Meet the edWeb Team

Lisa Schmucki, Founder & CEO — Lisa developed the idea for edWeb 10 years ago when she saw how social networking technology could help educators connect and collaborate and break down the silos and traditional barriers that have existed in education. edWeb is now an award-winning global professional learning network that helps educators connect and collaborate online to make learning more engaging, supportive, and effective for all students. edWeb is free for all educators (teachers, librarians, administrators) thanks to the sponsorship of leading education companies and non-profit organizations. Lisa is an education industry executive with more than 30 years experience in marketing, product management, and product development. She is a member of the Board of the SIIA Education Technology Industry Association (ETIN). She is a graduate of Princeton University and has a Masters Degree from the Stern School of Business at NYU.

Michael Mantell, Advisor — Michael was edWeb’s founding investor and a member of the initial edWeb start-up team. Michael is an entrepreneur with 25+ years of operational experience and 10+ years investing in early stage businesses. He is Principal of Golden Peak Group LLC, a company that provides consulting services and is an investor in a wide variety of early stage companies including edtech, media, healthcare, biotech, IoT and cloud-based marketing services. He was the CEO and founder of Edudex, the first e-commerce site for educational media materials in North America. He was COO of Films for the Humanities & Sciences (now Films Media Group), one of the leading producers and creators of educational video, DVD and software for the K-12 and higher education markets in North America.

Alex Oss, CTO — Alex was a member of the original edWeb start-up team and has managed our growth and development ever since.  Alex Oss has more than 25 years of experience in enterprise applications, systems design, programming, and a wide range of IT-related responsibilities. Alex has designed and built several generations of database marketing systems and websites using education data. Previously, Alex was Director of Enterprise Applications at Films Media Group, where he began his career as a programmer/analyst. Alex is a graduate of Princeton University with a major in mathematics.

Doug Lerner, Strategic Partner & Systems Development — Doug was a member of the original edWeb start-up team and launch of edWeb on the Webcrossing “Neighbors” social networking platform. Doug is the founder and CEO of Elliptics which owns and operates the Webcrossing product line. Doug works with edWeb to develop new features and functionality.  Doug earned his M.S. in physics at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and did further post-graduate work at the University of California Davis and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories. He has over 25 years of experience in higher education, large program management, student advisement, course development, technical training, project management, and also software development for online education, social networks, online communities and scientific simulation. Doug lives in Tokyo, Japan.

Mauri Greaves, Communications Manager — Mauri was a member of the initial edWeb start-up team providing graphic design and creative services for the edWeb site and all of our communications. Mauri joined edWeb full-time as Communications Manager in May 2016, and now manages our email, digital, and print communications. Mauri helps us get the word out about our online professional learning programs through our edWeb eNews editions, weekly updated to members, and ongoing email announcements for upcoming webinars.  Previously, Mauri was a freelance graphic designer, and before that was Creative Services Director for Films Media Group in Princeton, NJ.

Stacey Pusey, Marketing Communications — Stacey joined edWeb’s marketing and communications team after spending the last three years as Editorial Director for the AAP PreK-12 Learning Group and the prior 11 years as Content Manager for the Association of Educational Publishers (AEP). Through this work she has developed a keen understanding of the PreK-12 school market and the industry that serves it. Her responsibilities included working on the organization’s government relations program; writing, editing, and managing the blog; developing and updating the website; and crafting white papers, programming, and position statements. Stacey has a BS in Communications with a Minor in Archaeology from Boston University and a MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College.

 Jess Scanlon, Program Coordinator — Jess Scanlon joined edWeb as an intern in the summer of 2015 and quickly became an indispensable member of our team.  She joined edWeb permanently at the end of that summer and is now Program Coordinator for edWeb reporting and social media. Jess is used to balancing a lot of tasks throughout the day, as it’s never slow at edWeb. Prior to joining edWeb, Jess interned at New York City-based science and culture magazine Nautilus and wrote freelance articles for a variety of news, science and technology websites. Jess writes and takes photos when not working. She has a degree from CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. She received her undergraduate degree from Rider University.

Julia Ottesen, Senior Program Manager — Julia joined edWeb in 2016 and is our Senior Program Manager for our professional learning communities. She works with our partners and sponsors so that’s it’s easy for them to host professional learning communities and edWebinars on edWeb. She also manages our public relations and media partnerships. Julia graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelor of Science in environmental policy and a minor in environmental and business economics. Prior to joining edWeb, she participated in internships at TerraCycle and Food & Water Watch and held various roles helping with customer service and marketing.

Regina Dripps, Senior Webinar Program Manager — Regina is the senior manager of our webinar team which we call “Webinar World.” Regina has an Information Technology background blended with extensive experience in the areas of project management, data analysis, document control, technical writing, editing, business development, marketing through social media, office administration, technical support, and civil and military aviation safety. Regina has been employed over the years in a variety of industries, including computer systems, government defense, pharmaceutical research, aviation safety, and all stages of education. Specific skills that she has acquired regarding program awareness are patience, attentiveness, clear and concise communications, product knowledge, focus on utilizing positive language, calm demeanor, time management skills, positive customer interactions, goal-oriented focus, ability to think on her feet, tenacity, and follow-through. Regina is passionate about education and making a difference in the world.

Diane Rhodes, Webinar Program Manager — Diane is a member of the “Webinar World” team and works with edWeb clients and partners to manage their webinar programs. With a background in communication and publicity, she has worked in publishing, music promotion, and for a nonprofit serving people with disabilities. Diane also spent more than a decade at Films Media Group, where she wrote catalog copy for documentaries and study guides for educational films. Diane’s volunteer activities have included ESL tutoring, events planning for several human rights organizations, and secretary of the Princeton Buddhist Meditation Group. She has an avid interest in educational technology and how it contributes to learning worldwide.