Rory Palmieri, PhD, has led a distinguished, four-decade-long career in education and translation services.
As a child in elementary school, Palmieri's favorite subject was English. He also enjoyed going to the movies and fondly recalls seeing features such as Kirk Douglas' "Lonely Are the Brave." This love for literature and film would lead him to study English language and literature at esteemed schools such as Harvard University, where he obtained a bachelor's degree and graduated magna cum laude in 1976. At Brown University, he obtained a master's degree in English language and literature in 1981 and, subsequently, a PhD in English language and literature in 1984.
Palmieri began teaching English at Brown University in 1978, then pivoted by joining ACME Court Reporting in Washington, D.C., before he was recruited by the U.S. Department of Defense in 1985 as a translator and reporter. He worked for the federal government for nearly 15 years. He was responsible for reading information from abroad in various languages, collecting information useful to various U.S. government agencies and writing reports based on this information. He occasionally worked in top-secret locations before he resigned in 1999.
While he has concluded his career within the government, Palmieri has remained active in his field as a self-employed translator since 1999. Throughout his career, he learned how to read and speak other languages by studying grammar books and reading books of interest to him in those foreign languages with the assistance of a dictionary. Palmieri created this system to help people learn languages more quickly and enjoyably, and he uses it every time he learns a new language. He is presently learning his 17th language, which is Hungarian.
Alongside his accomplishments as an educator and translator, Palmieri found success as an amateur filmmaker in the 1990s when he produced the documentary feature "Poets from Planet X" in 1995 and a short comedy called "Dick's Last Shoot" in 1996. These were in addition to a horror short he made as a senior in high school back in 1972, titled "Redneck: Man's Search for Evil," which was subsequently telecast by a local TV station. He also worked as an extra in several Hollywood features and TV episodes in the 1990s.
In looking toward future endeavors, Palmieri aims to maintain an interest in books and movies. He plans to complete his upcoming book, "Power and Revolution: Surveying and Tracking the Films of Miklós Jancsó." He has attributed his success throughout his career and personal endeavors to his passion for cinema, literature, and language. He was, for a time, a member of the Modern Language Association.
Honesty and integrity are important virtues to Palmieri. Throughout his life, he has tried to be truthful and honest while helping others wherever possible. He is a highly educated individual who continues to push the boundaries of his education through writing, studying language, and translation. When asked for advice on what others can do in his industry, he stated that they have to love their work to stay motivated and do their best. His primary advice for everyone is to pursue a passion to the best of their ability.