Team
Michael Karnjanaprakorn
CEO & Co-founder
Prior to Skillshare, Michael led the product team at Hot Potato, which was acquired by Facebook. And before that, he developed products and services at Behance. As a philanthropist, Michael was the Co-founder of All Day Buffet and The Feast, which was listed as one of “25 Ways to get Smarter in 2010” by The Daily Beast. In his spare time, he is an avid poker player, NYC foodie, HBO fanatic, and sometimes foursquare mayor of Tacombi. Michael is a graduate of the University of Virginia and VCU Brandcenter.
Twitter
Blog
Malcolm Ong
CTO & Co-founder
Previously, Malcolm was the Product Manager at OMGPOP, a Senior Technologist at Razorfish, an E-Commerce Specialist at IBM Global Services, and a graduate of IBM's Extreme Blue program where he co-filed four patents. He currently serves as a Panel Liaison for the SXSW Interactive conference. In his spare time, he builds and races fast cars, and DJ's. Malcolm graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science with a dual major in Business Administration from Carnegie Mellon University.
Jake Przespo
Product Designer
Before emerging from the upstate area and joining Skillshare, Jake was a web developer for General Electric, an intern for the NYS Attorney General's office, and a part-time freelance designer. In his spare time he is a skateboarder, a gamer, a wannabe photographer, and a poker player who hopes to one day take down a few pots from Michael.
Danya Cheskis-Gold
Community Manager
Pre-Skillshare, Danya recruited hundreds of college students from across the country to join Teach For America, a national movement to end educational inequity. She designed the trainings for TFA's countrywide campus intern program and led the connectivity efforts for the recruitment team staff. In her free time, she serves on American Jewish World Service's young leadership Steering Committee and hosts potlucks, sends out music blasts, and gives advice on getting what you want (whether mid-century furniture or a career change). Danya graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a degree in Anthropology, Spanish, and Music.
Chris Boardman
Engineer
Chris moved to New York in 2010 all the way from England. Although a Developer, he also likes pictures and graduated with a design degree before moving state-side. Prior to Skillshare, Chris helped to make the Internet at The Barbarian Group and is also the co-founder of The Brilliant Design Lecture and a project called 3-UP. He currently likes brightly-colored t-shirts.
Andrew Mercando
Product Designer
Before joining Skillshare, Andrew worked as an interaction designer at R/GA working on projects for Converse and Nike+. When not working, he enjoys getting lost in strange cities around the world, toy making (little animals with security cams as heads), and the occasional indie rock/gangster rap concert. Andrew attended Carnegie Mellon University and doubled-up in Communication Design and Human-Computer Interaction.
Eric Ma
Engineer
Eric is a recent transplant to New York, moving back to the east coast after living in the Bay Area for the past 6 years. Before joining Skillshare, he was a Developer at Jumo, and also worked on a startup he co-founded in San Francisco for 2 years. Eric is a big Packers and Stanford sports fan.
Stephen Yang
Community Developer
Before Skillshare, Stephen worked at IA Ventures as a summer analyst and at 1BOG as a community developer. He also studied Environmental Engineering and worked with charity: water before diving head first into the startup world. Aside from being a MFFL, Stephen enjoys bananas, swimming and everything in between.
Abigail Besdin
Brand Partnerships & Business Development
Before joining the Skillshare team, Abigail worked on brand partnerships at Meetup. Prior to that she was on her way to a Philosophy PhD when she realized education could use an overhaul. A native New Yorker, she now lives abroad in Brooklyn and in her spare time, watches way too much TV and does not enough yoga. The next skill she learns will be to design and produce her own clothes.
Bruna Maia
Community Manager
Before joining the Skillshare team, Bru worked on the brand marketing team at brand experience agency, Jack Morton. During her college years she also worked for a grassroots peace-building organization called I Embrace You. She was originally born in Brazil and moved to NYC after graduating from Boston University. When not at work, she is going to spinning classes or listening to Bossa Nova.
Stevie Belchak
Community Manager
Stevie recently made her way back to NYC after spending the past three years in the beautiful Bay Area where she worked as a brand consultant with SALT Branding of San Francisco and social media manager with start-up Outgoing.me. A Dartmouth College graduate with a BA in English literature/creative writing, Stevie is anything BUT your average go-to grammar girl. A self-proclaimed Zumba nut, lover of all things letterpress, and die-hard Stanford Football fan, Stevie revels in all that is exciting, unique, and community-centered.
