Language & Logistics

Job title and vocabulary may vary from place to place, but the skillset is essentially the same: Listen and analyze so you can understand an environment or system well enough to formulate a plan and to track progress. Then figure out how to communicate that plan and be ready to adjust for the unexpected.  In the same day you might wield a clipboard, a wrench, and a laptop, and you might speak with a CEO, a diplomat, a vendor, and a volunteer.  This is "Language and Logistics" and I have worn these hats for academic, corporate, private, non-profit, and arts communities.

Language                   Writer - Editor - Designer - Calligrapher

I have written or edited everything from newspaper editorials to press releases to grant applications, from travel essays to web sites, from official correspondance to articles on the psychological aspects of millennialism.  As a Calligrapher I have created simple documents, fancy cards, and large and ornate invitations and ketubot.  Samples of my writing and calligraphy are available elsewhere on this site.  Further samples, stories, and references are available on request.

I am fascinated by the look and sounds of words - how they combine, and how their display moves the viewer's eyes;  The editor's desire to make a sentence more balanced, grammatical, and communicative isn't so different from the calligrapher's desire to construct a beautiful & meaningful document.   Both disciplines need to be simultaneously aware of the big and the small - of the whole page and the smallest line or dot - and to make each serve the other.  These are both art and science.

Logistics                   Program Manager - Producer - Conference/Event Planner - Stage Manager - Idea Facilitator

I have planned, organized, or managed everything from a single-evening concert and full-day symposium to a weekend wedding to a 3-day program retreat, a week-long international conference, and a full-season theatre festival.

At MIT, I advised graduate students how to plan major conferences and competitions.  I trained and connected the organizers to available school resources, and helped the school take advantage of the publicity, development, alumni, and recruiting opportunities involved.

At University of Washington, I helped launch a new program for their Computer Science and Engineering School. Once crated, I supported the program, designed and managed it's events (distiguished lecture series, research proposal competition, PhD recruiting events, demo days, lab retreats, Board meetings, etc.), co-managed DEIA and outreach training programs, media requests, and the program's website and social media presence.

At Improbable Research, I co-produce the annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony. This involves training and managing volunteers, vendors, perfrmers, scientists, technicians, Nobel Laureates, and a live internet broadcast.

I enjoy making logistical puzzles work: give me a plate full of presenters, audiences, stages, media, hotels, and other vendors, and I'll find a way to make these people and elements work together.  Sometimes I am hired for a specific aspect of an event, but more often I'm the general hand who helps predict and repair loose ends before they can unravel.  I have negotiated with hotels, universities, and bus companies, sat with police to plan for potential protests, designed lighting, programs, agenda, and event swag, built sets and props, created theatrical blood and pyrotechnic effects...      A Harvard opera director once introduced me in this way:

"This is David, he makes operas happen."

Information on some of my theatrical work is available elsewhere on this site, and references are, of course available.  Among the people and organizations who have used my skills are: Boston University, Harvard University, University of Washington, Seattle Folklore Socity, Maritime Folknet, Raise The Rafters, Blue Cross Blue Shield, King Richard's Renaissance Faire, the Chinese Wushu Research Insitute, Behind The Mask Theatre, MIT, The Ig Nobel Prizes, and The Boston Folk Festival.

Contact me