Johns Hopkins SAIS

Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a premier global institution with campuses in Washington, D.C., Bologna, and Nanjing. Operating as the lead technical subcontractor for Carnegie Higher Education, I was brought in to architect a massive digital modernization. The core challenge was executing a complex, high-stakes data migration from Drupal 7 to Drupal 10 for their primary institutional hub. This required engineering a comprehensive new Drupal theme from the ground up, while simultaneously developing a parallel, highly flexible WordPress theme utilizing the exact same design patterns and component logic for their peripheral web properties. Because the institution supports dozens of editors and global degree programs, the architecture also required deep API routing to seamlessly connect the new CMS ecosystem with Slate and their internal admissions CRMs.

The final deployment delivered a unified, enterprise-grade digital ecosystem capable of supporting complex editorial workflows across continents. By successfully executing the Drupal 10 migration alongside a synchronized WordPress environment, the institution now maintains a flawlessly cohesive brand architecture across multiple CMS platforms. The deep Slate and CRM integrations eliminated manual data silos, transforming their digital presence into an automated, high-performance engine that actively drives global enrollment and streamlines complex admissions operations.