Under Fascist oppression in Italy, neurobiologist Rita Levi-Montalcini set up a make-shift laboratory in her bedroom and conducted research which continued after the end of World War II and would ultimately lead to a Nobel Prize. This case examines the distributed nature of her work, with particular focus on her shifts in and impact of motivation: from resignation to determination during the war and then back to peacetime work afterward. In both instances, the conceptual frame of her purpose mediated the dynamics of her personal motivation system and larger societal power dynamics. Based on this example, the Mediation Model of Purpose and Power is provided for testing in other cases and through other types of research. In addition, the case find that, at a general level, Levi-Montalcini’s work followed the metaphor Johnstone proposed for improvisational narrative: walking backward, aware of resources from the past but stepping spontaneously into an unknown future. Full case analysis presented in Creativity and Improvised Educations: Case Studies for Understanding Impact and Implications.