Ops That Work is an operations-forward consultancy founded by Maria Caruso. Operations-forward means I start with you: your team, your goals, the way the work really moves. Then I build the systems around it. Better processes, new tools, automation, training. Sometimes all of it.
Great tools, but people are not using them. I close the gap between the software you pay for and the way your team actually works.
Great people, but no systems to support them. I build the infrastructure so the work moves forward even when you are not in the room.
One person trying to scale, not sure where to start. I help you figure out what needs to exist, in what order, and build it with you.
What I do
Four service areas, one goal: operations that hold up day to day.
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Process & Systems Design
Workflows, SOPs, OKRs, and the operating rhythms that keep your team aligned and moving without constant intervention.
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People Ops
Onboarding, team structure, HR workflows, and the systems that help your people do their best work from day one.
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Data & Reporting
Dashboards, forecasting, and metrics frameworks that turn raw data into clear decisions instead of more questions.
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Technology Operations
Tool audits, migrations, integrations, and custom-built tools that get your tech stack working for you instead of against you.
Recent work
What operations-forward looks like in practice.
Pardon Hub Management System
A full-stack case management platform for Do Moore Good's Pardon Me Campaign, with AI-assisted case review and an integrated communications pipeline.
Read case studyCommunity Events Calendar
An automated events pipeline for a Philadelphia nonprofit using Google Apps Script, the Calendar API, and a custom embeddable widget with HubSpot analytics.
Read case studyLicensing Management Portal
A portal with passwordless login, token-gated video streaming, and a custom admin dashboard for managing licensee access.
Read case studyAutomated Grant Discovery
An AI pipeline that reads a dedicated inbox, scores each opportunity against DMG's criteria, and routes high-match grants straight into Asana for review.
Read case studyAI-assisted operations
Curious what AI could actually do for your work?
Free and low-cost tools today can handle research, drafting, summarizing, and data analysis. Knowing which ones to use, how to connect them to your workflow, and where the real value is takes some experience.
I help organizations figure out where AI fits and build the integrations to make it useful. No hype, no buzzwords: just tools that do a real job.
See what's possibleWondering what this could look like for you?
Every organization is different. Let's start with a conversation about how you work and what you want to accomplish.
Let's talk