Meet the team

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James Gray, philanthro-capitalist

Co-Founder and CEO of Giving Assistant, James embodies a mix of creative inspiration, driven ambition, and steady follow through needed for startup leadership. With 11 years of Consumer Internet and Marketplace experience under his belt, James is a leader our team can trust to make our vision a reality.

James knows firsthand the powerful impact of online consumerism and wanted to use this force for the greater good. Enter, Giving Assistant. This new startup venture has blended his expertise with his passion for helping his community and those in need.

Professional History:

Starting in 2003, James had great success as the CEO & Founder of GET ME IN! Ltd., a leading secondary ticket marketplace in the UK and Europe. His entrepreneurial spirit and pioneering paid off big time: In 2008, GET ME IN! was acquired by Ticketmaster, the world’s leading ticket company. In 2009, James became the founding investor and Chairman of VivaReal Inc, a leading Brazilian real estate marketplace, which now boasts over 250 employees.

Personal Mission:

His passion for assisting the underprivileged shines through in his personal life as well. James and his wife Sophie are court appointed legal advocates on behalf of three foster children in Sonoma. His dream for Giving Assistant is to influence other for-profit businesses to integrate social responsibility into their business models.

Katie Horgan, the glue

Katie is Giving Assistant’s Co-Founder, marketing maven and product extraordinaire, who won’t sleep at night until the world has heard of Giving Assistant. Earning the nickname, “The Glue”, Katie has a tenacious, infectious spirit that keeps our team heading toward the in-zone.

With a knack for bringing people together and relentless determination, Katie has blazed the trail for our marketing strategy. She has a way of hooking people on our mission that keeps users coming back, and she’s a master at motivating our team. Essentially, she’s Giving Assistant’s part-cheerleader, part-team captain.

Professional History:

Hailing from the dirty-dirty (that’s South Louisiana, y’all), Katie has spent the last 8+ years in San Francisco working her multi-tasking magic on several nonprofits and small businesses, including the hit PBS TV series, MoneyTrack.

Personal Mission:

Katie’s passion for living a holistic, healthy lifestyle blends beautifully with the long-term vision of Giving Assistant. So, whether she’s busy acquiring new customers or designing the latest product feature, Katie pours her personal passion into all that she does.

Scott Everson, tech superhero

As Co-Founder and Tech Director, Scott stays busy cleverly architecting Giving Assistant’s core technology. His in-depth expertise is crucial in our startup world, and he is the behind-the-scenes mastermind we rely on to make it all happen.

He has finely crafted our website to handle the large volume of traffic and load that we generate when our users passionately support their favorite charities. He is the backbone of our website’s success, ensuring it runs efficiently and smoothly for people to enjoy.

Professional History:

Having worked in the IT world for over 21 years now, Scott’s computing career has taken him on a wild ride through many crazy adventures, including multiple startups in various industries.

Personal Mission:

Scott is so excited to finally use his technology superpowers to save the world!

Ryan Quiel, growth guru

Ryan is a marketing professional on a mission. That mission? Save the world, one website at a time. With a background of 7 years in digital marketing for nonprofits, Ryan epitomizes a major goal of ours: bring charity online.

Ryan develops and implements our online marketing strategy, engaging and drawing in our users. He utilizes the most compelling, dynamic techniques in the industry to showcase what makes Giving Assistant so unique. Ryan helps pitch our message to the public and make us heard through a blend of Social Media, Content Marketing, Online Advertising, Demand Generation, and online Word of Mouth techniques.

Professional History:

Along with his 7 years in digital marketing for nonprofits, Ryan also has 12 years of SEO background. In response to his creative, visionary achievements, he received the prestigious New Media Award from the New Media Institute of London.

Personal Mission:

With Giving Assistant, he hopes to channel his online marketing skill-set into a humanitarian, altruistic pursuit.

Jim Carter III, cause hacker

This Eagle Scout and tech commander has earned the nickname “cause hacker” for good reason. His passion for a mix of technology and doing good is almost scary. Back in his Scouting days, he spent his youth dedicated to community service. He now spends his time platform engineering his way to a better world.

At Giving Assistant, Jim focuses on metrics, scale, and platform engineering to bring cause-focused insight to our team. His genuine desire to serve those in need and his wealth of tech knowledge make him a powerful addition to our Giving Assistant family.

Professional History:

Since 1995, Jim has been programming and hacking his way into trouble. An entrepreneur at heart, Jim started countless companies and worked on ventures of all sizes. His experience adds up to 15 years as backend programmer and mobile developer.

Personal Mission:

Jim, his wife, and two lovely daughters relocated to San Francisco last year to find new opportunities and make a difference for the world they are working so hard to protect.