Meet the Team
At Thea, we are a group of technologists, educators, and mentors who are passionate about helping others succeed. We are energized by the positive potential for artificial intelligence to revolutionize how we learn. We are working hard to help fulfill AI’s promise of enabling interactive, adaptive, personalized learning experiences that drive insight and mastery.
Partnership Team
Anthony
Anthony has decades of experience in Big Data and AI. He co-founded, led as CEO, and sold Applied Predictive Technologies to Mastercard where he served as President, Applied Analytics. He has been named a Technology Entrepreneur of the Year by EY, was a consultant with McKinsey & Company, and was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley. Anthony enjoys playing the piano (poorly) and singing (off-key). Anthony is Thea’s CEO.
Yale | Stanford Business School
Emily
Emily is an innovator and experienced executive across education and social impact. Emily founded and led DC Prep, a high-performing charter school network serving thousands of students in Washington, DC. Other roles included launching new initiatives at Ashoka and evaluating education start-ups at New Mountain Capital. With three kids, two cats, and one husband, Emily enjoys the gym. Emily co-leads Thea’s partnership efforts.
UNC | Harvard Kennedy School
Greg
Greg is a leader in education and finance, having served as Chief Business Officer at Guild Education, a multi-billion-dollar leader in education finance mobilizing the corporate world to solve the US skills crisis. Greg led partnerships with universities, ed-tech, and corporations, transforming how businesses advance employees’ careers. Personally, Greg recently completed culinary training. Greg co-leads Thea’s partnership efforts.
University of Virginia
Marek
Marek is an expert in analytics, AI, and technology with deep experience advising Fortune 500 management teams. Prior roles include leading Mastercard’s Data & Services global team for sales and service to merchants. At APT, Marek leveraged his computer science background and technical knowledge to connect product and client impact. Marek enjoys lawncare and basketball (both playing and watching). Marek is Thea’s President.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Lauren
Lauren has years of experience as a people and process leader at rapidly growing, mission driven startups. Prior roles include working as a Coach and Operations and People Manager at Guild Education. One of Lauren’s early (and most stressful jobs) was leading kids on backcountry trips throughout the mountains of Southwestern Colorado. Lauren co-leads Thea’s Student Outreach and Community Management.
University of Denver
Maria
Maria’s background in Sociology and her experience in coaching and leadership such as serving as Manager of Education Coaching at Guild Education provides the foundation for how she transforms initiatives from good to great, connects people and ideas, and mentors for success. Maria loves music-oriented activities, including Latin dancing and workout classes. Maria co-leads Thea’s Student Outreach and Community Management.
The College of New Jersey
Mike
Mike is an expert technologist with a passion for culture and architectural excellence. Prior roles included Vice President at Mastercard responsible for technology foundations underpinning Mastercard’s customer-facing software platforms. Outside of work, Mike enjoys viewing wildlife and growing herbs and oyster mushrooms. Mike leads Thea’s technology team.
Princeton University
Technology, Marketing, Advisory Team
Dan
Dan is a proven people and technology leader for high profile, high impact, large scale deployments. Prior roles include Senior Vice President, Enterprise Technology at Mastercard and Senior Vice President, Operations at APT. Dan’s expertise spans Commercial Technologies, Information Security, and scaling Enterprise Solutions. At home, Dan and his wife raise boys and “keep” bees. Dan guides Thea’s technical operations.
Auburn University
James
James is an experienced technology leader with cross-functional talents cutting across algorithms and design. Prior roles include technical lead at HubSpot where James managed a six-person engineering team across large project release cycles and roles at APT and Mastercard including Senior Software engineer on the Core Platform team. Personally, James performs improv at multiple DC venues. James is a Lead Engineer at Thea.
Georgia Institute of Technology
Kevin
Kevin is an experienced technology leader with deep expertise in consumer applications. Prior roles include co-lead server engineer for DomiNations, a hit multiplayer videogame with over 50 million downloads worldwide. Kevin’s experience also includes software engineering roles at Appian Corporation. Outside of work, Kevin enjoys playing (and sometimes writing!) songs on the guitar. Kevin is a Lead Engineer at Thea.
University of Maryland
Mary-Charlotte
Mary Charlotte is an accomplished marketer with a focus on analytics and measurement. Prior roles include Associate Director of Business Intelligence at Mindshare supporting Discover Credit Cards and Nestle as well as Experience Executive at MESH supporting Delta, Bank of America, LG, and Hershey’s. MC enjoys studying random topics on Thea to create our “Question of the Day”. Mary Charlotte is Director of Marketing at Thea.
Southern Methodist University
Mat
Mat is a distinguished engineer with a deep expertise in development operations, infrastructure scaling, and software development. Prior roles include Principal Engineer and Distinguished Engineer at Mastercard and APT. Mat has led teams and technical efforts including successful scaling of core client-facing platforms. Outside of work, Mat is an avid pickleball player. Mat is a Principal Engineer at Thea.
Carnegie Mellon University
Patrick
Patrick has deep experience growing companies from start-up to success with a focus on go-to-market excellence. Prior roles include President and Chief Operating Officer, Applied Predictive Technologies. Patrick serves as a Board Member and advisor to numerous companies including MarginEdge, Precise Target, Courier Health, and 4G Clinical. Patrick enjoys being blunt with a wry, knowing smile. Patrick is an advisor to Thea.
Duke University | Harvard Law School
Will
Will is a skilled engineer with a particularly deep expertise in machine learning. Prior to a software engineering role at Mastercard, Will studied Computer Science at Dartmouth and was awarded a Goldwater Scholarship for his work in neuroscience and education linking human learning and memory. Will enjoys frustrating his colleagues by outperforming them on Thea tests. Will is a Senior Software Engineer at Thea.