Abraham Contos

SUMMARY

Social science professional and educator focusing on political development and civil rights, especially the role of media in democratization. Experience with project management, design, proposal, implementation, analysis, and reporting. Excellent understanding of both traditional and digital media landscapes with experience monitoring emerging events around the world. Have worked with international partners to monitor, gather, and publish information relating to organizational goals. Excellent communications and problem-solving skills. Eight years living and working abroad in both developed and developing countries. Fluent (reading, writing, speaking) in French and Malagasy; speak conversational Spanish and Korean.

EXPERIENCE

Chungdahm Learning, Seoul, South Korea (February 2019-Februrary 2020)
English Instructor. Taught advanced TOEFL and conversation classes to middle and high school EFL students. Balanced six separate lesson plans weekly to around 100 students while coordinating with native Korean co-teachers. Provided regular diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments of students work and communicated with parents about students strengths and weaknesses. Successfully applied in-house eLearning tools to augment classroom learning and increase student participation.

SDA Language Institute, Seoul, South Korea (February 2013 – Present)
English Instructor. Taught advanced grammar, conversation, and pronunciation to adult EFL students. Balanced up to nine separate lesson plans daily while coordinating with native Korean co-teachers. Designed new conversation classes. As coordinator, met weekly with institute director to discuss program inefficiencies, suggest new ideas, and schedule classes. Interviewed new students and evaluated students for advancement. Led staff meetings and facilitated cooperation between staff and Academic Office including regular trainings.

• Received a 99/100 point evaluation based on student and director ratings as well as academic evaluations and student re-registration rates.
• Created and taught an engaging Current Issues conversation class based on a range of public policy topics.

Independent Field Study (BYU), Madagascar (January 2011 – January 2012)
Arranged all logistical aspects of research project, including housing, travel and visa requirements. Designed an empirical survey-experiment on ethnic preferences in political participation and developed a randomized system for sampling. Interviewed 239 individuals in two regions, then analyzed data quantitatively and qualitatively for trends and correlations.

• Written project proposal accepted by Institutional Review Board (IRB) for ethical considerations.
• Successfully navigated bureaucracy in developing country to secure visa and research permit.
• Interviews yielded significant data set later used in multiple publications.
• Data analysis found trends that challenged traditional thinking on Malagasy politics and supported other theoretical field work.
• Designed website, using WordPress platform, to explain research and local current events.
• Currently co-authoring three articles for publication in top peer-reviewed academic journals.

Students for Nonprofit Development, Provo, UT (September 2011 – December 2011)
Local nonprofit, sponsored by BYU, with student consultant teams that help local non-profits become more socially innovative and entrepreneurial.
Intern. Member of consultant team that researched micro-enterprise education materials, communities, and conferences.

• Developed and evaluated curriculum for the Ballard Center Micro-Enterprise Education Initiative.
• Client accepted recommendations that contributed to being a leader in its field.

U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C. (October 2010 – December 2010)
Government agency with a mission to foster conditions for stability and progress, for the benefit of people everywhere. (www.state.gov.)
Intern. Served as senior/assistant editor for annual International Religious Freedom Reports for African countries. Prepared press briefing documents for Assistant Secretary of State, on current and ongoing religious freedom issues. Articulated international current events in the context of department policies and goals.

• Edited annual report.
• Developed pages on Diplopedia.gov; took initiative to learn new technology and designed eLearning tutorial detailing procedures for updating the pages.
• Maintained consistent voice in official department policy documents.
• Developed consistency for internal reports by helping to standardize formatting.

Center Partners, Idaho Falls, ID (June 2009 – August 2009)
Provider of contact center and web self-service sales solutions. (www.centerpartners.com.)
Bilingual Customer Service Agent. Provided telephone technical, setup, and trouble-shooting support, in both English and French, for Sony Playstation3. Processed credit-card payments for warranty service.

• Key member of start-up team that cut costs by eliminating need for translators.
• Improved customer communications and decreased call-backs by mastering related French vocabulary.

BYU Study Abroad, Paris, France (January 2009 – April 2009)
Studied French language, politics and culture.

• Learned cultural nuances and linguistic norms, and applied to my public diplomacy skills.
• Honed language skills and broadened my perspective through interacting both personally and professionally, and in the French language, with local individuals.

Gray Line of Alaska, Anchorage, AK (April 2008 – September 2008)
Provider of coach, rail and cruise tours in Alaska and the Yukon. (www.graylinealaska.com.)
Relief Manager/Food and Beverage Clerk. Maintained inventory, placed orders, and updated expense spreadsheets. Managed a small stocking crew and maintenance projects.

• Facilitated staff and management relations by negotiating demands from both parties
• Instrumental in maintaining record low costs.
• Established ability to accommodate last-minute requests by ensuring that trains met departure times.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, UT (April 2007 – October 2009)
Christian church with combination of doctrine, culture, and lifestyle known as Mormonism. (www.lds.org.)
Translator/Interpreter. Translated and interpreted official church publications and bi-annual worldwide conference materials. Edited and prepared speaker transcripts for simultaneous interpreter narration. Attended trainings.

• Translations used by almost 10K members in Madagascar.

C-A-L Ranch Stores, Idaho Falls, ID (March 2007 – August 2007)
Retail store chain with locations in Idaho, Utah, Nevada and Arizona. (www.calranch.com.)
Receiver/Forklift Operator. Received and sorted incoming freight for distribution to 11 stores. Operated four different styles of forklifts. Entered invoice data. Assisted in employee training.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Madagascar (September 2003 – September 2005)
Volunteer Representative Madagascar. Customized and presented 20- to 40-minute lessons to small family groups. Supervised teams of up to six volunteers. Held weekly training meetings and workshops, and compiled weekly statistics for reports.

• Developed communication skills by consistently articulating church ideology.
• Discussed sensitive topics with local population in their native language, diffusing potentially tense situations by tactfully connecting to audience beliefs and cultural background.

EDUCATION

M.A. in International Communications, University of Leeds, December 2015

B.A. in International Relations, with emphasis on Political and Economic Development, Brigham Young University, December 2011

TEFL Certificate, University of Toronto (online), November 2015