About SwitchUp

In her two years with the company, Heidi has brought lots of fun and spirit to Optimal through company picnics, virtual happy hours, small group lunches, and more. As our Office Manager, Heidi focuses on keeping everything running smoothly and planning fun get-togethers to foster company culture. Heidi holds a bachelor's degree from Arizona State University and owns her own dance and costuming business, Domba. Outside of work, Heidi enjoys baking, hiking, experiencing art, and playing with her two fluffy dogs.

In his six years with the company, Samuel has supported several teams including accounts, business growth, and marketing. Currently, he works to develop and maintain our internal reports, administrative tools, and email management system. Before Optimal, Sam spent four years as an English teacher in Japan, allowing him to develop a greater understanding and appreciation of the education space. He holds a B.A. in political science from Transylvania University and an M.A. in East Asian Studies from Stanford University. Outside of work, Sam enjoys spending time with his spouse and son, tabletop board games, and pen-and-paper role playing games.

In her current role at the company, Mariya works to improve rankings, reviews, and other features on our sites. She got interested in helping others choose the best college and career options because she found online resources to be extremely valuable during her own college search. Mariya holds a Bachelor of Arts in Cognitive Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature from Brown University. In her free time, she enjoys reading, traveling, hiking, cooking, and studying languages.

Emile originally entered the education industry because of his love for teaching and seeing people grow their knowledge. After helping students reach their highest potential for three years as a teacher, Emile decided to pursue a career in software development. At Optimal, he's able to use his background in teaching, as it gives him a unique perspective on the college decision making process. In his current role, Emile manages the publishing process and works to improve our internal databases. Emile holds an Education and Biology degree from Brown University and is an avid mountain biker, rock climber, and skier. He also enjoys spending time as a volunteer for a junior roller derby league.

In his almost 10 years with the company, Tyler has held many different hats within the software development space. He currently builds and maintains our content management system, front-end infrastructure, and data management logic. Tyler is passionate about solving complex problems and building out user-friendly tools that allow us to publish and display our rankings and resources in a helpful way. Tyler holds a degree in computer science from University of Washington, Tacoma. In his free time, he enjoys reading fantasy/science fiction novels and adding to his collection of over 1,700 books!

Throughout her eight years with the company, Emily has been dedicated to providing helpful data through our products. In her current role as the Data Collection and Infrastructure Lead, Emily oversees our data collection projects. She also designs internal machinery to collect and publish these data. Emily comes from an education-centered family of professors and teachers. This background, as well as her tutoring work with community college students, has made Emily passionate about high-quality, accessible education. Emily holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Whitman College, and she enjoys traveling, cooking, and basking in the sun with her dog, Marge.

As the engineering lead, Gustav ensures Optimal's products deliver value to users as quickly and seamlessly as possible. He was drawn to Optimal's small team and mission of helping others obtain a strong educational foundation. Gustav holds two bachelor's degrees from University of Washington, one in Computing and Software Systems and another in Applied and Computational Mathematical Sciences. In his free time, he enjoys working with his hands and taking care of his family. Some of his favorite projects include constructing an elevator for his workshop, renovating a barn, and building a covered playground for his sons.

As a former teacher and youth worker with 12 years of experience, Sarah understands the urgent need to expand access to higher education. Through her research and data collection work, she helps create resources that enable students to make informed decisions about their educational future. Sarah also assists students directly by serving as our communications and outreach liaison. A graduate of the University of Washington, Sarah holds a Bachelor of Social Welfare and a Master of Social Work. When not working with prospective college students, she can be found mentoring children through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, traveling, and studying other languages.

In her 10 years at the company, Rachel has been a key driver of content growth and business strategy for our products. After graduating from Westmont College, Rachel worked directly with students as an SAT coach and writing tutor. As someone well-versed with the college search process, she is proud to expand the reach of websites like ours, which equip students to make well-informed decisions about their educational options. In her free time, Rachel enjoys reading books and spending quality time with her family, including her two young boys.

In her current content role, Celeste focuses on enhancing our content opportunities by connecting with experts and focusing on providing essential advice for students. Based on her own successful college search experience, Celeste highly recommends using Optimal's resources to thoroughly research schools, degree programs, and tuition costs before making a decision. Her own investigation took her to Washington State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Media Production while minoring in Business Administration. When she's not researching content opportunities, Celeste enjoys traveling—15 countries and counting—cooking, hiking, and dance.

As an account manager, Susan works to support our partner colleges and bootcamps. Susan came to Optimal with a variety of previous experiences working as an editor, project manager and account manager. As an English Literature and Writing graduate from Marylhurst University, she knows the importance of clear, accurate information and attention to detail. Susan has been passionate about the education industry for as long as she can remember, and understands that selecting the right path is essential to reaching your goals and finding your passions. She enjoys being part of an organization that helps students reach their full potential and loves being a resource for our partners. In her free time, Susan enjoys playing tennis, birding, pickleball, and searching for Seattle's best cup of coffee.

In his 11 years in marketing, Brian has worked in several different industries with the common thread of helping connect people to their passions, whether that be through a music license or a college degree. At Optimal, he manages the outreach team, sharing our resources with the relevant audiences including news outlets, students, and organizations. He also supports our data collection efforts to ensure we have the most accurate and timely data for our sites. Brian holds a drama degree from Kenyon College, and in his free time spends countless hours exploring the music world through live shows, music blogs, and wandering through record stores. He also enjoys the Seattle culinary scene, paddleboarding, and playing squash.

As Lead Marketing Manager, Nicole is passionate about sharing Optimal's useful content and rankings with journalists, students, and other education stakeholders. She first became interested in an education-focused career after working in marketing at Georgetown University. Since joining the company, she has taken on outreach, public relations, and branding efforts. Through her work, Nicole intends to help develop a student-centered brand that focuses on value, quality, and accessibility above all. Nicole holds a Bachelor of Arts in Media Studies from the University of Virginia, and enjoys hiking, relaxing on the beach, and exploring the beautiful Pacific Northwest in her free time.

In her 13 years with the company, Renae has been a key member of the team in human resources, bookkeeping and finance, and as the executive assistant to the CEO. Renae's 25 years of experience and previous roles in office management have helped hone her keen attention to detail and people skills needed to support the team. She is passionate about improving access to education and enjoys working with a company that contributes to that mission. When Renae isn't creating yet another spreadsheet for the fun of it, she likes to kayak, bake for her loved ones, and travel.

A seasoned veteran of the publishing industry, Jennifer enjoys exploring education-related topics and writing informative content about higher education for our program and resource pages. Before joining Optimal, Jennifer worked in content development and creation for two of the largest higher educational textbook publishers in the U.S. Her recent experience pursuing an online Master of Arts in Marketing through Southern New Hampshire University only furthered her enthusiasm for distance learning. Jennifer also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design from California State University Fullerton. In her free time, she enjoys fiction writing, painting, upcycling furniture, and traveling.

As a Content Manager, Paige is dedicated to creating content that truly addresses prospective students' needs. She surveys users, researches industry and content trends, and manages a team of writers. After volunteering in her kids' school with special needs and low-income students, Paige became passionate about the power of accessible, online education. These experiences have helped mold her desire to continue improving the content. Paige has a Bachelor's in Business Administration - Marketing from Western Washington University and is an avid marathon runner, completing marathons everywhere from Boston to France.

Drawing upon his 11 years of experience in writing and editing, Michael creates content for multiple facets of our site. His ambition as a writer is to present prospective students with the information they need to make good choices when selecting a college. Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from DePaul University, a Master of Arts in Teaching from Washington University, and a Master of Arts in International Relations from the University of Chicago. Outside of work, Michael can be found teaching and training in krav maga or volunteering with Seal Sitters, an organization in West Seattle that seeks to protect marine mammals resting on shore.

Throughout her 11 years at the company, Brittany has provided essential leadership in the growth and development of our products. After helping her two younger siblings navigate the college search process and discovering the increased complexity and skyrocketing prices, Brittany became passionate about helping others find quality education options without huge financial burdens. She is a graduate of Stanford with a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in Communications. When not busy working, Brittany enjoys spending time with her dogs and chickens, hiking mountains, and kayaking on beautiful Washington lakes.

As a Rankings Strategist, Madeline is constantly working to enhance our ranking offerings by researching new data sources and focusing on student needs. She is a strong believer that providing students with the right data can be incredibly helpful for the college decision making process. After graduating from Dartmouth with a Bachelor's in Cognitive Science, Madeline gained experience working in an academic library in the scholarly communication and digital library departments. In her free time, Madeline enjoys hiking, Nordic skiing, and playing flute.

Prior to joining Optimal, Taylor spent six years writing for higher education newspapers and magazines. Through this experience she gained a unique perspective on college students' needs and challenges. She now uses this background to generate creative article ideas and produce insightful content for our site. Taylor holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism with a News/Editorial focus from Western Washington University. When Taylor isn't writing, she enjoys hanging out with her cat, listening to 90s hip hop, and visiting any place that has palm trees.

A specialist in visual design with 15 years of experience, Brian is inspired by creating visuals that are both engaging and creative. Brian is responsible for making Optimal's content and design as visually appealing and intuitive as possible. Brian holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from Emporia State University, and has gained design experience working with many companies in the digital space, such as Microsoft and T-Mobile. When not sitting in front of his computer, Brian can be found cruising around Seattle on his Honda Ruckus, listening to music, working out, or spending time in the sun.

After six years with the company, Taitum now leads the content team, which is dedicated to providing the most informative and insightful resources and articles to help with college decision making. She describes herself as “privileged and lucky” to have a career that allows her to provide people with the information they want and need about colleges, degree programs, and career opportunities. Taitum earned her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology at Whitworth University. When she's not working, Taitum enjoys listening to music and playing old-school arcade pinball.

As a Marketing Manager, Kellen focuses on finding and connecting with the audiences that could benefit from our rankings, resources, and articles. Growing up, Kellen was surrounded by a family of educators, which sparked his interest in the industry. However when looking for colleges, he struggled to find accurate information. Now, he's passionate about helping Optimal create the resources he would have appreciated when making a college decision, and making sure other students can find our sites. Kellen holds a bachelor's in Business Administration from Seattle Pacific University. Outside of work, he enjoys reading fantasy books, crafting with his hands, and watching sports. Kellen brings the spirit to Optimal through his Music Friday DJ role and his Christmas costumes.

With four years of experience in writing and communications, Niki knows the importance of creating engaging and accessible content. This has set her up for her current role, where she is responsible for guiding the direction of our content creation through researching what is most important to students. Coming from a family of educators, including a kindergarten teacher, professor, and school psychologist, education has always been central to Niki's life. She holds a degree in International Studies and Psychology from the University of Washington. Outside of work, you can find Niki exploring Seattle parks and eateries, greeting every pup she sees, and spending time with creative and kind people.

As the lead of the accounts team, Lauren is focused on our partner experiences, including onboarding and campaign management. She came to Optimal with five years of experience in client management and leadership from Yardi Systems, along with a degree in sociology from University of Connecticut. As a previous elementary school teacher, Lauren knows the value of education and is excited about connecting students with the best school for their needs. Outside of work, Lauren spends her time with her golden retriever, watching Boston sports, and traveling.