This month, we’re excited to spotlight Tristan Scumaci, who serves as Manager of Technical Excellence in our Austin, Texas office. Since joining Giving Home nearly five years ago, Tristan’s career has been built on problem solving, collaborative management, and his belief that technical writing is far more than putting words on a page.
After graduating with his bachelor’s in psychology and biostatistics, Tristan considered attending medical school or studying law with a medical focus – but that all shifted when he learned about Giving Home. After meeting with Corbin Craig, one of Giving Home’s founders; Samantha Coelho, current SVP of Operations; and Jennifer Gardner, current HUB Administrator, it felt like finding the right place to apply his skills and interests. Tristan joined the Albuquerque team as an analyst handling patient medical records. Though it was the first professional environment Tristan experienced as a new grad, his team members were generous with guidance and invested in his growth. “It was a breath of fresh air,” he recalls. “Though I was doing alright with the medical terminology, I still needed to learn about business – but I had great support from my team and leadership.”
Shortly after joining, Tristan began technical writing alongside his director, Tara Bunch. In this new role, he was responsible for connecting consequential illnesses, uncovering causations, writing DOL responses, requesting medical records, and helping to manage the pipeline of letters that needed to be written. This new position expanded his understanding of Giving Home’s patient-first mission and gave him opportunities to collaborate with teams across multiple offices.
Life eventually took Tristan to Arizona for about a year, and he parted ways with Giving Home during that time. But while he was away, the team was turning their focus to new growth initiatives. Tara reached out with an offer to return – but this time, to Austin, Texas. “I was like, ‘absolutely,'” he recalls. “It felt so good to be brought back into the team.” Tristan appreciates the network he’s built throughout his journey and how those relationships continue to pay off. What also stands out to him is how Giving Home has welcomed him at every stage, whether he was stepping in as a fresh college graduate or returning with a fresh perspective.
Today, as Manager of Technical Excellence, Tristan leads a growing team of technical writers while remaining deeply involved in the work itself. From hashing out letters alongside his first technical writer, Joel, to now guiding a substantial team, Tristan strives to lead from both an administrative and peer level. “One thing I’ve really embodied here, and I know Giving does too, is a player-coach mentality. My tasks don’t stop and neither do my team’s, but at the end of the day, we’re all doing the same work. And it speaks volumes when we can do it together.” Beyond these responsibilities, any given day could involve letter writing, assisting colleagues, training new hires and interns, and collaborating across departments. Whether working with IT, Marketing, or other areas of the company, Tristan finds value in translating Giving Home’s many facets back to the patients we serve.
Early in his career, Tristan was given advice that he took to heart: treat each patient like a friend. Many patients now call his cell phone to check in regularly, and those conversations matter to him as much as they do to them. Tristan aims to make the letter writing process collaborative, encouraging patients to take accountability in their documentation and speak up if something doesn’t feel right. Coming from a military family, Tristan feels the weight of the risks his patients faced. Now, he gets to advocate for them directly. “Hearing our patients’ stories has deepened not only my understanding, but my appreciation of the work that was done. Some people spend 20+ years in a job that may have exposed them to some gnarly things. They did that work for these facilities and for this country. I want that to be recognized.”
Tristan finds a lot of satisfaction in the investigative nature of technical writing and how it directly impacts patients. “There’s a level to technical writing that many people don’t see at first. It’s not just writing a letter. It’s finding solutions and problem solving.” Many times, Tristan and his team of writers – who come from a wide variety of backgrounds, including epidemiology, public health, nursing, and biology – must work with limited information and reply on investigative research, interactions with patients, and the occasional Internet rabbit hole to build a compelling case. The process can often involve Center of Excellence (CoE) Coordinators, Outreach Coordinators, Patient Coordinators, Physician Liaisons, and other team members working together toward a single goal over the course of several months. “There are nuances to these programs, and it takes a long time to get decisions,” Tristan shares. “But when we get good news, it’s very cool to see the reaction of the patient and their family.”
In his downtime, Tristan keeps things simple. You can find him on the golf course, the soccer field, in front of a movie screen – or more recently, traveling back home to visit his family and new niece. As he reflects on his journey at Giving Home, his gratitude is genuine. “I’m very grateful to the individuals who brought me back to this team,” he says. “It’s nice to feel wanted by someone to come do good work. And I truly believe that – we’re doing good work here.”
Thank you, Tristan, for your expertise, leadership, and ongoing commitment to solving problems for our patients. We’re proud you’re part of the Giving Home family!
