The organizations that I have created are a means for my fulfillment on many levels, from the individual tasks I perform to the opportunities they create for others and myself.  One of my primary personal missions is to analyze complex problems in order to create and build progressively more sophisticated and impactful solutions and strategies for the benefit of increasingly large numbers of people.   These three organizations have been the vehicles to make that possible.

Science Buddies

Science Buddies, founded by me in 2001,  is a 501(c)(3) public charity supported by a range of corporations, foundations, and individuals, including the Cisco Foundation, Broadcom Foundation, Overdeck Foundation, and many more.

Science Buddies’ goal is to inspire and educate students of all ages with hands-on STEM experiments and explorations that reflect their unique personal interests.  By providing highly personalized educational experiences, we drive student discovery, engagement, and learning in STEM subjects.  Our vision is to develop high-quality, scientist-authored explorations covering all key areas of STEM, from the classics to the cutting edge, in formats tailored for the needs of the audiences having the greatest potential to impact student STEM learning, students themselves, classroom teachers, informal educators, and parents. Open access and free, we level the playing field, making STEM learning possible for students of all demographics.

Since its founding in 2001, Science Buddies has reached a cumulative total of more than one quarter billion students, parents, and teachers.

Foremost among our many honors, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the prestigious journal Science have awarded Science Buddies the Science Prize for Online Resources in Education (SPORE).

Pocket Express

In 1999 Alma Rodoni and I co-founded Pocket Express, a company that designed and manufactured software for Palm pocket computers. In 2002, the company’s product line was sold to Handmark, Inc.

Banner Blue Software

I founded Banner Blue Software in 1984 to capitalize on the personal computer revolution and sold it to Broderbund Software in 1995, where I stayed until late 1996. Through 1996, Banner Blue sold approximately two million copies of software, generating $78,000,000 in revenue, primarily from Family Tree Maker® (for locating and organizing information about one’s ancestors) and Org Plus® (for making corporate organization charts). After several changes of ownership, these two business lines are still going strong.

Indeed, Banner Blue’s many innovations with the Family Tree Maker product line created the modern family history industry.