Our team
We're a diverse team with strong personal connections to TalkingPoints’ mission. We're committed to driving student success by building strong partnerships across families, schools, and communities.
Adam Carruthers
Account Executive
Adam has witnessed firsthand primary and secondary education in Europe and higher education in the United States. This enlightening journey has led to an appreciation regarding the importance of reliable, accurate, and unlimited communication between students, families, and teachers. He is an avid devotee to sharing the positive message of change that comes with accessible technology for students of all populations.
He brings to TalkingPoints over 7 years of progressive consultative sales experience as a top-performer working in the K-12 educational content market serving school districts nationwide. Adam holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Science & Global Studies from Benedictine University and is elated to be presented with the opportunity to connect students, teachers, and parents through the TalkingPoints platform.
Adam Carruthers
Account Executive
Amy Bean
Senior Director of Philanthropy
Amy brings over 15 years of experience to her role as Senior Director of Philanthropy. She has dedicated her career to supporting education and workforce-development focused organizations and has seen first hand the life-trajectory changing power that education can have for young people.
As a fundraising professional, Amy has led annual development efforts, major growth and capital campaigns, and developed multi-tiered corporate partnerships that have raised over $100 million. Amy holds a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from San Francisco State University and currently serves on the Membership Committee for the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ Orange County Chapter.
Amy Bean
Senior Director of Philanthropy
Andrew Unrein
Regional Sales Director
Andrew spent the first 14 years of his career having a direct impact on student learning as a classroom teacher, coach, and building administrator. In 2015, he made the decision to take his knowledge of the education space to the private sector.
Andrew brings with him a wealth of knowledge related to the decision-making structure and process within a school district. Most importantly, he is passionate about making a positive impact for students and families. Andrew holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Kansas State University, and Masters Degrees in Education and Educational Leadership.
Andrew Unrein
Regional Sales Director
Anke Weiss
Product Designer
As a parent in the public school system, Anke has experienced first hand the challenges teachers and parents of all backgrounds have to overcome to ensure an equitable education for all kids.
Anke brings almost 20 years of experience as a product designer to her role at TalkingPoints. One of her greatest joys and motivators has been creating products and services that make an actual difference in people’s lives. Anke has always been surrounded by educators and is most excited when helping companies and nonprofits in the education sector. Anke originally studied photography in Berlin before moving to California. In San Francisco she honed her design skills at SFSU Multimedia Studies Program long before UX design was even a profession.
Anke Weiss
Product Designer
Annie Danilova
Product Manager, Translations
As an immigrant from Russia and mother of two young children who attend school in one of the most diverse school districts in the US, Annie keeps her finger on the pulse of the communities TalkingPoints serves. Both of her parents were ethnic minorities who did not have a chance to graduate high school themselves but encouraged Annie to pursue education and to dream big.
TalkingPoints’ mission to improve student outcomes by eliminating language barriers and engaging the most vulnerable families resonates strongly with Annie. She brings her extensive experience from the translation and software industries to fulfill the promise of a better life for children in underserved communities.
Annie Danilova
Product Manager, Translations
Antonio Bracco
Technical Implementation Specialist
Antonio is passionate about evidence-based work that can be used to help others. As TalkingPoints’ Technical Implementation Specialist, Antonio develops new solutions and software for TalkingPoints’ partners.
Antonio has a degree in Electrical Engineering with a focus on telecommunications from the Republic University in Uruguay.
Antonio Bracco
Technical Implementation Specialist
Aram Gugusian
Software Engineer
Aram is a full stack developer with over 10 years of experience developing software. He has extensive experience on Web infrastructure and Networking and has architected the TalkingPoints web and mobile app. Aram has a master’s degree in Computer Engineering from Catholic University in Uruguay.
Aram Gugusian
Head of Engineering
Aubrey Worley
Product Manager
Aubrey is passionate about education and how it can empower people to build better lives for themselves, their families and their children, especially in low-income communities. She’s seen how education has improved her own life and is dedicated to helping create technology that can do the same for others.
She has experience in marketing, business management, software design and development. As a Product Manager, she loves how business, design, behavioral science, data and technology work together to create innovative products to help make the world a better place. Aubrey studied software development at General Assembly, Psychology at University of California, Irvine and has an MBA in Information Systems from San Francisco State University.
Aubrey Worley
Product Manager
Brett Wheeler
Account Executive
Brett has spent his career partnering with school districts across the country beginning with supporting curricular programs and most recently working with districts to help support equity and diversity via their literacy programs.
Brett holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Biological Sciences from Northern Illinois University. Brett is passionate about helping reduce barriers for families to be actively involved in their student’s education and looks forward to positively impacting student outcomes through his work at TalkingPoints.
Brett Wheeler
Account Executive
Cassandra Lin
Product and Data Fellow
Cassandra is passionate about improving access to education for multilingual families. Her direct service work with Latinx communities led her to TalkingPoints, which she embraced as an innovative, much-needed solution to improve communication between teachers and ELL families.
Cassandra is a recent graduate of Stanford University, where she earned her master’s and bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a minor in Computer Science. She is incredibly excited to utilize her technical skills for good and serve as part of a mission-driven nonprofit team.
Cassandra Lin
Product and Data Fellow
Claudine Ryan
COO and Head of Product
As a first-generation college go-er, Claudine personally experienced how invaluable education can be. As a parent and community member, Claudine believes that parents, regardless of their own backgrounds, can be tremendous champions in their children’s educational success.
Claudine has worked in technology her entire career, primarily focused on consumer digital media, in business development, product and general management roles. More recently, Claudine has turned to building technology for social good, supporting nonprofit education organizations. Claudine studied information technology at University of Virginia and has an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Business.
Claudine Ryan
COO and Head of Product
Courtney Johnson
Account Executive
At an early age, Courtney was surrounded by people from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and walks of life. Being biracial and attending Detroit Public Schools, diversity was celebrated and viewed as a strength. German, Spanish and Chinese were required in her public school curriculum, and Courtney’s love for languages and different cultures led her to Kalamazoo College where she graduated with a Bachelor’s of Arts in International Studies-East Asia and a minor in Sociology.
Working at TalkingPoints allows Courtney to support schools and districts to increase family engagement, and to empower immigrant families to have a direct impact on their children’s success in school. It is a personal mission of hers to be a voice for the underserved and under-resourced communities throughout the US.
Courtney Johnson
Account Executive
Dimetri Duckrey
Partner Success Associate
Dimetri is passionate about improving outcomes for all students – regardless of what languages they speak at home or the zip code in which they live. During his time as a secondary teacher and in the ed tech space, he has seen what is possible when families are engaged and advocating for their scholars. He enjoys bringing families and schools closer together through his work with TalkingPoints.
Dimetri graduated from Rutgers University with a double major in Political Science and Spanish Linguistics and later earned his master’s degree from the University of North Carolina Charlotte in Foreign Language Education. He is a Fulbright scholar and had the opportunity to teach English at a Brazilian university before teaching high school Spanish in Charlotte, NC and Camden, NJ.
Dimetri Duckrey
Partner Success Associate
Emily Gregory
Vice President of Sales
After spending 5 years in education at both the classroom and district level, Emily transitioned into the field of educational technology to positively affect students, nationwide. She comes to TalkingPoints with over a dozen years of experience in leading and coaching highly successful sales teams in the K-12 space, both in startups and well established corporations. She is passionate about the impact technology has on educators, parents, and most importantly, students.
In her experience as a Sales leader, she has had the opportunity to see the bigger picture, organize the details to bring it into better focus, and collaborate cross functionally to knit systems together. Emily holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Oakland University and is thrilled to be able to bridge her love of education with a company so driven by engagement and success.
Emily Gregory
Vice President of Sales
Emily Wilkinson
Senior Finance Manager
Emily is passionate about education’s ability to open doors, open minds, and spark curiosity. She is excited by the endless possibilities that exist at the intersection of technology and social impact. At TalkingPoints, she manages finance and administration functions to help the team and its impact grow and thrive.
Emily has led financial strategy and operations across an array of organizations, industries, and teams. She is fulfilled by using her organizational management, business development, and financial operations background to make a difference in the world, particularly in the lives of children and youth. She studied Psychology at Virginia Tech, where she also received her MBA.
Emily Wilkinson
Senior Finance Manager
Emma Berry
Partner Success Manager
Emma is driven by student success — and knows that starts when schools and families work as a team. As a former English teacher in rural and urban multilingual communities, she grounded her instruction in the power of language and voice. Emma sees her role at TalkingPoints as a natural extension of her classroom experience to ensure all families and teachers have access to the tools to communicate effectively.
In addition to her time in the classroom, Emma is a graduate of the University of Richmond and worked as an instructional coach and learning experience designer for teachers. She is thrilled to be a Partner Success Manager at TalkingPoints to increase family engagement in service of students.
Emma Berry
Partner Success Manager
Erin Murray
Account Executive
Erin comes from 8 years of diverse outside sales experience, including over 3 years in the education industry. This is where Erin found her passion in improving the lives of students, parents, and teachers. As a first-generation college graduate, Erin values how education and technology can promote a positive life.
Erin holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Marketing and Communications from SUNY Fredonia, and is excited about the endless opportunities technology can bring, especially in under-resourced communities.
Erin Murray
Account Executive
Gabriel Castiglioni
Software Engineer
Gabriel is our lead iOS developer and designer with extensive experience in both areas. He studied Computer Science at Republic University in Uruguay and is passionate about building products that address social problems.
Gabriel Castiglioni
Senior Software Engineer
Guillermo Siriani
Software Engineer
Guillermo is passionate about using technology to improve education and helping parents stay engaged in their children’s education. After years working for financial institutions, he felt the need to move to a more fulfilling path and joined TalkingPoints so that he could use his skills to support teachers, families and students.
As our lead AI software engineer, Guillermo works on improving our machine translations and natural language processing capabilities. He is a first generation college graduate and has a degree in Computer Science at Republic University in Uruguay with a focus on Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing.
Guillermo Siriani
Software Engineer
Heather Dooley
Head of Marketing
Heather is inspired by how education can empower students to reach their potential and help build productive healthy communities. As a public school parent in a diverse district, she’s seen how fostering positive connections between schools and families can make a big difference in student learning and the important role that access and inclusion play in building these relationships.
She has spent most of her career in digital marketing, including nearly a decade working in the nonprofit education sector to advance the adoption of effective school practices and help parents understand and use education data. Heather is a graduate of Claremont McKenna College, where she studied history and French.
Heather Dooley
Head of Marketing
Heejae Lim
Founder and CEO
Heejae Lim
Founder and CEO
Ivan Solomon
Partnership Development Associate
At a young age, Ivan’s mother, a middle school ESL teacher, instilled in him the value of education. Since then, he has viewed academics as a means for social advancement, and worked to include others in that vision. During college, he served as director of Young Men’s Circle, Pomona College’s only youth mentorship program, and founded an annual scholarship for the mentees. At TalkingPoints, he supports educators on a national scale.
Ivan earned a bachelor of arts in international relations and Middle Eastern studies from Pomona College before serving as a Fulbright English teacher in Rabat, Morocco. He is an Arabic speaker and is fascinated by intercultural communication.
Ivan Solomon
Partnership Development Associate
Jeremías Casteglione
Dev Ops
Jeremías is passionate about using his technical skillet to build operating systems that help students and their families. Jeremías has worked in IT infrastructure since 2003 and is a natural-born nomad who likes to try to understand how things work while traveling the world.
Jeremías Casteglione
Dev Ops
Kara Davis
Institutional Philanthropy Manager
Kara is passionate about human rights issues and believes language access and human rights go hand-in-hand — access to information in your preferred language is critical to your livelihood, happiness, and success. That’s what inspired her to join TalkingPoints and drives her role as Institutional Philanthropy Manager. She brings nearly a decade of development experience in education, family engagement, and, most recently, the language industry, supporting the growth of a variety of entities reaching immigrant, refugee, and global communities.
Kara graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish & Journalism from New York University and received a Master of Arts in International & Intercultural Communication with a concentration in human rights and migration from the University of Denver.
Kara Davis
Institutional Philanthropy Manager
Kevin Chavez
Customer Success Associate
Kevin is passionate about giving a voice to families who speak English as a second language. As a child of two immigrants, Kevin grew up acting as an interpreter for his parents and teachers.
As a Customer Success Associate, Kevin brings over six years of experience and is dedicated to helping teachers and families connect with one another. Kevin is finishing his bachelor’s degree from San Francisco State University where he is majoring in liberal studies and minoring in marketing.
Kevin Chavez
Customer Success Associate
Lauren Fogel
Senior Product Manager
Lauren is dedicated to driving impact and social change by working at the intersection of technology and social service – she is excited to bring that focus to TalkingPoints. For over 20 years, Lauren held product development leadership positions in both nonprofit and for-profit organizations. She led the expansion of a resource information and referral platform that supports under-represented communities and led the development of online products in higher education STEM disciplines that are in use by millions of students around the world.
An experienced mentor and coach, Lauren co-founded a cross-functional mentor group and donates her time to different organizations. Earlier in her career, Lauren lived in Asia and those experiences of living in dramatically different cultures continue to influence her work and perspective. Lauren graduated from Haverford College in Pennsylvania with a degree in English Literature and Women’s Studies.
Lauren Fogel
Senior Product Manager
Martín Calcagno
Software Engineer
Martin leads Android app development and works with AI that are integral to TalkingPoints 2.0. He studied Computer Science at Republic University in Uruguay and is passionate about mathematics.
Martín Calcagno
Software Engineer
Mona Kiani
Director of Partner Success
A former middle and high school mathematics teacher, Dr. Mona Kiani is passionate about transforming the field of education with engaging, real-world learning experiences for students and the community that result in social action. She comes to TalkingPoints with over 15 years of experience in education and in Ed Tech both locally and internationally. She is passionate about addressing the needs of the whole child and engaging families as partners in that endeavor, especially for the most underserved communities.
At TalkingPoints, Mona oversees the Partner Success Team and all partnerships. She has a Doctorate Degree from UC San Diego in Educational Leadership with research focusing on how to support at-risk students with emotional intelligence, a Master’s Degree in Education from UCLA, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Managerial Economics from UC Davis. She’s been a guest lecturer in University Teacher Ed Programs, conferences, podcasts, and the 2016 recipient of the National InspirED Changemaker award given by Yale. Her diverse experiences within the field of education allow her to best serve the various needs of our partners and as a leader in our organization.
Mona Kiani
Director of Partner Success
Nancy Lee Bromberger
Head of Partnerships
Nancy brings over fifteen years of experience in education to her role as Head of Partnerships. As a classroom teacher in Anacostia, Washington DC and head of a literacy program for low-income students in San Francisco, she witnessed the power of partnering with parents in their children’s education to support student success.
At TalkingPoints, Nancy oversees all school and district partnerships nation-wide to support improving outcomes for students, especially in under-resourced communities. Nancy earned a master’s degree in Education with a concentration in Policy, Organization, and Leadership Studies (POLS) from Stanford University and a bachelor’s degree in East Asian Studies from Boston University.
Nancy Lee Bromberger
Head of Partnerships
Nelson Campos
Software Engineer
Nelson is our lead backend developer. He has extensive knowledge on SQL and Mongo databases and has worked on TalkingPoints SMS infrastructure and push notifications. He studied Computer Science at Republic University in Uruguay.
Nelson Campos
Senior Software Engineer
Pablo Márquez
Software Engineer
Pablo is passionate about using his technology background to improve education. Pablo studied Biochemistry at the Science University of Uruguay and computer science in the private sector. His academic work included combining biology and programming as a bioinformatician, and he tried to find key genes that help combat diseases caused by parasites, like Toxoplasmosis.
In addition to his academic work, he has worked as a game developer in several educational and children-oriented projects. Pablo joined TalkingPoints to collaborate on the development of the web and mobile apps, working on adding new features and improving the experience and accessibility for parents and teachers alike.
Pablo Márquez
Software Engineer
Paige DeLozier
Marketing and Community Associate
Paige has a passion for education that ranges from classroom instruction to student and family engagement and teacher advocacy. She finds great purpose and satisfaction in participating in the development and distribution of resources that benefit all stakeholders in the world of education.
She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University with a BS in Interdisciplinary Studies with a K-6 focus and is a licensed educator in the state of Tennessee with an ESOL endorsement. As Marketing and Community Associate, she gets to use her teaching experience, passion for communicating and building relationships, and belief in TalkingPoints mission to help teachers, students, and families find success.
Paige DeLozier
Marketing and Community Associate
Rina Park
Director of Research
Rina is passionate about aligning education technology to improving student learning. Rina is a quantitative education researcher who specializes in using data-driven methods to answer causal inference questions. At TalkingPoints, Rina helps teachers and parents communicate better and collaboratively work towards effective student learning.
Rina received a Ph.D in Economics and Education from Columbia University (Teachers College), M.S in Statistics from Stanford University, and B.S in both Economics and Applied Mathematics from UC Berkeley with distinction in general scholarship. Prior to joining TalkingPoints, Rina worked as a postdoctoral scholar at Golub Capital Social Impact Lab, Stanford GSB and a Research Associate from Community College Research Center, Teachers College Columbia University
Rina Park
Director of Research
Selina Macias
Customer Success Associate
Selina is passionate about removing barriers through yielding the power of communication to people. As someone who has worked closely with students from multicultural backgrounds and an avid language learner herself, she understands the importance of understanding one another to bring about engagement and understanding.
She is a graduate from the College of Mount Saint Vincent with a B.A. in English Literature and Minor in Spanish, where she has gone on to pursue opportunities in both classroom and online instruction for ELL’s and children from various social and economic backgrounds. As a Customer Success Associate, Selina gets to use her teaching experience, bilingualism, and zeal for building relationships to empower teachers, students, and families using TalkingPoints in the classroom and beyond.
Selina Macias
Customer Success Associate
Steve Horton
Regional Sales Director
Steve is passionate about personal and team development. Coaching individuals to maximize the ownership of their success and seeing them achieve their goals is what motivates him each day. Steve believes that to make a positive impact, he should always be learning and growing himself.
Steve also believes that one of the primary goals of education is to create lifelong learners, and especially in today’s ever-changing world, we have more opportunities and more resources than ever before. Making it easier to give students that spark of curiosity is one of the things that attracted Steve to TalkingPoints. Steve holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Business Management from Jacksonville State University and is also a volunteer mentor to boys through his local church.
Steve Horton
Regional Sales Director
Sujeiry Gonzalez
Partner Success Manager
A former teacher and Parent Liason, Sujeiry believes in empowering multilingual families by equipping them with information and providing them with access. Born in NYC to Dominican parents, Sujeiry knows first-hand the importance of family advocacy and engagement. She has a passion for bridging the communication gap between multilingual families and school administrators.
Sujeiry is a graduate of Rowan University with an MA in Writing Arts and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a BA in Communications and Psychology. She is also a New York State licensed ELA educator. Sujeiry loves being able to continue to make an impact through her work at TalkingPoints.
Sujeiry Gonzalez
Partner Success Manager
Veronica Tappe
Philanthropy and Operations Manager
Veronica cares deeply about improving education and student outcomes in America. Education played a positive role in Veronica’s life and she has dedicated her career to working on mission-driven nonprofit teams.
Veronica has experience in operations, human resources, and development. Veronica studied Sociology at Southern Oregon University and received a certificate in Human Resources from California State University, East Bay.
Veronica Tappe
Philanthropy and Operations Manager
Board of directors
Heejae Lim
Founder and CEO
Heejae Lim
Founder and CEO
Dan Braga
Interim Board Chair
Dan Braga is a Partner at The Zaf Group, a family office investment firm. He leads the direct investing activities and serves on the Board of all Zaf Group companies. Previously, Dan was with McKinsey & Company for 17 years, serving as Partner in the Chicago Office. He holds a BA from the University of Michigan, an MBA from MIT, and an MPA from Harvard.
Dan Braga
Interim Board Chair
Tyler Coats
Treasurer and board member
Tyler Coats
Treasurer and board member
Join us to make a difference,
to change lives
Our team
Our fast-growing team is focused on the best experiences for our teachers and families.
At TalkingPoints, we are passionate about changing our education system for the better, and we believe deeply in the value of what we do. We bring an empathetic, entrepreneurial spirit to our work—and we have fun while we’re at it!
What we offer
- An incredible opportunity to build a mission-driven, rapidly growing startup tech nonprofit
- Competitive salary, full coverage health insurance, unlimited vacation, 401K, commuter and flexible spending benefits
- Casual work environment in San Francisco Bay Area; supporting flexible/remote
Our organizational values
User & mission orientation
We are devoted to our mission with empathy towards the communities we serve.
All in together
We go above and beyond the job description, working together as a team.
Agile & action-oriented
We get things done, knowing that our progress is urgent to our communities.
Always learning
We are always learning, with a growth mindset, to reach our our full potential.
Boldly courageous
We take risks in order to achieve big things.
Resourceful
We are creative, solution-oriented, and "Uruguayo" (which means "scrappy" in Spanish).
