Meet GreatSchools: Jennifer Fleming

We love our senior user-interface designer, Jen Fleming. With an impressive 14 years of experience designing for the Web, for such clients as Ask.com, Ofoto/Kodak Gallery, and Silicon Graphics], Jen brings her expertise to refining both GreatSchools and our newest program, College Bound. But it's her fresh humor and humility at the office that truly brighten our days.

What inspires you about the GreatSchools mission?
Jen: I'm driven by our dream to get parents more involved in their children's lives. As a mother it's very motivating to know that I can help my daughter be her best just by being a loving and involved parent. Reading to her daily, teaching her the names of flowers, or keeping art supplies readily available will each positively impact her success in life, and make the process of parenting very rewarding.

Who in your childhood most inspired your love of learning?
Jen: My grandmother inspired the greatest love of learning for me. Though we lived on opposite coasts, she was persistent in educating me to respect wildlife and our environment, and to make things for myself. As a master seamstress, crafter, musician, and outdoorsy woman, she strove to share her love of life with me in every way that she could. I feel much of her influence in my life every day.

What's the best parenting advice you've heard?
Jen: Don't forget to take care of yourself! Remembering to eat healthily, get enough sleep, and exercise should be a priority for parents as much as their kids. It's too easy to overlook these basics in the demands of school and work schedules.

Thanks, Jen! It's true... a run-down, frazzled parent will have a tougher time making the best parenting decisions.
Jen: So we should all remember to be healthy for ourselves, and especially for our kids.

Meet GreatSchools: Molly Vitorte

We'd like to welcome our newest recruit, Molly Vitorte, as our vice president of partner relationships. She brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in partnership building and cultivating business relationships that focus on college access for minority and low-income students. Molly spent three years at the Hispanic Scholarship Fund as its national director of outreach and alliances. Prior to her time there, she was the associate director of Stanford University’s Center for Latin American Studies. We asked her about her influences, and this is what she told us:

What inspires you about the GreatSchools mission?
Molly: The opportunity to be a part of positive change! My father always told me that one of the biggest responsibilities we have in life is to leave the world a better place than we found it. I think GreatSchools is doing just that.

Who in your childhood most inspired your love of learning?
Molly: My grandma. She was, like my mother, an elementary school teacher, and she turned everything we did together into a learning adventure. I have tender memories of doing the crossword puzzle in the morning’s newspaper with her, and thanks to Grandma, I’m still addicted to them!

What's the best parenting advice you've heard?
Molly: The best parenting advice I’ve heard is what's working for my kid: First, that you should tell your child you love him or her every single day, no matter what. Second, that punishment will stop the event, but it won’t change the behavior.

Thank you, Molly! Simple, straightforward advice for any parent to follow.
Molly: To change behavior, kids need to be part of the solution.

Meet GreatSchools: Katherine Kornas

Weeks after moving from snowy, chilly Chicago to balmy San Francisco two-and-a-half years ago, Katherine Kornas helped us create an online community for parents on GreatSchools, and she hasn't slowed down since. Now the director of product management, she oversees the planning and execution of GreatSchools products on a day-to-day basis. Formerly with the education division at Discovery Communications — the same media company behind the Discovery Channel and TLC — Katherine has thorough experience in digital video development, and online library management, and building lesson plans for K-12 classrooms. If that weren’t impressive enough, she also taught in high school classrooms and coedited an SAT-prep book and video series for students. Here's what she had to say about parenting and education:

What inspires you about the GreatSchools mission?
Katherine: The idea that a child’s education is a shared responsibility — that it takes more than just a teacher in a classroom for eight hours a day, five days a week, nine months a year, to educate a child. Parents are part of a network of folks who influence a child’s intellectual, social and emotional growth. Our job at GreatSchools is to support them so that they make a direct impact at home as well as give back to that network.

Who in your childhood most inspired your love of learning?
Katherine: My dad, hands down. I think it’s in the genes; I got my height, fair skin, and overactive brain from him. Growing up, it was a given that he had the right answer for every single question in the world. We called them “Words of Wisdom From Jim.” Why do airplanes stay in the sky? Could I buy shares of dog food in the stock market? Why not? We’re both the type who are kept up at night by harebrained ideas or the pursuit of a solution for some nagging problem.

What's the best parenting advice you've heard?
Katherine: Never tell your kids what they can’t do: “You can’t be an engineer. You’re not good at math.” Always focus on the positive. Again, words of wisdom from Jim.

Meet GreatSchools: Marisa Procter

With experience managing over 300 top sites and various network partners for Internet Broadcasting as well as top luxury brands as the Ritz-Carlton and Fairmont Heritage Place in online media planning, events, sales and PR, Marisa Procter is our Midwest Sales Manager, overseeing partnerships with brands like Kellogg’s, Target, Hallmark, Classmates, Microsoft, and Shutterfly, etc. On a day-to-day basis, we can see Marisa’s enthusiasm to accomplish more for GreatSchools with her trademark smile.

What inspires you about the GreatSchools mission?
Marisa: I grew up on the Azores Islands, Portugal, where I lived for 15 years, and the Portuguese culture was about taking more and more on, and one of my main responsibilities became our family. I guess you could say I became the parent of the household due to my tenacious personality and willingness to be the one who represented our family and the community when issues came up.

I can put myself in parents’ shoes and understand the attitude of “never giving up.” The resources GreatSchools provides empowers parents to make sure their children succeed in school and in life. Success starts with education.

Who in your childhood most inspired your love of learning?
Marisa: My grandmother. She is the sweetest lady you could ever imagine who shares so much love!

Learning came naturally to me because of her positivity and how much she believed in me. She took such pride in walking me to the bus stop — those little things do make a difference. Additionally, if we went somewhere, she would talk about my accomplishments with community members, so this positive energy was everywhere. One time she made an effort to talk to one of my teachers, a family friend, about my learning style in the classroom, and my grade improved drastically.

What's the best parenting advice you've heard?
Marisa: A parent’s biggest mistake is not trusting their kids or being too strict, which doesn’t allow for experimentation, personal growth, and independence.

Meet GreatSchools: Christopher Pickslay

We’ve had the luck of working with Christopher Pickslay, or “Pickslay,” for three years. While he started out leading our technology team, he now manages the development of our campaigns as director of product management, new initiatives. He came to us with 10 years’ experience developing educational software for teachers and students at companies like UC Extension, Computer Curriculum Corporation, Brittanica.com and Classroom Connect. Aside from a passion for improving education, Pickslay brings humor and musical talent (ukulele accompaniments liven up meetings!) to GreatSchools.

What inspires you about the GreatSchools mission?
Pickslay: Using technology to help parents help kids. After years of working on educational software for students and teachers, I feel that guiding parents to better support their children has a much greater potential for helping kids succeed than any individual e-learning product.

Who in your childhood most inspired your love of learning?
Pickslay: My mother ran a Montessori school when I was young, and once I was three years old, she took me along with her. The Montessori philosophy surrounds children with the tools they need to learn, and my mother’s school enabled kids to seek out solutions to meet their own needs. That’s what led me to continue to develop learning opportunities for myself.

What's the best parenting advice you've heard?
Pickslay: Listen to your kids. As a parent, the easiest thing to do is to assume that you know more than they do and that they're still figuring it all out. My natural tendency is to tell my children what to do and how to think about what they experience. But when I stop and listen to my kids and remind myself that they may have valuable insights, they never cease to amaze me.

Thanks, Pickslay! So parenting is a two-way street?
Pickslay: I think I'm likely to learn as much from my kids as they will from me.

Meet GreatSchools: David Buxton

We'd like to introduce David Buxton, our vice president of technology. David comes to us with a wide scope of technology and management experience — most recently as chief technology officer at a stealth startup in San Francisco. Prior to that, he spent a number of years at Adobe Systems and Macromedia in various director and engineering manager roles. Since his arrival in March, David's been crucial to our efforts in revitalizing our article design and functionality.

What inspires you about the GreatSchools mission?
David: I firmly believe that the most important factor in developing well-rounded, productive members of society is parental involvement. As a relatively new parent myself, I know how tough it can be to juggle the responsibilities of work and home and still find the time to be the best parent possible. GreatSchools takes the desire that all parents should share — the desire to do the very best for our children — and encourages, educates and reassures us that we really are making a difference.

Who in your childhood most inspired your love of learning?
David: My mother was a teacher, and many of my earliest memories are of her reading to me or helping me read to her and patiently answering my questions. From an early age, I was encouraged to ask questions and learn about my environment, and I soon understood how doing so can lead to a more perceptive life.

What's the best parenting advice you've heard?
David: I don't think I've ever received as much advice (solicited or otherwise) as when I first became a parent. Some of it was useful — some of it definitely wasn't — but the best advice was to take it all with a pinch of salt and follow my instincts.

Thanks, David! If you were going to offer advice of your own, what would it be?
David: Parents are the most influential people in a child's life, so remember to use that influence for the good of your child. Aspire to be the type of person that you would be proud to see your child become, and consistently exhibit those personal values and qualities.

Meet GreatSchools: Lisa Fung

Formerly of GoCityKids and Ziff Davis, Lisa Fung is our vice president of sales and business development, overseeing partnerships with other nonprofits and organizations for social change. On a day-to-day basis, we can hear Lisa on the phone broadcasting the GreatSchools message to various parenting and education websites.

What inspires you about the GreatSchools mission?
Lisa: The belief that parents can make a difference in education is what gets me excited to come to work each day.

Who in your childhood most inspired your love of learning?
Lisa: My parents. They encouraged me to ask questions, explore, and take risks. Sometimes these risks allowed me to make mistakes, which I took as a lesson learned. Of course, my parents shared their opinions and advice, but I understood I was responsible for the consequences and rewards for every choice I made. Watching me make mistakes must have been tough, but they knew it granted me the independence to explore the world at my own pace. It reminds me of a quote by Heraclitus: "No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man."

What's the best parenting advice you've heard?
Lisa: You have to go with the flow. If you think the world still revolves around your schedule, forget it! I thought I would never go to Chuck E. Cheese’s, and now I’ve been eight times. I thought I would send my kids to the school that has the highest academic performance, but when I toured it, I was so unimpressed that I didn't even apply. Parenting is like rafting down a river. You have to be flexible.

Thank you, Lisa! I love the idea of parenting as a rafting trip.
Lisa: Look ahead; have plan B, C , D, and E in your back pocket; smile; and go with the flow.

Meet GreatSchools: Lilly Fu

We'd like to introduce you to our valued chief financial officer, Lilly Fu. Before she worked in finance, Lilly was one of the first corps members of Teach for America, where she taught second grade in Oakland, Calif. And after a stint with Sony Pictures Entertainment, she led the financial metrics and evaluation efforts at the Stupski Foundation, a private philanthropic institution dedicated to improving urban public schools in the United States. I asked her to tell us what motivates her, and here's what she said:

What inspires you about the GreatSchools mission?
Lilly: As a mother of two children and a former public schoolteacher, I have a deep appreciation for the importance of fostering effective learning environments for children. We have a full set of resources to make these tasks less daunting for parents. I believe the combination of easy-to-navigate student achievement data, expert advice on parenting topics and a lively Web community really empowers parents.

Who in your childhood most inspired your love of learning?
Lilly: My parents, like many Asian immigrant parents, placed a very high priority on instilling a love of learning and academic achievement in their children. My favorite pastime as a child was to spend whole afternoons in the public library with my mom or dad, reading up on all the fairy tales and fantasy books. My parents constantly reminded me that I can be anything I want to be if I am willing to work hard and remain open to learning.

What's the best parenting advice you've heard?
Lilly: Don't ignore your own instincts. Although the proliferation of parenting books and Web sites has given us tremendous insights on child-rearing issues, it can also make us more confused about what the right thing to do is in any given moment — especially when experts provide contradictory advice. Since no one knows my child the way I do, I try to trust my instincts when making parenting decisions.

Lilly, thanks for reminding us to listen to our intuition.
Lilly: We usually do know our kids best!

Meet GreatSchools: Jaime Uzeta

As our vice president of growth strategy and development, Jaime Uzeta can be somewhat of the public face of GreatSchools. He’s usually spotted away from the office, in board rooms and conference centers, where he evangelizes our mission for parental involvement and student success. Drawing from his diverse experiences at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and MTV, Jaime plays a key role in our external affairs and strategic planning. Here are our three questions for him:

What inspires you about the GreatSchools mission?
Jaime: I love being a part of this effort to improve education by inspiring parents to get more involved. As the father of two kids, I know how confusing and challenging it can be to navigate the variety of schooling options for your children. I’m delighted that we get to serve as a lighthouse for parents who are seeking the best educational path for their loved ones.

Also, our understanding of the role of parents in their children’s success in school (and career and life) is continually evolving. We know more today about how best to prepare and support our children than we knew even a few years ago, and certainly more than when I was a child. It’s incredibly exciting that we’re able to share that information with parents and provide them with a road map to parenting for educational success.

Who in your childhood most inspired your love of learning?
Jaime: My father. As someone who faced various forms of ethnic and racial discrimination as a child, he saw education as the ultimate form of empowerment. He was fond of saying that no matter what people can do to you, they can never take away the power of the information you have in your mind. He was the king of encyclopedias and loved being asked questions for which he did not know the answer, so he could look them up.

What’s the best parenting advice you’ve heard?
Jaime: As my father has told me on a number of occasions, you can do all the research you want, talk to all the experts, do all the right things, and then the unexpected happens. At the end of the day, you have to do your best to create the most positive environment for your child, but you have to accept that there are some things you can’t control. I think the poet Kahlil Gibran describes this eloquently in his poem “On Children.”

Thanks, Jaime! There really aren't any clear, perfect answers in parenting. Jaime: We can only give our children our best.

Meet GreatSchools: Jim Daly

Going forward we'd like to introduce you, one by one, to the stellar GreatSchools team. We all have different, often personal reasons for wanting to join the GreatSchools movement — to close the achievement gap by the power of parents like you.

To start, we'd like to welcome Jim Daly, our editorial director who recently joined the ranks of published authors last month. His book, 2030: A Day in The Life of Tomorrow's Kids, provides an entertaining, intelligent way for children to imagine the world they may inhabit as adults. Jim's a pragmatic leader, with a keen eye to develop GreatSchools as a medium for educating parents. Thanks to his contributions, technical vision, content ideas and promotion strategies, GreatSchools' editorial team has made significant progress in advising parents to raise healthy, engaged children. Now, we've got three questions for him:

What inspires you about the GreatSchools mission?
Jim: The great rattling journey of parenthood is, at various times, exciting, draining, inspiring. But it's always confusing. GreatSchools rallies the energies and insights of one of the greatest educational resources — parents — into a concise package that's highly useful. When I’m confused about a parenting issue, it's where I go. When I'm looking for a little motivation, it's where I go. Even when I just want to check on what other parents are thinking (just to see if I'm crazy), it's where I go.

Who in your childhood most inspired your love of learning?
Jim: My parents. My father was a voracious reader, who showed me the great journey that books could lead you on. He was barely out of high school when he joined the army to become a foot soldier in World War II, but that never stopped him from always looking for new ways to learn. Likewise, my mother showed me that learning was fun. She was a child of the Depression who often reminded me that education 'was one thing they can't take away from you.' She was raised during a time when homes, careers, and lives could easily disappear. An education, she reminded me, could never be removed.

What's the best parenting advice you've heard?
Jim: Take the long view, and enjoy the journey. Children are the people we create who in turn recreate us. Sometimes those changes are very hard to adapt to, but all reveal great things about yourself. Those changes can be subtle, but they are always profound. So take a deep breath and enjoy the ride. Before you know it, their childhood will be gone.

Kelsey: Thank you, Jim! In these uncertain times, your mother's advice is especially profound.