BookNook Announces Additions to its Board of Directors

OAKLAND, Calif., July 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BookNook is pleased to announce that two new members are joining its board of directors, Jennifer Carolan (Co-founder & General Partner of Reach Capital) and Felipe Sommer (Co-founder of Nearpod).  Both new members bring deep experience in K-12 education technology, particularly in scaling proven solutions to reach large numbers of students.

"This is an inflection point moment for BookNook, and we are fortunate to have expertise at the level that Jennifer and Felipe bring on our board as we continue our rapid growth," said Michael Lombardo, Founder & CEO of BookNook. "You couldn't ask for two people with a better understanding of the challenges facing educators, and how technology can be part of the solution."

In addition to adding Carolan and Sommer as voting directors, current board observer Clara Brenner (Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Urban Innovation Fund) will become a voting director to fill the seat previously occupied by Wes Selke (Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Better Ventures) who will remain a part of the board as an observer.

Felipe Sommer is a co-founder of Nearpod, Inc., a mobile platform empowering educators to create learning experiences that engage and inspire millions of students around the world. He obtained a BA in economics from the University of Buenos Aires,Argentina, and received an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business.

For ten years, Felipe invested his time in management consulting for financial services and start-ups at Accenture. In 2004, as an entrepreneur, he founded Livin' Interactive which focuses on custom experiential marketing solutions. His passion for technology and education fueled his desire to empower teachers and engage students with a mobile solution. In 2012, Nearpod, Inc. was founded, beginning his journey as President and co-founder. He now impacts multiple organizations as a board member, advisor and angel investor.

Jennifer Carolan started her career as a classroom teacher in Chicago where she taught history for 7 years in traditional district schools. She moved to Silicon Valley in 2000 to attend Stanford University and was inspired by all of the entrepreneurs working on their ideas. She found a way to use her teaching experience to support these founders. She worked at NewSchools Venture Fund, an organization founded by John Doerr and Brook Byers, for 9 years and learned the craft of venture capital. She also co-created and taught the popular course Innovations In Teaching at Stanford University for 3 years.

This year, Jennifer is on the teaching team for Lean Launchpad ENGR 245 at Stanford. She co-founded her first fund NewSchools Seed Fund in 2011, her second, Reach Capital I in 2015, Reach II in 2018 and Reach III in 2020. Reach backs amazing and often unlikely entrepreneurs who are passionate about bringing cutting edge technology into education. The Reach portfolio of 100+ companies are creating new opportunities for people everywhere who might think of themselves as underdogs due to background or other challenges. Jennifer has sat on the boards of Nearpod, Ellevation Education, Desmos, Outschool, BetterLesson, and is heavily involved in TeachFX, Derivata, and Sketchy.

About BookNook
BookNook is a social enterprise on a mission to ensure equitable access to rigorous and engaging instruction through technology innovation. The evidence-based platform is synchronous and empowers students and teachers to collaborate on each lesson. BookNook also provides a tutoring service where they connect students with vetted tutors to complete virtual BookNook lessons. Founded in 2016, BookNook has quickly grown to partner with hundreds of schools, school districts, and nonprofits across 32 states. It has received national recognition for its impact on students' reading ability and its unique equity-based pricing model. Visit booknooklearning.com for more information.

Contact:
Felicia Riley
[email protected]
469-569-1389

SOURCE BookNook Learning

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https://www.booknooklearning.com