The Educa Team

SIMON SWALLOW

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

Simon is a business leader and investor, helping a number of New Zealand companies reach their potential. He provides guidance on all aspects of Educa.

gavin foley

GAVIN FOLEY

CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

Gavin bring 14+ years experience as a startup CTO, engineering manager and cloud solutions architect. This includes leading, architecting and building multi-tenant SaaS, CMS, web and mobile applications.
julia koumbassa

JULIA KOUMBASSA

DIRECTOR OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Julia has 20+ years experience in early childhood education as a teacher, trainer, site director and Learning Story advocate. She runs Learning Story Academy and our training services.

CHLOE RAPOZO

DIRECTOR OF MARKETING

Chloe has an extensive background in strategic marketing, brand building, and web development with over 15 years of experience in a variety of industries including not-for-profit, medical aesthetics, online learning,  hospitality, and real estate development. 

ALEXANDRA HARROP

HEAD OF CUSTOMER SUCCESS

Alex brings over a decade of experience in business development and portfolio management to the Educa Customer Success Team. She is passionate about bringing ideas to life, enabling people to succeed and optimizing satisfied customer relationships.

kate smith

KATE SMITH

PRODUCT MANAGER

Kate joins Educa with extensive experience in design, and as a product owner and product manager. Kate is designing new features for users and making Educa easier and easier to use.

JOSH CANDISH

PRINCIPAL ENGINEER

Josh joins Educa with over 9 years of experience in software engineering, full stack development, information technology, and project management. He also enjoys composing music, fitness, football, and water sports.

KASHIF IMITIAZ

LEAD DEVELOPER

Kashif is our lead web developer, handling feature coding and our server architecture. Kashif came to Educa with a great deal of overseas experience. Inspired to work for a company that makes a positive impact on society, he chose Educa.

REGAN VAUSE

PRODUCT DESIGNER

Regan brings expertise in visual design and user experience, developing and implementing successful digital solutions and strategies across a wide range of brands and organizations in NZ and South East Asia.

MATIAS OLIVER

FRONTEND DEVELOPER

Matias joins the Educa Product and Engineering team as a Frontend Developer, providing extensive experience in user interface and user experience development.

TIERRA TALLEY

PARTNERSHIPS & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Tierra’s teaching and business development background has led her to join the Educa team. Tierra believes the authenticity that Learning Stories brings to assessing students is unmatchable and enjoys connecting with educators around the practice of Learning Stories

ben tortise

BEN TORTISE

CUSTOMER SUCCESS (AUSTRALASIA)

Ben joined Educa with a BA in Education and an interest in early childhood education.  He is an empathetic voice, anxious to help customers in any way possible

JAKE NEVIN

CUSTOMER SUCCESS (AUSTRALASIA)

Jake comes from a background in technology. He brings experience in providing technical support and delivering a problem solving approach to meet customers’ needs.

KIMBERLY SENDE

CUSTOMER SUCCESS (US)

KImberly Sende is joining us from Carnegie Learning where she spent 10+ years in customer success.  She helps sites get off to a fast start with Educa and then supports their journey.

JACKIE LINTS

DIRECTOR
Jackie is the co-owner of Educare, a group of New Zealand child care centers. Educare has been a user of Educa for many years. Jackie brings a user perspective to the board.

BUTCH LANGLOIS

DIRECTOR

Butch is an esteemed sales strategist and operations leader in North America with decades of experience directing sales teams, supporting high growth startups, and facilitating best practices.