Julie Ament Gran is the Vice President of Member Services and Partner Relations. She leads the member experience team to ensure outstanding customer service for our older adults and develops strong working relationships with our strategic partners. She has over 25 years of experience driving customer satisfaction and leading field teams focused on execution. Julie started her career at Dayton-Hudson-Marshall Fields, a Target corporation which later became Macy’s where she held a variety of roles, including store manager and VP of special services. After Macy’s, Julie joined Lifetouch where she managed field training and leadership development, as well as sales operations. She then led field team photography and operations of a team with over 5,000 employees across 85 locations.
Brian Balestri is GrandPad's Chief Technology Officer. He determines the technology and scaling strategy for making GrandPad a global platform. Brian started his career in manufacturing operations but quickly switched to information technology. While working with companies like Target, Wells Fargo, and Best Buy as a program manager, Brian launched and sold multiple startups centered around the web and technology. Brian was attracted to GrandPad because of their mission and the desire to make a positive difference in the world.
Danielle Balik is a Member Experience Manager. She manages and leads a team of Member Experience agents who provide care and support to our GrandPad members and their families. Danielle works closely with our Partner Relations team and our business partners to ensure exceptional customer care to their clients. Danielle comes to GrandPad with many years of business administration, customer service, and insurance experience.
Lori Balik-Maldonado is a Member Experience Manager. She leads the Daily Connect remote care team and helps create efficiencies within the Daily Connect systems and processes. Lori comes to GrandPad with 19+ years of experience across various customer service roles. She has also worked for Target in the Human Resources department.
Derrick Barksdale is GrandPad's Director of Security and Privacy. He is responsible for establishing and administering information security, privacy, and disaster recovery strategies and procedures for GrandPad. Derrick brings over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry implementing, supporting, and securing complex IT systems and applications. Most recently, Derrick was a Director of Business Risk and Security at Ally Financial, overseeing the execution of Information Security Risk Management practices across dedicated businesses. Derrick obtained his Doctorate in 2018 with a concentration in Leadership, which he has used to enhance his leadership skills, grow his business acumen, and effectively build valuable partnerships.
Ryan leads GrandPad's engineering, design, and product management teams. He has been with GrandPad since day one when he built the very first software prototype. Although he is a mobile software engineer at heart, he is very passionate about working with all variations of thriving and emerging technologies, especially those that have the potential to positively affect the lives of others. Ryan has also taught introductory computer science and mobile software development courses at Chapman University.
Earl Chen is GrandPad's Chief Data Officer. He and his team leverage GrandPad’s data assets to inform critical business and product decisions while ensuring data security and privacy. Earl brings more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry to GrandPad. He has delivered technology solutions ranging from trading desk tools and volatility calculators to authentication and information security. Most recently, Earl was an operational risk executive for Bank of America covering fraud risk for the enterprise.
Tim leads GrandPad's Operate team. He and his team focus on keeping the platform available and running smoothly. Tim brings 20+ years experience in software engineering and architecture to GrandPad. Most recently, he led technical teams at Shutterfly. He is passionate about continually improving and loves GrandPad's mission of improving the lives of seniors.
Jay Hansen works on business development for GrandPad. He focuses on working with new business to business customers, strategic partnerships, developing new channels for customer growth both nationally as well as internationally. Jay is a veteran of business development, having worked in the high tech industry for 30+ years in North America as well as the Asia Pacific region, Europe, and South America.
Erin Jacobsen is GrandPad's Member Experience Training Manager. She trains and provides direct support to GrandPad's member experience team. Previously, Erin taught preschool and worked with children with behavioral disabilities.
Dave Jaqua is GrandPad's Chief Operating Officer. He focuses on strategic partnerships, global operations, and customer support growth. Dave is a veteran of the Minneapolis consulting scene with over 25 years of experience leading large change initiatives and helping clients leverage technology for competitive advantage. At GrandPad, he drives the global support capability to ensure seniors and their families have a simple and smooth experience. Dave and his team also help key GrandPad business partners successfully launch, market, and integrate GrandPad into their brand and offering.
Sadie Johnson is GrandPad's Account Executive/Office Trainer Supervisor. She manages the account executive team and trains our partners on how to utilize the GrandPad in their business. Sadie comes to GrandPad after having worked in the healthcare field for many years where she held a variety of roles in patient care. Those roles included work in mental health, surgery, geriatrics, and Emergency Room Services.
Mo leads GrandPad's QA and DevOps teams, managing the release cycle of all GrandPad software projects as well as ensuring GrandPad services are running 24/7/365. He also manages GrandPad's IT and tech support team. Mo brings over 10 years of experience in the tech industry, having worked as an IT consultant, providing both hardware and software solutions, and a certified technician at Apple.
Scott is GrandPad's Chief Executive Officer, leading the company as it builds a platform that empowers seniors of all ages and technological skills to connect with family, friends, and caregivers. Having previously developed user-friendly software for companies such as Target, Best Buy, and Bank of America, as well as having led the mobile technology innovation group at Intuit, Scott brings a wealth of knowledge and leadership experience to the team. He is a practitioner of the LEAN Startup Method, which emphasizes putting users first and designing specifically to their needs. With GrandPad, he strives to create a world where no seniors are lonely or isolated.
Isaac Lien is GrandPad's Head of Innovation & Employee Experience. He is responsible for leading innovative initiatives, as well as developing the GrandPad culture and employee experience. Driven by his grandmother's inability to use current communication tools, such as email and Facebook, he continually seeks innovative ways to keep older generations connected to their younger family members. This exploration inspired him to found GrandPad with his father, Scott.
Corey leads the engineering team at GrandPad. He has been with GrandPad since 2016 and enjoys seeing the delight on a senior's face when they can connect to their family with a GrandPad. He attended Chapman University and previously worked at Apple Retail as a technician.
Laura Ollendick is a Member Experience Supervisor. She came to GrandPad in 2018 after managing a customer support team for 10 years at Seed Savers Exchange. She brings over 20 years of experience in Customer Service/Management. Laura is passionate about supporting the Member Experience team, as well as nourishing and building relationships with our members and partners
Mark Phillips is GrandPad's Chief Financial Officer. He has extensive experience in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and fundraising. Mark has spent his entire career in Silicon Valley. His leadership spans early-stage startups through public companies. Most recently, Mark served as the CFO of Reputation.com, Inc.
As GrandPad’s Director of Hardware Engineering, Mark ensures GrandPad’s physical products deliver the full GrandPad experience and meets the needs of our Members, Partners, and our internal Support Teams. After several years honing his hardware platform skills with major business automation platform companies, and as the Distributed Systems Architect for a major financial institution, Mark worked for the largest consumer electronics retailer in the US for over two decades. His time there included rotations through Information Technology, Technology Strategy, Private Label Product Engineering, and Store Experience Automation Teams, culminating with leading their Digital Innovation Lab.
Barb Severson is GrandPad’s Corporate Controller, leading the day to day finance function. Barb has over 20 years of experience working at fast paced, quickly growing companies – driving improvement and efficiency in processes along with building solid and reliable teams. Prior to joining GrandPad, Barb held senior finance positions at A’viands and Global Aviation Services where she led finance teams of varying sizes, along with playing key roles in the sales and operations arenas.
Christa Taylor is a GrandPad Member Experience Manager. She manages the member experience team and oversees daily operations. Christa brings 20+ years of leadership experience to the team and has a background in sales and customer service. Previously, Christa owned her own business working with people of all ages.
David Tyler is GrandPad's Chief Architect, responsible for planning the technical design of the GrandPad platform. He has been with GrandPad since its founding. Previously, David taught computer science at Chapman University, worked as a software engineer at DevIO, and was the lead developer for MLAT, a Chapman University research group that focused on building a behavioral tracking app for children with Autism.
Nathan Vogt is Director of Strategic Accounts at GrandPad. Prior to joining GrandPad, he spent over 15 years providing software and consulting services to Medicare Advantage plans. He joined GrandPad because he shares its mission and believes it has a tremendous impact on improving healthcare for seniors.
Chris Woodson is a Partner Relations and Account Executive Manager. She and her team provide resources and support to GrandPad partners to enhance the partner relationships, and to achieve partner goals and initiatives. Chris came to GrandPad with over 20 years of experience in non-profit and higher education administration.