Jaime Gonzalez-Capitel Martorel, CCT 2016

Undergraduate institution and major: Universidad Autonoma (Madrid, Spain), Philosophy

Area of focus in CCT: My personal idea is that technological literacy is a must for any professional seeking employment in a knowledge-centric organization, so I did as many methods courses as I could: statistics, social network analysis, expressive computation, content analysis, and semantic analysis.

What did you do before CCT? I worked at a Spanish nonprofit for graduate training programs, created a journal in the humanities with my Philosophy friends, worked as a freelance translator, and did some volunteering for a Freedom of Information nonprofit.

What activities did you participate in during CCT? I was a graduate associate at CNDLS, where I met an amazing, talented team that I truly respect, and I co-founded and coordinated Car Barn Labs, now known as Car Barn Academy!

Why did you choose CCT? Since I wanted to analyze the transparency of think tanks and how it relates to their communication strategies, I was looking for communications programs in DC and CCT seemed like a perfect fit for me: a friendly environment where a philosopher like me could add methods and insights from the social sciences. I came to CCT thanks to a Fulbright grant.

What surprised you about CCT? The enormously diverse range of skillsets and talent that we can draw from.

What are you doing now? CCT allowed me to make a career change. Since I returned to Spain I have worked as content and product marketing manager in several software firms, including Geoblink, a geolocation product for retailers. Ultimately I have specialized in the Atlassian ecosystem, having worked for several partners in Spain and now in Germany. My ability to understand technical concepts and communicate them to different audiences is an essential part of my job, and I owe it to CCT.