Giving Assistant - Meet the Team

Meet our team

Who exactly is behind Giving Assistant? A fast-growing, diverse team obsessed with giving back! Giving Assistant was founded in 2014 by five human beings who wear their big ol' hearts on their sleeves with one single mission: to transform everyday shopping into charitable giving. Our team is committed to raising $17 million for charitable organizations by 2020. We're a mission driven, for-profit, Certified B Corp company and we aim to have a positive social impact across the globe. Our team has grown tremendously over the years. Here are a few facts about our team that we're pretty proud about:

Combined, we have over 35 years of experience working at nonprofits.
14 of us have volunteered abroad or created a fundraiser for a nonprofit.
3 of us have worked at other B Corps.
We enjoy 2 company-wide volunteer days per year.
12 of us have pets. (Ziggy is Chief Belly-Rub Officer!)
100% of us use Giving Assistant to support a nonprofit.

I drove Coolio to one of his concerts

James Gray
Co-Founder, Chief Giver

I grew up next to an alligator farm in Southern Louisiana

Katie Horgan
Co-Founder, Director of Business Development

I once built Kenny Loggins' website and am really proud of it.

Jim Carter III
Co-Founder, VP of Engineering

I walked across Spain in 26 days

Ryan Quiel
Co-Founder, Director of Growth and Product

I once jumped out of an airplane at 11,500 feet

Scott Everson
Co-Founder, Director of Engineering

I have spots on my tongue!

Ziggy Romero
Chief Belly Rub Officer

I was a competitve Irish Dancer for 8 years

Alison Edwards
Loyalty Manager

If I went to Hogwarts, I'd be in Gryffindor

Amanda Chun
Charity Advocate

I am allergic to the cold, really. It's a medical condition

Amanda Witt
Charity Advocate

I discuss my most important life decisions with my dog

Ariel Camino
Software Engineer

I always have at least 8 different varieties of nut butters stocked in my pantry

Caroline Vivat
Charity Advocate

I have a tripod cat.

Emily Hodges
Marketing Communications Manager

I've bungee jumped from Orlando Towers in Soweto, South Africa

Gary Kirwan
SEO Manager

I once owned 20+ bitcoin

Han Tan
Software Engineer

I can eat cheesesteak every day

Huseyin Yilmaz
Software Engineer

Isabel Figueredo

I grew up above Janis Joplin's recording studio

Isabel Figueredo
Head of Charity Advocacy

I skiied 83 days in one ski season while living in Jackson, WY

John McMahon
Product Manager

For a midterm in college, I wrote 573 total pages for 6 classes in 12 hours.

Ken Barrango
Agile Scrum Master

Barre addict, food explorer

Kevser Bozoglu
QA Engineer

Met Janice from Friends and was disappointed at her normal laugh.

Kirsten Arce
Partnerships Associate

Lauren Makiyevskiy

I used to attend Circus School for flying trapeze

Lauren Makiyevskiy
Partnerships Manager

My brother and I were born on the same date 4 years apart

Luis Sanchez
Software Engineer

I used to play rugby

Mariano Gomez
Software Engineer

Former Radio DJ

Mark Marsella
Software Engineer

Melissa Glidden

I’m embarrassingly bad at Scrabble.

Melissa Glidden
Copywriter, Editor

I have an actor credit on IMDB

Mike Shallop
Software Engineer

I won a chess tournament without having played before, ever

Nestor Britez
Software Engineer

Nicolás Mengual

I fast for 16 hours every day

Nicolás Mengual
Software Engineer

I used to work in an air traffic control tower

Niklas Vaughan
Data and Analytics Manager

I've rock climbed on 4 different continents

Phil Vo
Graphic Designer

I have the same birthday as Notorious B.I.G.

Raquel Romero
Operations Manager

I used to manage heavy machinery installations in various automotive plants

Sam Hastings
Software Engineer