Rachael Chong, CEO & Founder

Rachael Chong won't rest until every professional can volunteer their skills and every nonprofit has access to skilled volunteers. As an investment banker, Rachael was shocked by the lack of opportunities for her to volunteer her professional skills. Frustrated by her inability to serve the greater good while keeping her day job, Rachael left corporate finance to work in microfinance. A year later, Rachael helped start-up BRAC USA, the US affiliate of BRAC, one of the largest nonprofit organizations in the world. At BRAC USA, Rachael created a strategy to effectively mobilize dozens of skills-based volunteers that freed up her and the President & CEO's time to raise $40 million in less than nine months. Rachael also pioneered a program that brought eleven Duke students to the rural Bangladeshi countryside for three months of story collecting. She has a Masters of Public Policy Degree from Duke University and graduated magna cum laude from Barnard College at Columbia University. Born in Australia, Rachael grew up all over Asia. She writes for the Huffington Post.

Rachel Glasier, Head of Partnerships

A New Zealand native, Rachel has spent the last 10 years working in digital businesses in Sydney, London and New York cultivating her client service and business development skills. Rachel has been in New York for the past 4+ years working for Experian Hitwise after transferring with the company from London to take on a role leading a team of sales/client services professionals and share best practices from a more established UK business. Rachel has traveled extensively including trips through South East Asia and Central/South America where she has volunteered and been inspired to find a role within an organization dedicated to making a positive social impact. In her spare time she works with two non profits, surfs small waves in Central America and learns Spanish.

Jared Nuzzolillo, Lead Software Engineer

Jared is dedicated to improving the world by building software that people love. He's been working on web applications for more than a decade and has served several companies as Lead Software Engineer. One of the first engineers at Etsy, Jared built web applications that enabled people to make a living doing what they love. Later, at Parachutes, he designed and built educational software that helped people learn what they love. Now, he's hard at work growing and improving Catchafire so that more people can give to causes they care about, doing what they already love doing. Besides writing software, Jared's eclectic mix of interests include philosophy, 1st century Christianity, kittens, D&D and muay thai.

Joe Cravo, Software Engineer

After almost 20 years as a technologist working at for-profit internet media companies, Joe wants to change gears and use his skills to improve people's lives. No stranger to career changes, Joe's work history started not in technology, but in film production, working as an apprentice editor on a public broadcasting production about the history of the Jewish people. When that project ended, Joe joined the Peace Corps and spent the next two-and-a-half years teaching science and math at a rural secondary school in Swaziland, a country about the size of New Jersey nestled between South Africa and Mozambique. At the end of his Peace Corps tour of duty, Joe headed home bearing um, East, through Kenya, India, China, and Japan. Upon finally returning to the U.S., he solved some math puzzles posed by an IT recruiter and landed a job as a computer programmer for a Wall Street firm. That was followed by a four-year foray into the world of tech startups during the first Internet boom of the mid-90's. Since then, Joe has held a progression of positions from software engineer to VP of Technology to Chief Technology Officer working at iVillage.com, Promotions.com, and TheStreet.com. Over the years, he has gained expertise in web content management systems, website scaling, page optimization, technology resource and expense management, and tactical and strategic project implementation. He has lead engineering teams that have delivered technology to large media companies like NBC/Universal, Condé Nast, and Hearst Communications as well as top consumer brands such as Kraft Foods and McDonald's. A lifelong resident of New Jersey, Joe is father to three teenage sons, two of whom are twins. Every day they give lie to the adage that twins bond more closely than the rest of us. Don't you believe it.

Andrew Brookins, Software Engineer

Andrew is as passionate about technology as he is about social and environmental causes. He has worked for several companies and non-profits in programming and system administration roles, most recently helping to build and launch a digital publishing platform for Dark Horse Comics. Upon hearing about Catchafire, he thought it sounded like the perfect place to use his skills for the social good, so he couldn't refuse the opportunity to work here! When he's not learning a new programming language, Andrew is most often checking out vegan restaurants in his home town of Portland, Oregon, with his beautiful wife, Kim.

Dan Jacob, Software Engineer

Hailing from the UK, Dan is a passionate software developer who has worked on a number of commercial and open source projects. A graduate of St. Andrews University, Scotland, he has worked on sites for the British National Health Service, Channel 4 Television and high street brands in the UK. Currently based in Finland, Dan enjoys learning human as well as computer languages and speaks fluent Finnish and Russian. His other interests include history, psychology, linguistics, green technology and Celtic and Nordic folk music and mythology.

Emily Chong, Senior Service Officer

Emily wants to use her marketing skills for a good cause. Prior to working for Catchafire, Emily lived and worked in Sydney, Australia where she managed large-scale marketing campaigns for Westpac Bank. Her passion lies in all things digital. She is experienced in online marketing, search, social media marketing and online display advertising. Emily graduated with Distinction from the University of Sydney with a double major in Communications and Art History. A newbie to New York City, Emily can not wait to explore the city's architectural history. In her spare time, Emily is an avid rock climber and can be found scaling the walls at Brooklyn Boulders on most nights of the week.

Thomas Whitaker, Senior Service Officer

Thomas saw the value of meaningful volunteer experiences during his two-year stint in the Peace Corps. Working with small business owners and nonprofit organizations in Senegal, he was interested in the potential of collaboration between the private and social sectors. Prior to joining the Peace Corps, Thomas studied International Relations as an undergraduate and later took a job working as a researcher in the House of Commons in London. This experience furthered his desire to study how the world works and led to an MA in Global Finance from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. Thomas has spent time traveling around Europe, mostly hitchhiking. He speaks French and the West African language Pular. Born and raised in West Virginia, Thomas is excited to explore New York and all that it has to offer, especially its music and pizza scenes.

Dana Raviv, Service Officer

Dana believes that there is no limit to the ways in which people can give back. This became clear to her in rural Malawi, where she spent a year and a half organizing community health workers and developing agricultural training programs for HIV and TB patients. While there, her friends would often ask why foreign volunteers would travel so far to help people they didn't know, especially if there were still people in need in their home countries. This earnest question made her realize that while the level of need may vary across causes and countries, even the smallest form of giving is valuable. Prior to living in East Africa, Dana worked for a variety of non-profit organizations in New York, ranging from a grassroots civil rights group to an international NGO focused on anti-discrimination policy. As a Service Officer with Catchafire, she is excited to help organizations find how to make the most of their limited resources, and to help professionals find the best way to give of their time and expertise. When Dana's not working, she's most likely brainstorming some new idea or biking to some new place.

Priyanka Prakash, Senior Account Manager

Growing up in both India and America, Priyanka saw the great inequality that exists for people that have been dealt with difficult circumstance. Passionate about understanding both sides of a story, she has been working towards bridging the gap between the business and the social lens; from working for the Financial Services sector to a small India focused non-profit. She is excited to join the team and brings her entrepreneurial and client services background to Catchafire. Priyanka graduated with a degree in Industrial Engineering from Penn State University and is pursuing her MBA at the NYU Stern School of Business. In her spare time you can find Priyanka fulfilling her other creative passion, planning weddings.

Ryan Letada, Account Manager

Ryan Letada is a foodie, Fulbright Fellow, education reformer, and social entrepreneurship junkie. After graduating from Wheaton College (MA), Ryan was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to explore mass-eviction and relocation of urban poor communities in Metro-Manila. This experience inspired him to start Education Kindling (eKindling) - a nonprofit dedicated to bringing learning technologies and joyful ways of digital learning to children, classrooms, and communities across the Philippines. Under his leadership, this education venture became a pioneer in 1:1 computing learning in the Philippines and is currently expanding its program to 7 schools with an additional 750 learning technologies. After snorkeling and reforming education in the Philippines, he returned to NYC to rejoin its growing social entrepreneurship scene. He worked at the Hatchery to foster venture collaboration within the NYC startup community. Ultimately, his life goal is to create social good and to spread it to as many people as possible.

JC Darne, Communications Associate

JC is still trying to figure out if he's a global citizen or a nomad but for now New York City is where he calls home. Born in Rhodesia / Zimbabwe and raised in South Africa, JC has spent most of the last 12 years in the UK, South Korea and the US. Last year he completed his MBA in Marketing and co-authored "The Rise of the Awakening Consumer," a green marketing book discussing seven of the most significant trends in the business world today and how to navigate them. JC is deeply interested in how partnerships can be leveraged to achieve social and environmental impact. When JC's not deep in contemplation or scribbling away, he's cooking (and eating) and listening to indie rock. He's addicted to chilies and makes a mean curry!

Jie Jin, Office Manager and Executive Assistant

Jie is enthusiastic about making the world a better place. As a curious psychology major, Jie interviewed over 20 community workers in Shanghai, trying to determine which personal traits make someone a better helper. Along with her research findings, Jie discovered she wanted to devote her own life to helping people. She became a full-time volunteer and followed her passion to Southwest China, where she lived with indigenous communities, coordinated seven preschools, and learned how to build eco-toilets with villagers. In 2008, Jie's journey and exploration into the social sector brought her to New York City. She provided social services to families in the Northwest Bronx, advocated for underserved Chinese manufacturing workers, and fundraised for Ghanaian children. Jie holds an MSW from Columbia University and a BS in Psychology from East China Normal University in Shanghai. When not developing Catchafire's next exciting project, Jie likes museums, farmers markets, and tuning her Ukulele.

fishbat, Social Media Agency

fishbat is a full service online marketing firm. After opening its doors in July 2011, fishbat has worked in website design, PR, social media and search engine optimization. fishbat is currently supporting Catchafire’s social media initiatives, including Facebook and Twitter campaigns.

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