Abre’s co-founders, Chris and Zach, started their careers in the classroom as math and history teachers.
Collectively, they’ve worn many of the hats in education from administrators, to coaches, to CTO/Tech Directors. Abre truly is a platform created by educators for educators.
Chris and Zach’s first meeting was serendipitous, engaging, and frankly, humorous. They’d love to share it with you over a drink sometime.
But to make a long story short, they became somewhat obsessed with why education software was so siloed. Why did so much of it still look like it came out of Geocities circa 1999? Why was it not useful? Why didn’t it actually help students and their communities? Why was it so expensive?
They felt that the market didn’t have an answer. So they created Abre.
Through consolidated solutions and meaningful connections, we ignite the ‘aha’ moments that open the future for the whole child and the community.
Our mission is to open learning communities by connecting what matters.
We are lifelong learners with decades of experience in both the classroom and in technology.
SVP of Sales
A seasoned Senior Vice President of Sales, Laura is deeply committed to empowering the community of talent she works with to cultivate world-class business and sales organizations.
While she is passionate about driving professional success, her greatest joy comes from her role as a dedicated wife and mother to her two adorable children.
Chief Finance Officer / Chief Operations Officer
Fueled by helping technology companies maximize their growth and impact opportunity, Kelly has spent 15 years leading finance and operations teams at some of the most successful organizations.
As a native to the Pacific Northwest, Kelly enjoys staying active outdoors with her family and enjoying a good glass of wine while reading a great book.
SVP of Business Development | Former Educator
With more than 20 years of experience as an educator and EdTech leader, Nicole is a passionate advocate for change and innovation. Nicole embraces opportunities to partner with local, state, and national leaders to ensure each and every student is set up for success in school and life.
SVP of Client Experience | Former Elementary Teacher
Christie is a former elementary and middle school teacher who has spent more than a decade building and scaling customer-facing teams. She's inspired to support educators effectively leverage technology to solve real and pressing challenges with a sharp focus on driving customer outcomes and surpassing expectations.
In her free time, she enjoys staying active in the Utah mountains, rivers, and parks with her family, listening to various podcast genres, and reading a good thriller.
Co-Founder | Chief Product Officer | Board | Former High School Teacher
Former Math Education Teacher turned Chief Product Officer at Abre, Chris wrote the initial code that evolved into a comprehensive platform serving his district's staff, students, and families, and now serves as Chief Product Officer at Abre, a company born from a product developed in a school district.
As a loving husband and father to a 9-year-old daughter and a 6-year-old son, he treasures the time spent with his family, making memories and enjoying life’s simple pleasures.
CEO | Board
James is the Chief Executive Officer at Abre where he focuses on leading company growth, operations, and talent strategies. He has spent his entire career in the education industry, most recently at DreamBox Learning, successfully leading sales, customer experience, and business operations. Prior to DreamBox he also held leadership positions at Hobsons and MasteryConnect.
His passion is helping scale social impact companies focused on improving the lives and futures of students and educators throughout the world. He has an MBA from Xavier University and BS in Marketing from Clemson University. He enjoys traveling, learning, skiing, and coaching team members to achieve their professional goals.
Co-Founder | Chief Innovation Officer | Former Teacher, Tech Director
Zach is a learner, educator, entrepreneur, husband, father, and generally well-rounded geek who finds the world endlessly fascinating. In addition to co-founding Abre, he’s worn most hats in education, including history teacher, technology coach, administrator, and director of technology. He loves innovation and leading cross-departmental teams in delivering the best outcomes to students.
A world traveler, Zach believes that wandering leads to personal and professional growth. He’s the proud father of three adopted Colombian children and a strong advocate of adoption, foster care, and international youth exchange.
Board
Sanket is a Partner at PeakSpan Capital (an $1.5B+ AUM investment firm) and leads the firms EdTech practice. Sanket and the PeakSpan team invest exclusively in high-impact, high-growth B2B software scale-ups. As a father of twin boys, he is studied in the challenge that many K12 institutions face with an immature (and candidly poor) data infrastructure and is thrilled to partner with Abre to power “data intelligence” for every K12 district enabling them to be authentically data-driven and operationalize student data in a way that drives dramatically better outcomes for every student both in and outside the classroom. Sanket enjoys spending time with his wife and twin boys enjoying the diversity of experiences their home in the Bay Area has to offer and recent found hobbies in both tennis and long-distance running.
Board
Ashley is Partner at CincyTech and helps venture-backed companies navigate from seed through growth stage. As a working mom, she is well aware of the messy edtech experience most parents and teachers have to navigate. She's excited for Abre being well-positioned to simplify edtech for all stakeholders.
Board
Paula is the President & CEO of BizEducation Consulting, Inc. where she helps EdTech companies strategize and scale success across their go-to-market, sales, and marketing functions. Previously she held leadership positions at Discovery Education, Educational Services of America, and University of Maryland. She resides in Atlanta, GA with her husband, Tony. When she's not consulting EdTech companies she enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with family.
At Cincinnati Public Schools we focus on serving the Whole Child, and Abre has allowed us to see the whole picture: what that student is doing with their grades, their attendance — even in their behavioral marks.
Casey Fisher | Cincinnati Public Schools
