Valentin Potra

Innovative instructional designer with over 10 years of experience in e-learning and curriculum development for diverse cultural and professional backgrounds. Analyzing content and design to create valuable learning programs that drive desired business outcomes. Strong communication and interpersonal abilities facilitate stakeholder relationships and learning needs assessment. Proficient in utilizing qualitative and quantitative analysis and semiotic tools to evaluate and enhance training, addressing business needs with tailored solutions. Excels in presenting complex information in a clear, concise manner, enabling informed decision-making. Seeking a full-time role that presents professional challenges and leverages diverse skill sets, effective time management, and problem-solving expertise.

• Anytime Cleaner, Iowa City, IA, Primary Consultant, 09/01/23, 2024, Consulted on strategic planning and business development, Created logo and promotional images, Managed, and implemented initial marketing, advertising, and branding initiatives
• BFF and Four Square Meals, Iowa City, IA, Primary Consultant, 09/01/13, 2020, Consulted on strategic planning and business development, Created, managed, and implemented primary marketing, advertising, and branding initiatives
• Field to Family, Iowa City, IA, Primary Consultant, 05/01/14, Planned and managed local art auction generating over $10,000 in revenue
• Main Street Oriental Rugs, Ellicott City, MD, Assistant Manager, 09/01/06, 10/01/06, Designed company website, Headed direct mailing campaign, Managed other employees, Sold and restored oriental rugs
• Maryland Office for New Americans, Baltimore, MD, Intern, 01/01/03, 07/01/04, Developed and managed contact databases, Unified office electronic calendar system, Conducted events planning, Worked in direct cross-cultural mediation
• Silver Spiral Art Gallery, Iowa City, IA, Sole-Proprietor, Manager, 01/01/97, 05/01/99, Hired and trained part-time staff, Conducted events planning, Obtained and managed client accounts, Purchased, evaluated, sold, and rented art objects

• Take Even the Devil as Your Brother…, 04/01/04, 75th Annual Meeting of the Pacific Sociological Association, San Francisco, California
• Different Cultures, Different Heroes, 03/01/04, 14th Annual Meeting of the Pacific Sociological Association, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, CO
• Love, Humbleness, Contentment, and Visual Anthropology, 01/01/04, 5th Annual Advances in Qualitative Methods Conference, International Institute for Qualitative Methods, Alberta, Canada

• National Opinion Research Center, Chicago, IL, Survey Specialist, 08/01/08, 05/01/09, Wrote SAS programs for data cleaning and analysis of big data., Wrote and edited internal quarterly newsletter for interviewer and supervisor staff, Tested and evaluated implementation of survey instruments, Prepared new interviewer training materials and related PowerPoint presentations, Made statistical analyses of national poll data and metadata, Prepared quarterly incentives and key indicator reports and deliverables
• National Immunization Survey, 08/01/08, 05/01/09, Data Mining, Statistical Analysis, National survey results, Increasing cell phone use adversely influences eligibility rates, and shifts optimal call times for interviews while establishing new norms for survey participation and common survey break-off points.
• National Flu Pandemic Survey, 01/01/08, 03/01/09, Telephone Interviews, 20 hour-long cognitive interviews, Modifications suggested to survey instrument to aid in quality data collection.
• University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, Principal Investigator, 09/01/04, 03/01/08, Romanians' Language Markets, 03/01/06, 10/01/07, Data Mining, Statistical Analysis, Participant Observation, In-Person Interviews, 100 in-depth interviews in English, French, and Romanian; national survey results, To understand why and to what extent English is displacing French as Romanians' primary second language, the current 'language market' model of secondary language acquisition must be updated to reflect a linguistic ecological niche approach to language use and the local 'marketing' of national languages by interested international institutions., Romanian Proverbs, Folk Stories and National Identity, 03/01/04, 01/01/05, Telephone and In-Person Interviews, Translation, and Linguistic Analysis, 60 in-depth interviews in Romanian and English; Romanian folk-stories and proverbs, While national folk stories and proverbs form the core of Romanians' sense of group identity and linked by subjects to their concept of Romanian nationhood., Identity Construction in the Papers of Mircea Eliade, 09/01/04, 12/31/04, Semiotic Analysis and Romanian-to-English Translation, 10 unsorted boxes of Eliade's papers at the Regenstein Library, Eliade's understanding of Romania, which he used to construct his own identity, was at odds with the actual historical realities of Romania.
• University of Maryland at Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, Principal Investigator, 01/01/01, 05/01/04, Romanian Expatriate Friendship Networks, 03/01/02, 05/01/02, Telephone and In-Person Interviews, Participant Observation, $1,500 - the David and Jeannette Lewis Memorial Scholarship Award, 72 in-depth interviews in Romanian and English, While Romanian expatriates' friendship networks are strengthened by their shared experiences, a lack of trust of fellow Romanian expatriates prevents substantial community formation.
• University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, Principal Investigator, 09/01/95, 05/01/00, Cross-Cultural Definitions of 'Abuse', 03/01/99, 05/01/99, In-Person Interviews, 50 in-depth interviews in Spanish, Romanian, French, and English., Majority of cases of 'elder abuse' that dealt with first generation Chinese and Korean immigrants in nursing homes were prompted by those individuals feeling abandoned, betrayed, and wronged by a lack of regular visitation by their children. More research is needed into the differences among distinct types of Hispanic and French speaking populations and their emic concept of what constitutes abuse.
• Iowa Social Science Institute, Iowa City, IA, Research Assistant, 09/01/96, 11/01/96, Conducted telephone interviews to gather election poll data, Conducted new interviewer training, Designed and programmed interview scripts in C++, Made statistical analyses of national poll data and interpreted poll findings for publication