September 22, 2021
Meet our team of executives: Alan Sitomer, Joe Gabaldon, and Benjamin O'Gradney.
The Mastery Coding team is proud to have such phenomenal leaders!
Introducing…
What inspired him to create Mastery Coding: Alan came from the world of traditional education and saw first-hand how emerging technologies were changing the landscape of education. In the classroom, his students were ecstatic about gaming and technology. Students wanted to learn about tech, and Alan knew what needed to be done. It became Alan's mission to bring coding education to schools across the country.
Specialty:
Alan is an expert in public speaking. He has spoken in more than 40 states for conferences, book festivals, and school districts. He is also a phenomenal writer and the author of more than 20 different young adult and children’s books!
Hobbies: Alan loves practicing yoga, going to the beach, vacationing, and telling stories.
Fun fact: Alan is allergic to mangoes!
Why he believes in the value of coding education:
“Industrial revolutions displace great swaths of workers. We’re in one right now! There’s no doubt that AI, virtual reality, big data, etc. will contribute to the loss of jobs.
But, industrial revolutions also give birth to many, many more new, better, and higher-paying jobs! It is my charge to prepare students to fill those roles as they enter the working world. In these modern times, computer science literacy is key.”
— Alan L. Sitomer
What inspired him to join Mastery Coding:
Joe is inspired by people who “are wildly talented, who work hard to promote personal and professional improvement, and those who as a matter of personal investment continue their educational journey understanding the importance in perfecting their craft.” He saw all of these attributes and more when he met the Mastery Coding team!
According to Joe, Mastery Coding’s “shared passion to always look to perfect what they deliver in their work product is vital to the impact it will have in the lives of those who endeavor to improve upon their knowledge. Also, the awareness to pathways in computer technologies is reflected in the quality of curriculum they build for the benefit of young students.”
Specialties:
Joe is an expert in executive leadership, organizational structure, strategic planning, and business systems.
Hobbies: Joe loves traveling and spending time with his family. He also loves to garden and to watch and play sports!
Fun fact: Joe has completed several marathons!
Why he believes in the value of coding education:
“So much of our world and its needs are invariably dependent on and lean to programming.
With Mastery Coding and its mission to ‘empower students to meet the challenges of tomorrow through intelligent technology education’ , the resulting pathways in coding and programming careers offers students in all social classes the opportunity for great earning potential as coding and programming professionals.”
— Joe Gabaldon
What inspired him to join Mastery Coding:
According to Ben, “Two words: Alan Sitomer”. Ben met Alan in 2007, while Ben was working for a publishing company that had just hired Alan to create his first educational program. The two were fast friends, and Ben was floored by how amazing of a teacher Alan was. For the next 9 years, they worked together on a variety of projects with several different companies.
In 2016, Alan called Ben up and approached him “about this crazy idea he had for a computer science literacy company”. With great confidence in Alan, and both passion for and expertise in education, Ben joined the Mastery Coding team with enthusiasm. Today, he’s exceedingly proud of the progress our company has already made.
Specialties:
Ben has much experience in both education and leading sales departments. Before Mastery Coding, he was planning, implementing, and monitoring curriculum, professional development, and school-wide improvement plans. His work has turned failing schools into some of the top achieving schools in the country!
Hobbies: Ben is committed to a lifestyle of wellness, health, and physical activity - his family is too! Together, he, his wife, and his three teenage children love to engage in competitive sports.
Fun fact: Ben has two hairless cats!
Why he believes in the value of coding education:
“Coding is a basic literacy in the digital age. Kids need to work with and understand the technology around them.
Having children learn coding at a young age prepares them for the future. Coding helps children with communication, creativity, math, writing, and confidence.”
— Ben O'Gradney
.png)
Olivia has background in behavioral ecology and data analysis. She develops and implements SEO, CRO, social media strategy, and authors multi-disciplinary content for our blog, & our social media sites. She's contributed to many of the STEM tie-ins within our curriculum, authored our SEL course, and is a specialist in neurodiverse learning strategies.
