Aravind is highly experienced in educational technology. Before starting Lrnr he ran the Digital Innovation Group at Pearson and built a publisher first eReader for iOS, as well as several other blockbuster apps. He helped put Pearson ahead of competition in the Mobile domain.
He led the development and successful implementation of Pearson’s first highly scalable K-12 LMS in 2001 which is still in use today with millions of student users under the name Pearson SuccessNet.
In his free time, you can get him excited for long hikes on a mountain, rowing and kayaking, biking, scuba diving and sci-fi movies.
Venkat Viswanathan is a technology leader who brings 2 decades of experience building scalable products in eCommerce for brands like Adidas, Uniqlo, Under Armour, etc., handling daily volumes of over a Million users.
Before joining Lrnr, Venkat led the engineering efforts at SingPost eCommerce, the largest eCommerce service provider in Asia Pacific region. He built ezyCommerce and Omigo marketplace at SingPost.
Venkat holds a MS in Statistics from the reputed IIT Kanpur. A sports enthusiast; anytime up for a game of Chess, Badminton, Pingpong or a Marathon.
Davmarius is a big advocate for OER, she has authored complete course curriculums for schools including teaching and learning methods with several videos. She has a B.A. in Psychology and a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Tennessee.
Her passion for education and her desire for student academic and life success led her to volunteer as a teacher at after school programs.
Carrie Hughes is a graduate of the University of Houston Clear Lake with a BA in Biology and a MS in Biological Science. She taught 10th grade Biology for ten years then made the move to higher education. She has currently been teaching Majors Biology, Anatomy & Physiology, and Microbiology at San Jacinto College – Central Campus for the last fifteen years and would rather be nowhere else. In her free time she enjoys traveling with her husband and two daughters. She enjoys exploring National Parks on long road trips enjoying hiking, river rafting, horseback riding, and zip-lining along the way. Visiting all fifty states is on her “Bucket List.” She only has eleven more states to go!”
Dr. Burge retired after twenty years of equine veterinary practice and found a new career as a full-time professor of Human Anatomy and Physiology. She has two sons, a geriatric pit bull, and a cat with a questionable attitude.
Dr. Duly is highly experienced in leveraging technology for student success. After graduating from Oberlin she served abroad for three years; continuing her Ph.D. studies, she led seminars on cross-cultural communication, conflict transformation as well as de-escalation interventions with violent youth. She has diverse work experience, e.g. as a professor, consultant, city government administrator, mom, and has published 5 editions of her popular handbook on communication and conflict along with other research. She advocates for OER, social entrepreneurship, and innovative technology for global sustainability.
Melissa Ha earned a B.S. in Biological Sciences from California State University, Chico and an M.S. in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology from University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her graduate research examined how season, evolutionary relatedness, and floral similarity affect the outcome of pollinator-mediated interactions in different plant species. She currently teaches introductory biology, microbiology, and anatomy and physiology at Mohave Community College in Kingman, AZ. She enjoys sewing, painting, reading, hiking, and spending time with her husband and pets.
Cynthia E. Morgan Ph.D. is a graduate from the University of Texas, El Paso, with a Doctoral degree in Pathobiology. Concentrations were in ecology, evolution and myrmecology. She has taught at several institutions of higher education to include University of Texas, El Paso, Austin Peay State University and Lord Fairfax Community College. She raised four children while finishing her doctorate. Now she lives with her loving husband, two cats and a dog.
Rafael Mayer is Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Khronos LLC, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor in New York City. Prior to his founding Khronos, Rafael was Director of Software Development at Franklin Electronic Publishers in Mt. Holly, New Jersey. Rafael led a software development team specializing in reference software for hand-held electronic platforms. Rafael graduated Cum Laude from the University of Pennsylvania, receiving a B.Sc. in Economics from the Wharton School. Rafael serves as Board Chair for the KIPP NYC charter schools.
MD of Ratna Sagar P. Ltd., one of India’s largest Textbook publishing houses. Ratna Sagar is a strategic investor for Lrnr. Ratna Sagar has also established key partnerships with Wiley to bring high quality content to Indian students under Dr. Jain’s leadership
As Chegg’s Chief Learning Officer, Nathan is responsible for student achievement, overseeing all aspects of Chegg’s self-directed learning tools, which includes content development and publisher relations. Nathan has dedicated his career to putting students first and representing their interests within the world of educational publishing, having served at Bowker, Pearson, and Jones & Bartlett prior to joining Chegg. Nathan attended Elon University in North Carolina, receiving his BA in History and English and continued his education at Stevens Institute of Technology, in New Jersey. In his spare time, Nathan enjoys traveling and tearing up the outdoor trails.
Mark is the founder and managing partner at Good Harbor Partners and also a partner at LearnLaunch. Mark provides corporate development, strategy and M&A services to exceptional ed-tech companies.
Mark has co-founded, built and/or served as CEO or Executive Chairman for leading publishing, technology and community companies, including TakeNote, The Daily Jolt, CollegiateLink, and The Custom Publishing Group. He lead the commercialization of CUPID that later became NetPaper.
Mark is a member of the Cornell University Entrepreneurship Advisory Council and the Quill and Dagger Honorary Society.
David is a graduate of the University of Connecticut and has worked extensively in higher education publishing. During his career David has held a range of leadership positions allowing him to collaborate with the best authors, editorial groups, and media development teams in the industry. Most recently David was the president of WebAssign, the largest independent online homework provider. At OpenStax College David hopes to contribute to the teams effort of improving access to high quality materials by working with authors, developers, and partners to substantially lower costs for students.
Jade is a member of the Executive Team at Flat World Education, an education technology company that partners with colleges and universities to improve learning outcomes for students.
A digitally fluent education and learning materials leader, Jade mastered the business from the ground up at Barnes & Noble Education as the former Chief Product Officer and Vice President of Books and Digital Strategy.
She is an experienced leader in organizational change management and cross-functional team building and has spent her career dedicated to finding the best learning solutions for students.
