Candidly named to Inc. 2023 Best in Business list

Read more
Close
Header - People

Meet the founder

At Candidly, we’re passionate about what we do because we’ve been there ourselves.

Six years ago, our founder and CEO Laurel Taylor was on the fast track to reaching her career goals. But the weight of the student debt she and her mother had racked up to fund her education — rang in at almost $200,000 — was holding her back from realizing her full potential. So Laurel took matters into her own hands, and in 2016, founded Candidly (then called FutureFuel.io) to address the unmet — and urgent — market need for smart solutions that support individuals and families through every step of the planning, borrowing, and repayment experience.

Circles Circles

60 team members, six countries, one vision

We’re a remote-first team of leaders, creators, visionaries, parents, partners, cycling enthusiasts, winemakers, and champion jugglers (yes, really!) united by a single, shared vision: a future in which education helps people move forward — and never holds them back.

See everyone Arrow
Map
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker Marker
Marker

United States of America

Uganda

Argentina

Brazil

Portugal

Canada

Marker Argentina Arrow

Marker Marker Argentina

Marker Marker Brazil

Marker Marker Canada

Marker Marker Portugal

Marker Marker Uganda

Marker Marker United States of America

Linkedin
Cecilia Schiebel Software Engineer

Location Marker Argentina

Linkedin
Cesar Nascimento Software Engineer

Location Marker Olinda, Brazil

Linkedin
Shanice Dennis-Russell Software Engineer

Location Marker North York, Canada

Elison Queiroz Software Engineer

Location Marker Lisbon, Portugal

Javier Navero Product Manager

Location Marker Porto, Portugal

Letícia Massenan Software Engineer

Location Marker Porto, Portugal

Linkedin
Nuno Leong Software Engineer

Location Marker Mafra, Portugal

Linkedin
Pedro Lima Software Engineer

Location Marker Amora, Portugal

Linkedin
Pedro Unas Software Engineer

Location Marker Matosinhos, Portugal

Linkedin
Rodrigo Souza Software Engineer

Location Marker Cascais, Portugal

Linkedin
Ruben Fonseca Software Engineer

Location Marker Barreiro, Portugal

Linkedin
Ruben Gomes Software Engineer

Location Marker Quinta do Conde, Portugal

Linkedin
Sergio Moreira Senior UI Designer

Location Marker Famalicao, Portugal

Linkedin
Tiago Raposeira Software Engineer

Location Marker Lisboa, Portugal

Linkedin
Tiago Silva Software Engineer

Location Marker Rio Tinto, Portugal

Linkedin
Vinicius Siqueira Software Engineer

Location Marker Ourém, Portugal

Linkedin
Ali Mulondo Software Engineer

Location Marker Kawempe, Uganda

Linkedin
Kafuko Wilson Software Engineer

Location Marker Kampala, Uganda

Linkedin
Mulumba Nasiifu Software Engineer

Location Marker Kampala, Uganda

Linkedin
Odeke Angulo Software Engineer

Location Marker Kampala, Uganda

Linkedin
Adaline Anaya Head of Support Services

Location Marker Richmond, CA

Linkedin
Adam Chong Director of Partnership Relationship Management

Location Marker Orlando, FL

Linkedin
Alexandria White Visual Designer

Location Marker Fort Worth, TX

Linkedin
Allie George Talent Partner

Location Marker Scottsdale, AZ

Linkedin
Amber Moulder Director of Partnership Relationship Management

Location Marker Scottsdale, AZ

Linkedin
Andrew Blaho Sales Account Executive

Location Marker Orange County, CA

Linkedin
Andy Phelan Director, Strategic Partnerships

Location Marker Atlanta, GA

Linkedin
Anna Griffin Onboarding Specialist

Location Marker Portland, OR

Annie Lee People Operations Manager

Location Marker Oakland, CA

Anthony Piris Senior Infrastructure Engineer

Location Marker South Hadley, MA

Ashley Ayodele Project Manager

Location Marker Houston, TX

Linkedin
Benjamin Levine Chief of Staff & Head of Data Science

Location Marker Seattle, WA

Linkedin
Brianna Jones Director of Engineering

Location Marker Virginia Beach, VA

Linkedin
Brittany Tony Enterprise Account Executive

Location Marker Washington, DC

Linkedin
Carli Reddy Coaching Specialist

Location Marker Pittsburgh, PA

Linkedin
Carmen Gunther Customer Success Manager

Location Marker Sacramento, CA

Linkedin
Connie Zervakos Director of Partnership Relationship Management

Location Marker Aliso Viejo, CA

Linkedin
David Sauro Head of Cybersecurity

Location Marker Downingtown, PA

Linkedin
Deirdre Bertrand Chief Operating Officer

Location Marker Boston, MA

Linkedin
Ed Fink Director of Partnership Relationship Management

Location Marker Austin, TX

Linkedin
Emily Bernard User Acceptance Testing Lead

Location Marker Myrtle Beach, SC

Linkedin
Eric Edgerton Software Engineer

Location Marker Pikesville, MD

Linkedin
Erica Miller Controller

Location Marker Washington, DC

Linkedin
Frank Steinberg Software Engineer

Location Marker Norfolk, VA

Geraldine Torres Santiago User Support Specialist

Location Marker Dorchester, MA

Linkedin
James Sheridan Head Student Debt Coach

Location Marker Tinton Falls, NJ

Linkedin
Jennifer Blair General Counsel

Location Marker Del Mar, CA

Linkedin
Jennifer Grapentine Payments Operations Manager

Location Marker Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN

Jennifer Shivamber Senior Support Specialist

Location Marker Jamaica, NY

Linkedin
Jordan Klein Enterprise Account Executive

Location Marker San Francisco, CA

Linkedin
Kat Peck Senior Product Marketing Manager

Location Marker Brooklyn, NY

Keisha Ennon Senior Support Specialist

Location Marker Brooklyn, NY

Linkedin
Kevin Morris Software Engineer

Location Marker Baltimore, MD

Linkedin
Kevin Solan VP, Marketing

Location Marker Raleigh, NC

Linkedin
Kevin Walker Co-Founder and President

Location Marker Marblehead, MA

Linkedin
Lakshmi Kadiyala DevOps Engineer

Location Marker Irving, TX

Linkedin
Larry Sanford Vice President of People

Location Marker San Francisco, CA

Linkedin
Laura Voskova Director of Strategic Partnerships

Location Marker CA

Linkedin
Laurel Taylor Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Location Marker San Francisco, CA

Linkedin
Lauren Church Software Engineer

Location Marker Harper Woods, MI

Linkedin
Lauren Elkins Marketing Engineer

Location Marker Pikesville, MD

Linkedin
Lawrence Rausch SVP, Lending Partnerships

Location Marker Marblehead, MA

Linkedin
Lydia Ward Senior Marketing Manager

Location Marker Honolulu, HI

Linkedin
Marco Martellini Senior Product Manager

Location Marker New York, NY

Linkedin
Maria DiMaggio VP, Operations & Payments

Location Marker Pasadena, CA

Linkedin
Mark Rose SVP, Product & Experience

Location Marker New York, NY

Linkedin
Meera Oliva Chief Marketing Officer

Location Marker Newton, MA

Linkedin
Michael Kosoff Director of Marketing

Location Marker San Diego, CA

Linkedin
Michael Sowa Director of Strategic Partnerships

Location Marker Chicago, IL

Linkedin
Michaela Noe Head of Customer Success

Location Marker Hoboken, NJ

Linkedin
Mindy Hurtado Customer Success Manager

Location Marker

Linkedin
Nanhee Kim Revenue and Billing Manager

Location Marker Washington, DC

Linkedin
Nate Sweet Senior Product Manager

Location Marker San Francisco, CA

Linkedin
Nicholas Ferdon SVP, Revenue & Partnerships

Location Marker Tiburon, CA

Omar Ahmady Senior Revenue Operations Analyst

Location Marker Los Angeles, CA

Linkedin
Patrick Hendershott Data Scientist

Location Marker Los Angeles, CA

Linkedin
Paul Kovarsky Head of Strategic Partnerships

Location Marker Brooklyn, NY

Linkedin
Robin Roylance Director of Customer Marketing

Location Marker El Dorado Hills, CA

Linkedin
Ross Orthwein UX Designer

Location Marker Pasadena, CA

Linkedin
Ryan Derkson Account Executive, Sales

Location Marker Naperville, IL

Linkedin
Sam Martin Data Scientist

Location Marker Pleasanton, CA

Linkedin
Sam Murphy Customer Success Manager

Location Marker Wayne, NJ

Linkedin
Sam Shoemaker Customer Success Operations Analyst

Location Marker Atlanta, GA

Sarah Seo Lifecycle Marketing Manager

Location Marker Chicago, IL

Shealove Henry User Support Specialist

Location Marker Spring, TX

Linkedin
Sheetal Suchde UI Designer

Location Marker Edison, NJ

Linkedin
Steve Saracino Director of Strategic Partnerships

Location Marker Westerly, RI

Linkedin
Varun Bopardikar Product Manager

Location Marker San Francisco, CA

Linkedin
Zainab Rehan Lateefi Senior Product Manager

Location Marker Glendale, CA

Total lifetime student loan debt of the Candidly team

$1,555,500

Percent of Candidly team with student loan debt

57%

Current outstanding student loan debt of the Candidly team

$287,000

Circle
Circles Circles

Our values

Icon

Empathy

The people we serve and how we treat each other come before the bottom line, period. Compassion and understanding guide our roadmap, and every step we take demonstrates how we value our customers, our team, and our community.

Icon

Collaboration

Our team may be fully remote-first, but we’re never distant. Intentional collaboration and open communication keep our growing team nimble so we can always be ready for what comes next (and, not to mention, it’s more fun that way!).

Icon

Humility

The phrase ‘humble and hungry’ gets thrown around a lot — but at Candidly, it’s more than just talk. Doing the right thing is never the wrong answer, and learning from failure is just as — if not more — important as celebrating success.

Icon

Desenrascanco

Pronounced "dez-zen-ras-can-so", desenrascanço is a Portuguese word for the art of disentangling one’s self from a problem under unconventional circumstances (sort of like MacGyverism, if you will). We practice resourcefulness and tenacity every day so that when urgent needs arise, we can respond not just with grit — but with efficiency and poise, too.

Want to join our team?

Circles Circles

Leadership

Linkedin
Adaline Anaya Head of Support Services

Location Marker Richmond, CA

Linkedin
Benjamin Levine Chief of Staff & Head of Data Science

Location Marker Seattle, WA

Linkedin
Brianna Jones Director of Engineering

Location Marker Virginia Beach, VA

Linkedin
Deirdre Bertrand Chief Operating Officer

Location Marker Boston, MA

Linkedin
Erica Miller Controller

Location Marker Washington, DC

Linkedin
Jennifer Blair General Counsel

Location Marker Del Mar, CA

Linkedin
Kevin Walker Co-Founder and President

Location Marker Marblehead, MA

Linkedin
Larry Sanford Vice President of People

Location Marker San Francisco, CA

Linkedin
Laurel Taylor Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Location Marker San Francisco, CA

Linkedin
Mark Rose SVP, Product & Experience

Location Marker New York, NY

Linkedin
Meera Oliva Chief Marketing Officer

Location Marker Newton, MA

Linkedin
Michaela Noe Head of Customer Success

Location Marker Hoboken, NJ

Linkedin
Nicholas Ferdon SVP, Revenue & Partnerships

Location Marker Tiburon, CA

Circle Element
Circles Circles

Board of directors

Linkedin

Laurel Taylor

Linkedin

Jenny Abramson

Linkedin

Anthony Lee

Linkedin

Stuart Nagae

Jim Palermo

Linkedin

Kevin Walker

Circles Circles

Observers

Alan Becker

Linkedin

Anthony Marino

Linkedin

Bharat Rajaram

Linkedin

Claudine Emeott

Linkedin

Michael Barry

Investors

Circles Circles

Contact Us