General Resumé

Executive Director

Crimson Rouge Studios, Inc.
March 2019 - October 2024 |
Montreal (PQ), Portland (OR), Alexandria (LA), Columbus (OH)

Founded this 501(c)3 nonprofit in Montréal and then in Portland that has evolved into a STEAM-focused Queer (i.e. LGBT) organization, producing immersive community events, knowledge sharing and educational programming, mentoring and professional development, housing cooperative and mutual aid service in 4 locations between the US and Canada.

  • Managed 5 co-directors comprising the Crimson Rouge Studios Admin Collective

  • Built and maintained organization website that facilitated webinars, multimedia exhibitions, materials to accompany guests at key events, and online collaboration workspace

  • Established strategic relationships with community foundations, nonprofit organizations, and local businesses to produce flagship events and joint projects that have evolved into annual traditions

  • Invention, design, testing, and marketing of several key products and mobile apps developed in the organization’s incubator Archangel Labs.

Operations Engineer
Transmission Reliability & Substation Maintenance

Central Louisiana Electric Company (CLECO)
June 2021 - June 2022 | Pineville, Louisiana, USA

Responsible for planning maintenance and emergency restoration activities for transmission and distribution substations throughout central Louisiana, in order to optimize performance. reliability, and service life of critical T&D assets, especially following extreme weather phenomena and adverse system events.

Supervised a 4-person construction crew of specialists and laborers on a variety of substation repair activities throughout CLECO’s transmission system. Coordinated substation commissioning activities with high-voltage equipment specialists, relay technicians, and grid operators.

Kitchen Assistant

The Olde Oak
April - June 2021 | Columbus, Ohio, USA

Food preparation, cleaning, and line cook support for neighborhood pub, emerging from the end of COVID-19 shutdowns

Staff Engineer
Transmission Operations

Portland General Electric (PGE)
June 2020 - January 2021 | Portland, Oregon, USA

Performed engineering analysis and real-time support, maintained and analyzed network models, and provided operational recommendations, impacting real-time current flows and parameters throughout Oregon’s high-voltage (HV) electric transmission system.

Worked with grid operators, neighboring utilities, and regulatory agencies to ensure safe/reliable operating conditions for the bulk transmission system, notably during the 2020 Oregon wildfires.

Program Manager
Electric Transmission & Distribution

Centre for Energy Advancement through Technological Innovation (CEATI)
February 2018 - March 2019 | Montréal, Québec, Canada

Drove business development and technical agenda for the Centre for Energy Advancement through Technological Innovation (CEATI), an advanced research consortium of 200+ collaborating electric power companies around the world. Managed T&D research portfolio to test and apply new technologies on the T&D system, and to share findings with the electric power industry.

Routinely investigated unusual equipment failures, software issues, etc. identified by member utilities. Administered peer review for all project reports; resolved technical disputes with reviewers and project investigators. Revised final deliverables for grammar, readability, legality issues, and technical coherence. Presented research findings and conclusions to utility sponsors, prospective clients, and technical committees.

Senior Engineer
Substation Equipment Standards

American Electric Power (AEP)
November 2012 - November 2016 | Columbus, Ohio, USA

Responsible for overall safe/reliable operation of substation equipment rated up to 765 kV. Developed and maintained specifications, test standards, application guides, and design/engineering modules for HV substation equipment throughout the AEP T&D system. Established engineering specifications, continuous improvement processes, and corporate best practices for equipment design, installation, and operation.

Subject matter expert in the areas of station DC supply (batteries, chargers), grid-connected energy storage facilities, transformers, surge protective equipment, and capacitor banks. Experienced with circuit breakers, flexible AC transmission (FACTS) devices, HVDC facility design, remote asset health monitoring, and grid-connected energy storage facility design.

Technical Editor

Centre for Energy Advancement through Technological Innovation (CEATI)
May 2010 - June 2012 | Montréal, Québec, Canada

Revised research publications for grammar, readability, legality issues, and technical coherence for an electric utility research consortium. Subject matter includes transmission and distribution asset management, sustainable generation, power system operations, system monitoring software, consumer-level services, and dam safety.

Graduate Research Assistant
Electric Energy Systems Laboratory

McGill University
September 2009 - September 2011 | Montréal, Québec, Canada

Investigated the impacts of distributed energy resources on electric power system operations, with particular focus on distribution system modeling and DER impacts on equipment life and protection system response.

Built and simulated various distributed generation and power conversion equipment models, for application in designing wind and solar facilities, and researched protection relays to understand their role in forming stable microgrids. Performed hardware-in-loop power systems simulations, to test various relay packages for protection system response with distributed energy resources (DER).

Social Events Coordinator
Queer McGill

Students' Society of McGill University
September 2009 - May 2010 | Montréal, Québec, Canada

Organized social events for Queer McGill, the umbrella queer student society at McGill University, in order to facilitate positive interactions and networking among a diverse population of queer (e.g. gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender) students and allies at McGill and throughout the Montreal community.

Coordinated events ranging from small-scale mixers (e.g. board game nights, field trips) to large dance parties and weekend retreats, with a strategic focus on using small weekly events to establish a consistent communal presence and to maintain a robust and engaged general membership.

Electrical Engineering Intern

McGill University
September 2009 - September 2011 | Montréal, Québec, Canada

Researched and developed innovative methods of extracting energy locally from various available sources for a variety of covert military applications, including small surveillance drones. Tested and researched designs for a power supply that "siphons" energy from atop a high-voltage power line by absorbing the line's stray inductive losses wirelessly via inductive coupling.

President
University Activities Board

Wright State University
September 2007 - June 2008 | Dayton, Ohio, USA

Led an executive committee of seven other chairs, and led an organization of approximately 20-30 student volunteers for Wright State University’s largest student-led programming board. Managed and allocated $100,000 of student activities funds for campus programming, marketing, and operations.

Produced a live performance of Ben Folds for a crowd of 3,500 students at the WSU Nutter Center arena. Collaborated with other organizations, departments, and community groups, to produce multicultural festivals, campus carnivals, dances, gaming tournaments, and other large-scale events on campus.

Oversaw organization’s marketing and promotions; created graphic designs for promotional flyers, and managed distribution of promotional materials throughout campus. Re-designed and maintained the organization’s website for 2 years.

Previous Roles Served:

VP Marketing & Public Relations, January 2006 - June 2007
Major Events Chair, September 2005 - January 2006

Attractions Cast Member

Walt Disney World
April - August 2005 | Orlando, Florida, USA

Provided exceptional guest service at the "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids!" supersize playground and Backlot Tour at the Disney-MGM Studios, supervising children, facilitating a safe play environment for all guests, assisting and interacting with guests.

Lab Assistant

Barium & Chemicals, Inc.
May 2003 - August 2004 | Steubenville, Ohio, USA

Performed various tests on chemicals to monitor their quality and safety.