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Professional Bio
Yassine Sellami has over 18 years of international experience working in higher education and global organizations across North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. He brings a cross-sector perspective informed by roles in digital transformation at Drexel University, a Research 1 institution, and at Dell Technologies, Apple, and IKEA IT Sweden. With a career bridging technology, leadership, and education, Yassine applies his expertise in systems thinking, complexity science, and artificial intelligence to improve institutional decision-making and accelerate organizational learning.
As the Director of Research Systems and Analytics in DrexelUniversity’s Office of Research and Innovation, Yassine leads the digital transformation across Drexel’s research enterprise through system implementation, analytics strategy, and organizational change management. He oversees the integration of research administration platforms, data flows, data analytics, and research administration modules that enhance institutional effectiveness and transparency across the research lifecycle.
Yassine is pursuing his Doctor of Education (EdD) in Educational Leadership & Management with a concentration in Higher Education Leadership at Drexel University. His research explores how complex systems principles and data-driven insights can guide sustainable transformation in higher education. Yassine also earned his Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a concentration in Strategic Technology and Innovation Management from Drexel University and a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Engineering from the University of Casablanca in Morocco.
Yassine is the founder of Seeing the System, a digital publication blending leadership reflection, systems analysis, and educational commentary to advance public understanding of organizational complexity. His cross-sector and cross-cultural perspective continues to shape his mission to bridge data, people, and purpose in higher education to catalyze transformational, measurable, and sustainable institutional change.
Education
- Doctor of Education in Higher Education Leadership (Administration, Leadership & Assessment), Drexel University – Anticipated 2027
- Master of Business Administration (Concentration in Business Analytics and Artificial Intelligence), Drexel University – 2023
- Bachelor of Science in Engineering, University of Casablanca, Morocco – 2010
The Catalyst
Colleagues describe me as a systems thinker, the catalyst—someone who spots patterns in chaos and rallies teams to act. I’m known for:
- Seeing the system, not just the symptom – translating tangled processes into clear, human‑centered roadmaps for education innovation.
- A “radio voice” that steadies the room – inviting candid dialogue across cultures and disciplines.
- Strategic empathy – listening beyond words to design win‑wins for faculty, administrators, and technologists alike.
- Cross‑cultural fluency – switching effortlessly between English, Darija, and French, and between boardroom strategy and bike‑trail reflections.
- Quiet humor & straight talk – cutting through jargon without cutting down people.
Whether I’m guiding a multi‑million‑dollar research‑systems rollout or mentoring an emerging leader, I show up with curiosity, rigor, and an insistence on leaving the system better than I found it.
Things I love
- Sunrise bike rides along the Schuylkill River Trail
- Weekend hikes in State Parks with my family
- My son's soccer games and cheering from the sidelines
- My daughter's Olympics and the pride of raising a leader!
- Digging into complexity theory and Systems Theory over an espresso coffee.
- Writing—for research and my own reflections on leadership, technology, and education. I post these on my Blog.
- Cooking tagines and perfecting the balance of preserved lemons & olives.
- White‑board sketching messy systems until the pattern clicks.
What I love the most
Dad & Husband First — Weekend pancake chemistry with the kids, sideline coaching at Jad’s matches, selling girls scout cookies with Lily, and late-night debriefs with my wife keep my compass steady. Family life reminds me that real leadership starts at home: listening first, celebrating small wins, and turning every setback into a teachable story. The patience, humor, and perspective I practice around our kitchen table shape how I guide teams and steward complex projects beyond it.
Justice-Minded Systems Thinking — Oftentimes, during long weekend cycling rides or quietly mapping ideas over my morning coffee, I’m often circling the same questions about most topics: Who benefits? Who’s left out? I lean on Rawls’s veil of ignorance, critical theory, and complexity science to expose hidden power dynamics and design fairer, more resilient institutions.