Our Story
Before the world with School Dismissal Softwares, Pat Bhava, Founder of Pikmykid, spent hours of his time waiting in car pick-up lines at his daughter’s school wondering if we could make it safer for our kids and easier for our teachers. He quickly learned that the school dismissal process in most schools is the most stressful time of the day for the school staff. What’s worse is that, in today’s digitally-driven world, the only technology schools use to manage this process are megaphones, walkie-talkies, and clipboards. Pikmykid team set out to build a simple system to make the school dismissal management smarter, safer, and more efficient by designing a comprehensive school dismissal software that actually works for the schools and teachers while keeping the parents happy and the kids safer. The product of that work is Pikmykid!
The Team
Kristina Allen
Marketing Manager
Ash Bartholomew
Graphic Designer
Ash is a graphic designer whose background ranges from print to digital design. She’s passionate about both the visual and functional aspects of the design process, and believes good design is about much more than beautifying a product. She loves anything green and the outdoors, and can usually be found leading her local hiking club, collecting rocks, or thrifting vintage with her roommate for markets & pop-ups in her spare time.
Rey Bermudez
Engineering
Rey is a Software Engineer with an extensive background in web development. He loves to work in a team environment with Microsoft Technologies. Rey is passionate about water sports and baseball. He earned his Bachelors degree from the Computer Science University in Havana, Cuba.
Pat Bhava
CEO & Co-founder
Pat had been jolted into Pikmykid due to his personal experiences in school carlines. An ex-Naval fighter pilot and deep-sea diver with an MBA and BS in Physics, Pat is experienced in building teams and solving problems. He is a serial entrepreneur, having built and sold a few startups. His previous projects include Sachi Ventures, Inc., Tun-Du-Ree, LLC, and Spiceline Logistics.
Dee Bohne
VP of Sales
Dee brings over 25 years of experience in Education and Edtech sales. Her expertise is in selling enterprise technology solutions and leading sales teams to high growth performance in the Higher Education and the K-12 market. She loves working in SaaS companies that are passionate about the end-user experience and the company mission is to help make teaching and learning easier. She started her career teaching high school and coaching girls’ varsity basketball and graduated as a student athlete at Pepperdine University focused on secondary education.
Sydney Clermont
Senior Director, Customer Success Operations
Sydney is an experienced Corporate Trainer, Educator, and Client Manager. She is knowledgeable about working with various educational systems and implementation. Sydney has a passion for helping others and traveling. She earned her Bachelors of Science in Psychology from the University of Central Florida.
Brii Coleman
Account Manager, Customer Success
Brii is a Training Specialist, her background includes Higher Education software, Education, Administrative roles, and Event Planning. She graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Advertising. She has an interest in anything creative, different cultures, and history. In her spare time she is a foodie, plays games, reads articles and graphic novels, and plans activities with friends or family. She is driven and goal-oriented in all aspects of her life.
Joey Dey
Software Engineer
Joey graduated from USF in December 2019 with a degree in Information Technology. Outside of work he really enjoys being outdoors. He also particularly enjoys spending his time mountain biking and paddle boarding with some friends, or just hanging out watching some Lightning hockey. He's obsessed with Chipotle and can easily eat there a few times a week without getting tired of it, it's just too good.
JR Elliott
CTO
Jonathan Elliot specializes in taking software products from a napkin idea and executing a development strategy that ensures that product successfully makes it to market. When he is not coding, he enjoys spending time with his wonderful wife & driving their vintage cars.
Laura Gassaway
Onboarding Specialist, Customer Success
Laura Gassaway joins us from Charleston, South Carolina. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Middle Tennessee State University in Instrumental Music Education and graduate degree from Anderson University in Instructional Design and Learning Technology. She is passionate about supporting school staff using technology. In her spare time she enjoys running, backpacking, cooking, and hanging out with her cat Charlie.
Mario Giambanco
UI Developer
Mario is a career developer with over 20 years of experience, with a focus on UI Development. Outside of work, Mario enjoys Formula 1, fashion, acrylic painting, 3D printing, and sewing athletic wear. Mario has 4 dogs, 4 cats, and a turtle! There is always pizza in Mario's house and he's even built his own brick pizza oven.
Michelle Gordon
Account Executive
Michelle was born and raised in Michigan but moved to Florida to finish her education at Palm Beach Atlantic University. There she received her Master’s Degree in elementary education and went on to teach elementary school for 8 years in Palm Beach County, Florida. She has two children who attended Palm Beach County Schools and then went on to UCF (Go Knights!) She was in publishing for 20 years - Starting as a consultant and then an account executive for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. She then spent a year with Frog Street Press as the Southeast Regional Sales Manager as well as the South Florida Account Executive. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling, going to church, working out, golfing, listening to live music, and spending time with her friends
Rhonda Harms
VP of Finance
Rhonda received her Bachelors of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Tampa and is a Certified Public Accountant. Before Pikmykid, she was SVP Finance at AFS Technologies, Inc. for 10 years and supported the company through a period of rapid growth and numerous acquisitions, including its sale to Telus Corporation in August 2020 . Prior to AFS, Rhonda was the CFO for Genesis Group, Inc. dba Answers Systems for 18 years. During this time, she was also the Owner and Managing Member of Medical Center Pharmacy, LLC for 8 years. Rhonda is an identical twin, has one son, Michael. She enjoys destination distance races that include Paris, NYC, Chicago, Big Sur and Disney Marathons, and is a Board Trustee/Treasurer of the Dunedin History Museum.
Kylie Hartwig
Account Manager, Customer Success
Kylie has been on a 7+ year journey of customer advocacy, that’s led her into the Finance and Human Resource Sector as well as helping her become an Executive Assistant. That journey has led her to become a valued member of the PikMyKid Support Team. When she’s not working, she enjoys pursuing her artistic side through painting, drinking coffee, and being a mom.
Holly Idzik
Onboarding Specialist, Customer Success
Holly comes from a background in teaching and software sales. She has a bachelor’s in elementary education and a master’s in educational leadership from the University of Central Florida. She is passionate about helping others and building relationships. In her free time, she enjoys teaching yoga and playing with her bulldog and bearded dragon.
Erica Jankowski
Brand Marketing Manager
Erica is an experienced digital strategist who loves helping people. That’s why her ambition is to create compelling brand and content strategies so that people can find the most innovative and effective digital solutions to their problems. She grew up in Hawaii, is also a wedding musician, and loves dogs.
Chitra Kanagaraj
Co-founder
Chitra brings years of IT industry experience & SAAS Product Strategy and Customer Implementations to the Pikmykid team. Most recently, Chitra served as the Strategy Director at Cognizant. She has lead cross-functional teams in multinational fortune 500 companies and excels in delivering market ready technology solutions. She has an MBA from University of South Florida and holds a BS in Electronics Engineering.
Jamie Kunder
Onboarding Specialist, Customer Success
Jamie is an experienced educator and training specialist with a background in both education and educational leadership. She has a passion and drive for helping others achieve success and developing confidence with their abilities. Jamie brings 12 years of experience working within both middle school and elementary school giving her a deep understanding of the unique safety and convenience of the Pikmykid app and its features. Jamie believes reflection is a key component to success as she uses this to exceed goals and continuously improve.
Jenna Knoke
Onboarding Specialist, Customer Success
18Jenna is an experienced educator with over a decade of teaching experience. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from College of Charleston and her Master’s Degree in Reading Education from the University of South Florida. As a teacher, she used Pikmykid in the classroom and is passionate about sharing the platform with other educators in order to make schools a safe place to continue learning. In her free time, she enjoys walking her dog Jerry, Pilates, and is an avid Tampa Bay Lightning fan.
Austin Mathews
Sales Development Team Lead
Austin graduated from UNC - Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Science in Information Science with a focus in Business and Systems Analysis. He has experience teaching at libraries as a volunteer and assisting in data science research at UNC Chapel Hill. He comes from a SaaS background and has an interest in educational technology and how it can help keep kids safe. He enjoys hiking, sprinting, weightlifting, social studies, practicing the harmonica, and making sushi.
Hannah Meador
Customer Success Manager
Hannah received her Bachelor's degree in elementary education from Western Oregon University. Her six years of experience in teaching has given her the background to understand the needs of the teachers, parents, and students who all rely on systems to keep students safe at dismissal. Hannah has also spent time working in retail and customer service in stores and theme parks. In her free time, Hannah enjoys playing video games, exploring Florida's nature, and cooking.
Jeff Miller
Sales Development Representative
Jeff is a graduate of Southeastern University with a Bachelors of Science in Youth Ministry. Since then, he has continued his work with students by managing a Mathnasium and teaching Middle School Math. While working in schools, Jeff dealt first hand with the struggles associated with the dismissal process and hopes to make a difference through PikMyKid. In his spare time, he loves playing D&D, Watching Star Trek, playing the Bass Guitar, and Voice Acting.
Virginia Parish
Senior Director of Marketing
Virginia is a versatile marketing leader with a background in demand generation, marketing operations, and digital strategy. She has a true love for creative problem solving and building marketing strategies that not only work, but scale. When not working, Virginia enjoys spending time in the garden, on the water, or in the kitchen with her husband and their two dogs.
JJ Roberts
Board Member and Director of Public Relations
JJ Roberts has been a successful entrepreneur for over 30 years, founding his first startup in 1984. After the sale of his fourth startup in 2008, he began helping other entrepreneurs navigate the path to success as a mentor. He met Pat as Pikmykid was just beginning. Soon his passion to again, be part of something important, took over and he joined Pikmykid full time. He spends what little spare time he has playing golf, competing in triathlons, or writing his second children’s novel.
Sandra Salgado
Director, Customer Support and Enrollment
Sandra has a Bachelor’s degree in Education, specialization in Spanish language. She is originally from Cuba, where she taught for eight years. She was IT instructor at a business school in New Jersey. She moved to Tampa three years ago. Here she worked for two years as a bilingual paraprofessional at Chamberlain High School and one year as Spanish teacher at Alonso High School. She is married and has two kids. She loves to help people, spending time with her friends and family, and watching TV.
Eric Sala
Renewal Manager, Customer Success
Eric is a business graduate of the University of South Florida with a background in sales support and marketing. He has helped streamline the efficiency of sales teams in the radio broadcast industry but is passionate about keeping kids safe and implementing new ideas. In his spare time, he loves playing guitar, songwriting, photography, and backpacking abroad.
Sara Wernikoff
Sales Development Representative
Sara graduated from the University of Central Florida with her Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education. As an educator for five years, she has a passion to help students and teachers. As a previous Pikmykid user in the classroom, Sara can relate to educators with the struggle of the dismissal process and the ease this platform brings to schools. When she is not working, she enjoys her time outside by the water.
Neha Yadav
Customer Success
Neha is a College Graduate where she studied Anthropology. She has a great interest in the study of human behavior and possesses vast experience in customer support.
She believes in going above and beyond to keep the customer happy and provide them with a satisfactory resolution on time.
Claudette Zoll
Director, Strategic Relations
Claudette, received her degree as an Registered Nurse while raising her four girls. Her passion for education lead her to work for a non-profit school. She worked several years in the school system as an assistant to the Executive Director. There she learned various aspects of running a school. Her dedication to children is what keeps her constantly learning. One day her goal is to travel the world and learn a different language
Bashful
Employee of the Month
Bashful is PikMyKid's resident guard dog & nap expert. He enjoys long walks, welcoming visitors, & raiding the break room fridge.
Meisie
Senior Wooferson
Meisie - Meaning "Girl" in Afrikaans. She is a rescue from Friends of Strays. Has a propensity for always finding work to do. If it is chasing a squirrel or testing out different toys, she is always on the move. Favorite saying "it doesn't taste like nothing".