Spark & Compass is an innovation consultancy that helps organizations turn visionary ideas into practical, impactful strategies. We guide leaders in navigating change, overcoming obstacles, and achieving sustainable growth through a blend of engineering precision and creative design thinking.

As an Adjunct Senior Researcher at RAND, I continue to contribute to this independent research institution's mission of providing practical, forward-thinking solutions to complex global issues. My role focuses on special projects that leverage my expertise in innovative problem-solving, strategic planning, and interdisciplinary collaboration.Key responsibilities and achievements:► Support RAND senior leadership with internal future planning initiatives, including off sites and strategic workshops, to enhance organizational adaptability and growth.► Co-led a major initiative (EAIR - Everyday AI for Researchers) to introduce Large Language Model (LLM) awareness and training to research and operations staff, promoting AI integration in research practices.► Provide futurecasting and information visualization support to RAND colleagues on client projects, enhancing the impact and clarity of research outcomes.

RAND is an independent research institution that provides practical, forward-thinking solutions to complex global issues. At RAND, I built and accessed relationships with interdisciplinary experts in the physical and behavioral sciences to solve multi-layered socio-technical problems, including fresh approaches to complex problems. As an agile thinker and doer, I bridged technology, human factors, design and project management expertise to explore potential outcomes and deliver actionable results.During my time at RAND, I generated 15 client-funded projects worth $4.5M in revenue, and during my last year I managed a $1.9M budget across six projects and 30 direct reports. My clients included the National Science Foundation, NASA, the Air Force Research Labs, the National Reconnaissance Office and the Office of the Secretary of Defense.Here are some highlights from my work at RAND:► designed a business plan for the Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing Site to replace the loss of $30 million annually in federal funding;► provided critical support for the Air Force’s decision on a sensor for unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) by analyzing the sensor’s detection of adversary movement;► secured a $1.1M contract to characterize the space debris problem and develop remediation strategies;► conducted a two-day exercise for a joint NASA/FEMA project on strategies in event an asteroid were to collide with Earth; and► published 16 peer-reviewed reports resulting in military, NASA and other U.S. policy changes.

Directed RAND’s summer internship and recruitment program that hosts 50 Ph.D. students from other universities across the U.S. Actively recruited students from top research departments. Created programming to familiarize interns with the multidisciplinary, think tank approach.

I lead a dissertation workshop for second year Ph.D. candidates at Pardee RAND to formulate a research objective and questions, identify method(s) and data sources and produce a completed research proposal to seek out a dissertation chair/committee and pursue research funding. Topics are wide-ranging, from reformation of drug courts to new public health policies in India that mitigate heat wave effects.I also chair dissertation committees to help students scope, perform, and fund their research interests.

Pardee RAND is the original and largest Ph.D. public policy graduate program in the United States and educates 25 Ph.D. candidates annually. While at Pardee, I led a redesign of this program based on ideas culled from brainstorming and visits to 20 start-ups, research organizations and academic institutions. During my final two years there, I led the implementation of the new program that will train the problem solvers of the future.

Imaginative Futures (IF) was a research and design firm that combined social and physical sciences expertise with illustration and design talent. At IF, I led a team that created novel research projects and delivered engaging experiences through visualizations and interactive tools, helping clients convey their future visions and address pressing challenges with innovative insights.

Sandia National Laboratories is a Department of Energy laboratory that innovates technical solutions to complex national security issues. At Sandia, I designed and built optical sensors for space satellites (several are currently in orbit) and led research teams to develop creative technical solutions to resolve remote sensing issues. I was also part of a multidisciplinary team to define project requirements, create designs and implement design methodologies, quality control and testing initiatives.

The Ph.D. program at the University of Arizona is the world’s premier research center for optics and photonics.At UA, I pushed the boundaries of optical engineering, using optical design techniques to create novel concepts and instrumentation, including mirrors for astronomical telescopes. I also partnered with domain experts to design and fabricate cutting-edge projects. Some examples of what I achieved are that I:► innovated the design for the world’s lightest half-meter diameter active glass space mirror to support ambitious mission goals, including monitoring the Earth from greater distances in space; and► developed a framework to optimize the design of lightweight mirrors for next generation telescopes to increase their capacity to capture high-resolution images and allow deeper views into space.