How We Lead

Jamie Candee leads Edmentum’s strategic vision and long-term growth as President, CEO, and Board Director. In this role, Jamie has continuously focused on putting educators at the forefront of Edmentum programs and services, all of which are designed to identify and support unique learning styles while improving student outcomes. Providing educators with flexible digital curriculum and assessments for learning allows them to personalize instruction and create equitable learning opportunities for all students.

In her time leading Edmentum, Jamie has received numerous awards including 2025 Global Leader of the Year from the EdTech Awards, Calibre One’s Top 25 Women Leaders in US PE-Backed Software for 2025; the 2023 Tech Edvocate Best Global EdTech Leader award; the 2022 POW! (Power of Women) Award from ASU+GSV, which recognizes influential female leaders providing equal access to the future through education; the 2021 Entrepreneur of the Year Heartland Award by Ernst & Young; and one of EdTech Digest’s Top 100 Influencers in EdTech in 2018. Additionally, Jamie has participated in highly selective leadership programs such as Pahara Fellowship, a one-year, cohort-based program for exceptional leaders in education and equity, which focuses on collective efforts to dramatically improve public education, especially those serving low-income children and communities.

In all her work, Jamie continues to live by the credo of doing well by doing good. She founded Edmentum’s We Can Learn foundation in 2017, committed to making a meaningful impact in education, through philanthropic giving and service that supports equitable and innovative learning opportunities. Jamie also is fiercely committed to supporting dynamic organizations and serves on numerous boards, including America Succeeds, The Learning Tree International, and Primrose Schools.   

Jamie is considered a thought leader on topics such as women in leadership, innovation in education, modern technology, private equity, and education policy. She has spoken at numerous conferences including ASU+GSV and AASA, EdTech weeks in NY and MN, EdTech focused investor conferences across the country, and has been quoted in variety of national and industry publications such as Forbes, The New York Times, Today, The 74 and Ed Tech Magazine. Jamie holds a Master of Business Administration from Bethel University and a Bachelor of Science in political science from the University of Wisconsin.

“I love that I can wake up every day and be around people who share my commitment to teaching and learning. Edmentum is committed to personalizing learning for every student we serve, as well as supporting teachers in their mission to support every student. We will not stop pursuing our goal to ensure every student in this country can learn and be successful.”

As Chief Strategy and Operating Officer, Amanda works to bring Edmentum’s long-term vision to life by connecting strategy to execution and ensuring that the organization’s goals for growth and impact are aligned with the current and future needs of our education partners and the students we serve. She has extensive experience setting strategy, growing and diversifying revenue across markets, and leading complex change.

Amanda most recently served as Chief Strategy Officer at The New Teachers Project (TNTP) and previously held senior leadership positions at JP Morgan Chase, including Chief Operations Officer of Global Futures and Options.

“Growing up in Northern New Mexico I saw first-hand the devastating impact that inequities in educational opportunities have on students and communities, and the power of great teaching in bridging the divide. I am deeply committed to doing my part to create exceptional experiences and educational outcomes for all students and families. Edmentum is uniquely positioned to play a lead role in supporting teachers to not only accelerate student learning, but to boost the academic and life trajectories of all students. One model of school cannot be expected to serve all students and families. Edmentum’s commitment to providing the tools to build school around each student is a radical step in the right direction.”

John comes to Edmentum after 18+ years in sales leadership positions at Blackbaud, the world’s largest cloud software company powering social good. He has a track record of developing and sustaining strategies for long-term excellence.

At Blackbaud, John was most recently Senior Vice President of North American Sales and he previously held positions including Vice President, Commercial Sales and Vice President of Sales and Operations, K12. He brings deep experience in go-to market strategy, sales, pre-sales, revenue operations, and executive management. John has lead very large revenue responsibilities at Blackbaud including their K12 division that is roughly the same size in revenue as Edmentum.

John comes from a family of public school educators and remarks that he’s seen firsthand throughout his life the impact of teachers on their students’ lives. He’s passionate about education technology’s ability to make learning more accessible and prepare students of all backgrounds for the future with highly coveted digital skills.

Andrew brings deep experience in product strategy, system architecture, software development, global operations, and executive management to his role as Chief Technology Officer at Edmentum.

After learning to code as a young teenager, Andrew spent his educational years writing commercial software and supporting businesses with their first embrace of technology during the personal computer revolution. Following a decade as a naval aviator after college, he joined a startup and guided the development of the first small business e-commerce storefront 'vending machine' as the Internet emerged.

Prior to Edmentum, Andrew served as Chief Technology Officer for McGraw Hill, the world’s second-largest educational publishing company. Previously, he held numerous executive leadership positions including as a founding member of Redbird Advanced Learning (which was acquired by McGraw Hill in 2016) and Ednovate, a non-profit that developed the USC Hybrid High School. Andrew’s lengthy career in learning technology also includes leadership roles at Apex Learning, Biznik, and ZooKazoo.

Andrew holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California and studied at the U.S. Naval Post Graduate School.

“I’ve been fortunate to build my career in technology, most recently focused in EdTech. As a proud father of six, I have a personal, vested interest in improving education through technology, and look forward to continuing that at Edmentum.”

Jakki is responsible for advising the company on a wide range of legal and business issues including governance, contracts, intellectual property, and employment matters. Prior to joining Edmentum, Jakki worked at Stride, Inc. (formerly known as K12) for nearly 15 years in progressively growing legal roles. She graduated from Catholic University, Columbus School of Law in Washington, DC with a JD, Cum Laude and holds a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from George Mason University. Jakki resides in Virginia with her husband, sons and dog. In addition to family time, she enjoys jokes, puzzles, music and relic hunting.

“At a young age, the importance of a good education was instilled in me by my parents and elders. I took that to heart and worked hard in school. I ultimately came to appreciate two critical trends. One, a great teacher can make a huge impact in a student’s life and two, learning styles, strengths and weaknesses vary widely among students. Where one student excels another may struggle and vice versa. I am happy to work at a company that elevates educators and uses technology and other tools to move beyond the one-size-fits-all approach to learning.”

Chrishonda Smith serves as Chief People & Culture Officer at Edmentum. In this role, she plays a central role in shaping Edmentum's organizational culture through her leadership across strategic initiatives, from developing a world-class leadership team to guiding company diversity, equity and inclusion programs. As a recognized leader in the areas of Human Resources Strategy, Organizational Development, Executive Coaching, Talent Management, and Diversity Leadership, she’s collaborated with organizations across the healthcare, retail, financial, and non-profit industries. Her results-driven approach has made her a sought after thought-leader, facilitator, and speaker.

Chrishonda is a certified Executive Coach and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Michigan State University, a Master of Business Administration in Strategic Management from Davenport University, Advanced Strategic Diversity Practitioner Certification from Cornell University, and designation as a Senior Professional in Human Resources. She has been honored with induction into both Who’s Who in Black Detroit and Who’s Who in Black Columbus, is the recipient of the 2022 Seramount (formerly Working Mother Media) Mentor Maven Award and was recently named 2022 HR Impact Awardee by Columbus Business First.

A native of Detroit, Michigan, Chrishonda currently resides in Columbus, Ohio with her family.

“I have spent my career focusing on the advocacy and advancement of equity…for all. This is an opportunity for me to serve at an organization that is focused on equity in education which gives children the ability to thrive. Being an Edmentor gives me a chance to continue advocating for a level playing field using technology as the enabler.”

As Chief Financial Officer, Mike Trimarchi is responsible for leading Edmentum’s global finance, accounting, and legal teams, as well as designing and implementing financial strategies that support Edmentum’s short- and long-term growth objectives.

Mike most recently served as CFO at CommerceHub, a provider of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions to a leading commerce network of retailers and brands, which processed $50 billion of merchandise through its platform. He previously held finance executive roles with Vistaprint and AngioDynamics.

Mike has experience scaling companies, ranging from $80 million to $1 billion in revenue and improving business efficiency and performance. He has led organizations through numerous phases of growth and corporate structures, including taking companies public and private. Mike is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Albany.

Based in Saratoga, NY, Mike enjoys spending time with his three children, leaving divots on the golf course, and watching any and all sports.

“Enabling educators with modern technology represents a path to optimize the learning process for every child. As a father of three school-aged children it is exciting to be part of an organization with a history of impact and an opportunity to lead the next generation of education.”