About
Our Team

Our Team

Innovare is powered by a diverse team of experts that builds analytics and strategic planning tools to support education leaders make good decisions and drive positive impact in their communities.
 Leadership and learning are
indispensable to one another
John F. Kennedy 
Co-Founder + CEO
A former educator, school improvement coach, data strategist in Chicago Public Schools, and consultant at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, AJ is Innovare’s first founder and CEO. AJ was recognized as a 2016 National EPic alumnus of Education Pioneers, is an inaugural fellow of The Surge Institute, and a recent alumnus of Stanford’s Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative. He is a native of the Borderplex region, is passionate about promoting diversity in tech and venture capital, and admires the art of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo.
Co-Founder + CPO

Fernando DeLeón is the Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer of Innovare. His professional experience includes Product Development roles at Google, as a Management Consultant at Accenture, and now making an impact as a social entrepreneur. Fernando holds a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan. He is an alumnus of Education Pioneers, the StartEd & NYU Steinhardt EdTech Accelerator, 1871 and IHCC’s Latinx Tech Incubator, has been featured in Forbes for his journey as a product leader, and his experiences growing up in a border city in Mexico, immigrating to the US, and working in Brazil have shaped his eagerness to build bridges across cultures.

Co-Founder + CGO

A private sector transplant, former data strategist in Chicago Public Schools, Education Pioneers & Surge Institute alumnus, and graduate of University of Pennsylvania’s Program for Social Innovation Design, Nick is co-founder, President, sales, and social innovation leader. He is a self-proclaimed data geek, a great relationship-builder, and a proud Chicago native. He enjoys traveling and spending time with his family, friends, and dog Pomegranate.

Full Stack Engineer

Bob transitioned to software engineering after 10 years working in education. He has supported educators at the college/university level through a professional association and in student services where he also taught undergraduate courses in religious studies. Pursuing a goal to teach at the high school level, he taught 9th grade World Religions for 5 years and discovered a passion for education technology. Bob is excited to use that passion to help others and support the next generation of leaders.

Full Stack Engineer

Ian is a graduate of Fullstack Academy’s software engineering bootcamp. Prior to pursuing a more tech-focused path, he directed test preparation programs and coached students through the standardized testing process at schools on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. An avid musician, he also freelances as a composer for theater and film and performs with various musical groups around New York City. Ian is thrilled for the opportunity to exercise his tech skills at Innovare in the service of positive change in education.

Director of Finance
Director of Finance Luis Miguel has nearly a decade of experience in financial services. He began his career at State Street Corporation in Boston, where he rose to Assistant Vice President before transitioning to the Bay Area to attend business school. Post-MBA, Luis has held roles at LAT VC and Mastry, venture capital firms that specialize in early-stage investing. Passionate about social impact, he has led youth financial literacy programs and youth basketball programs in under-resourced communities. A Lynn, MA native, Luis Miguel holds an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and a B.A. in Economics from Middlebury College, where he was a member of the Men’s Varsity Basketball Team. Luis looks forward to applying his financial acumen to his day-to-day at Innovare.
Product Designer

Pauly Ramirez is a seasoned entrepreneur with fundamental business management, pitching, operational planning, and revenue generation knowledge. Before joining Innovare, Pauly was the Chief Creative Officer at 7QUBES, a SaaS platform providing accessible software solutions for small businesses. She has been featured in a NationSwell/Kauffman Foundation documentary, “An Entrepreneurial Learning Curve,” and recognized as a speaker at the TEDxChicago Women 2018. Pauly looks forward to using her role as a Product Designer to build interfaces that bring the educator community together.

Customer Success Manager

Amanda is a champion for equity in education and has served as a teacher and school leader during her professional career. As a seventh and eighth-grade reading teacher, Amanda helped her students grow over 2 years on the NWEA in ELA and outscored the state in ELA on the PARCC exam. Amanda is an alumnus of the Relay Graduate School of Education Master's Program and the Relay Graduate School of Education National Principal Academy. Amanda is thrilled to bring her experience as a school-level strategist to Innovare to help foster trusting and productive relationships with our customers.

Growth Strategist
Tim is an ambitious and energetic professional with over five years of experience expanding across finance and technology. As a recruiting professional he has supported some of the world’s largest organizations in achieving their goals.

Tim is a Chicago native, graduating from Grand View University with a degree in Business Administration: Finance and Management, and a Collegiate Men’s Volleyball National Champion where he earned All-American honors twice throughout his career. He has prior experience in recruiting across Information Technology, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain Management. Tim is eager to apply his background and experience as a Growth Strategist at Innovare.

Director of Sales
Adrian (AJ) DeLeón
Co-Founder + CEO
Fernando DeLeón
Co-Founder + CPO
Nick Freeman
Co-Founder + CGO
Bob Killion
Full Stack Engineer
Ian Milliken
Full Stack Engineer
Luis Miguel Alvarez
Director of Finance
Pauly Ramirez

Product Designer

Amanda Szramiak
Customer Success Manager
Tim Johnson
Growth Strategist
Leslie Sakal
Director of Sales

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