-keeping internet infrastructure. Further, backbone-first network infrastructure development itself serves to preserve and strengthen the extant conditions of these states’ power.

MA | Communication, Culture, and Technology | Georgetown University | 2010

Thesis: “The Cultural Production of Mumia Abu-Jamal” | Awarded with Honors.

BA | Comparative Literature | Binghamton University | 2008


AWARDS

Presidential Fellowship | George Mason University | 2010 — 2013

Mildred Sweet Memorial Liberal Arts Award | Binghamton University | 2008

Esther Couper All-University Scholarship | Binghamton University | 2005