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Cheryl Vedoe, CEO
Drawing on her experience in both technology and education businesses, Cheryl leads the company’s efforts to help schools make learning more accessible, relevant, and effective for today’s students.
As a software engineer, marketer, and senior manager for computer companies including Digital Equipment, Apollo Computer, and Sun Microsystems, Cheryl worked on technology products that had significant impact across industries. It was at Apple, as the head of the K-12 education division, that she first had the opportunity to be involved with technology in education. That experience sparked in Cheryl a passion to help educators integrate technology to create new solutions to the challenges that confront schools today.
Cheryl joined the founding team and served as CEO of Tenth Planet, a leading developer of multimedia content for elementary math and literacy instruction. Then, after an exciting period as CEO of Post Communications, an early innovator in email marketing, she returned to Apple, where, as vice president of education products and marketing, she headed marketing efforts for K-12 and higher education and also served as president of PowerSchool, a leader in web-based K-12 student information systems. Cheryl joined Apex Learning® as president and CEO in September 2002.
Cheryl holds a BA in Mathematics from Wheaton College, in Norton, Massachusetts, and an MBA from Northeastern University, in Boston, Massachusetts. She serves as a trustee of Wheaton College and is on the board of directors of the Washington Technology Alliance.
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Katherine Bach, Curriculum
A veteran educator with more than 20 years of classroom and online teaching experience around the globe, Katherine is dedicated to furnishing educators and students with effective and challenging programs that meet the needs of 21st-century learners. As director of curriculum for Apex Learning, Katherine draws on her diverse educational experiences to develop quality, innovative curriculum.
Katherine joined Apex Learning as an online English teacher and has also served as instructional designer and senior producer. In production leadership, she was responsible for aligning pedagogical values and practices within and across disciplines.
Katherine began her teaching career in international schools, where she developed an early and enduring passion for teaching and learning in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms. Katherine was one of 22 international educators recruited to found a bilingual K-12 international IB school in Osaka, Japan - a first of its kind. She also taught in the English departments at both Taipei American School in Taipei, Taiwan, and the American Embassy School in New Delhi, India, where she served as English department chair.
Katherine holds an MA in education from Michigan State University with a focus on instructional design and BAs in English and history from Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana. She is an International Baccalaureate Assistant Examiner and a reader for the College Board, and she co-authored the recent paper “Online Scaffolds That Support Adolescent Comprehension.”
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Jonathan Schmalzbach, Content Development
With nearly 15 years of experience publishing digital educational content and curriculum for middle and high school students, Jonathan has been at the fore of understanding how the confluence of technology and teaching can be compelling and effective for students and educators.
As the editorial director for ushistory.org, a highly regarded and heavily trafficked website, and as a co-founder and director of content for Beyond Books, a classroom supplement that delivered standards-based original content along with thousands of purposeful web links, Jonathan has worked to understand the needs of administrators, teachers, and students to provide solutions that promote achievement - and spark a passion for lifelong learning.
Since Apex Learning acquired Beyond Books, Jonathan has focused on understanding how comprehensive digital solutions can apply to a wide range of learners. As the company’s head of content development, Jonathan is responsible for executing pedagogical effectiveness in courses and curricular offerings.
Jonathan holds a BA in English from the University of California at Santa Cruz. He is on the boards of the Independence Hall Association and the Gas & Electric Arts Theater Company, and he remains an occasional contributor of crosswords to the New York Times.
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Chuck Lanphier, Client Services
Chuck brings more than 15 years of diverse experience in technology businesses to his current role as vice president of client services at Apex Learning. Chuck leads the team responsible for helping students, teachers, and administrators achieve their goals and objectives with the company’s digital curriculum solutions. Chuck and his team consistently drive high levels of client satisfaction by focusing on program design, implementation, professional development, instruction, and user support.
Since joining Apex Learning in 2001, Chuck has been a key member of the management team and, in several sales and marketing positions, has made significant contributions to the company’s evolution. Chuck came to Apex Learning with a strong foundation in marketing, product management, and sales developed during his tenure at Gateway Inc. and Avenue A. Chuck holds a BS in business administration from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.
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Cynthia Rogan, Marketing
Cynthia has had the pleasure of working for leading educational technology companies for more than 20 years. Throughout her career, Cynthia has focused on bringing to market tools and solutions that educators need in order to improve teaching and learning. She joined Apex Learning in April 2009; as vice president of marketing, she is responsible for marketing strategy and implementation.
Prior to joining Apex Learning, Cynthia was senior vice president of marketing of Wireless Generation; general manager of assessment at Scholastic; director of marketing for professional development at ETS; and vice president of marketing at LearningNetwork.com, an online unit of Pearson, Plc. Previously, she had served as vice president of sales and marketing at Tenth Planet, a developer of multimedia math and literacy content, and held various sales and marketing positions in the education division at Apple Computer. Cynthia holds a BS in business administration and a BS in accounting from Central Washington University.
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Brian Sharp, Sales
Brian Sharp joined Apex Learning in 2004, drawing on his diverse sales background in media and education to broaden the company’s market position with its expanding digital curriculum. In his initial business development role, he successfully defined a strategy that attracted early-adopter clients who were intent on implementing online learning programs to increase graduation rates.
Before coming to Apex Learning, Brian was honored as a sales manager of the year in Apple’s PowerSchool Division. Prior to his time at Apple, he was a leading producer for Viacom’s Infinity Promotions Group and was the top revenue generator for Full House Sports & Entertainment, the business arm of the NBA’s Seattle SuperSonics. Brian holds a BA in sports administration from Arkansas State University.
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Ed Harris, Business Development
Ed Harris helped establish Apex Learning during the initial development of the company by serving as its chairman from 2000 to 2002. Ed recently rejoined the company from Insight Schools, a leading operator of online high schools. Ed helped found Insight in 2005 and served as executive vice president, finance and strategy, and as a member of the board of directors.
Prior to his time at Insight, Ed was the founder and CEO of Razor Capital LLC, a private financial advisory company. Through Razor, Ed served on the boards of directors of several public companies, including Edison Schools, a New York-based operator of charter schools, and Click2Learn, a leading corporate e-learning company.
Before joining Razor, Ed was one of the senior members of a team of investment professionals at Vulcan, Inc., where he was responsible for managing the portfolio of Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft. While at Vulcan, Ed directed investments in numerous innovative technology and service companies and served on several corporate boards, including that of Apex Learning.
Before joining Vulcan, Ed served as CFO of Starwave, a pioneering Internet firm that was acquired by the Walt Disney Company for $800 million, and as CFO of Claircom, an affiliate of McCaw Communications, which was acquired by AT&T for $400 million. Ed began his career as an investment banker at Salomon Brothers in New York, where he worked on numerous financing and merger and acquisition transactions for major global corporations.
Ed received a BA in Economics from Rutgers University in New Jersey and an MBA from Columbia University in New York.
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Tom Stanton, Technology
Tom came to Apex Learning from Gale, a Cengage Learning company, where he held several key technology positions over nearly a decade. Most recently, as the senior director of product platforms he led the migration effort to a new technology platform for the Thomson Learning division. As senior director of network engineering for Thomson’s Global Resources division in Switzerland, Tom managed a $21 million platform development program and software asset portfolio for Thomson Learning.
Prior to joining Gale, Tom worked for National Geographic Interactive, where he became the vice president of operations after serving as the director of product management responsible for the delivery of content on CD-ROM. He has also held management positions at Media Station, a developer of edutainment products, and Cimage Corp., which developed engineering workflow and document management systems.
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John Gebhart, Finance
John started his career with Arthur Young & Company, where, in addition to his client service activities, he directed the firm’s entry-level audit education program. For the past 25 years, John has provided financial and executive leadership to emerging and growth companies. He was a member of the founding management team and CFO of Access Health, a pioneer in telephone nurse triage and decision support services, where he led a successful IPO. He subsequently served as Chairman and CEO of CareWise, also a telephone nurse triage company, and DoctorQuality, which specialized in health provider quality measurement and hospital error reporting and analysis. Prior to joining Apex Learning, John operated a successful consulting business that provided financial and strategic advisory services to a variety of technology, software, and service companies.
John received a BS in accounting from Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania, and an MBA from Pepperdine University, in Malibu, California. He serves on the board and as treasurer of the Northwest Choirs in Seattle, Washington.
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