Our mission
At Candidly, we understand that education is one of the largest investments most people will make in a lifetime. And like any investment, it needs to be planned for and managed in the context of their bigger goals, even when - and especially when - that means taking on debt.
We're on a mission to make trusted, intelligent and comprehensive solutions that enable Americans to reap the rewards of that investment so they can build financial wellness and wealth. Because candidly, college should help propel people forward - not hold them back.
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.
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
United States of America
Argentina
Brazil
Australia
Uganda
Portugal
Canada
Argentina 
Argentina
Australia
Brazil
Canada
Portugal
Uganda
United States of America
Cecilia Schiebel Software Engineer
Argentina
Mike Dao Software Engineer
Southbank, Australia
Cesar Nascimento Software Engineer
Olinda, Brazil
Shanice Dennis-Russell Software Engineer
North York, Canada
Nuno Leong Software Engineer
Mafra, Portugal
Rodrigo Souza Software Engineer
Cascais, Portugal
Ruben Fonseca Software Engineer
Barreiro, Portugal
Ruben Gomes Software Engineer
Quinta do Conde, Portugal
Sergio Moreira Senior UI Designer
Famalicao, Portugal
Tiago Raposeira Software Engineer
Lisboa, Portugal
Tiago Silva Software Engineer
Rio Tinto, Portugal
Vinicius Siqueira Software Engineer
Ourém, Portugal
Mulumba Nasiifu Software Engineer
Kampala, Uganda
Alexandria White Visual Designer
Fort Worth, TX
Amber Moulder Director of Partnership Relationship Management
Scottsdale, AZ
Andrew Blaho Sales Account Executive
Orange County, CA
Andrew LaGreca Head of Recruiting
Folsom, CA
Anna Griffin Onboarding Specialist
Portland, OR
Anthony Recchia Support Services Analyst
Long Island, NY
Benjamin Levine Chief of Staff & Head of Data Science
Seattle, WA
Bennett Blau Director of Partnership Relationship Management
Beverly, MA
Brianna Jones Software Engineer
Virginia Beach, VA
Bryce Baxter Onboarding Specialist
Salt Lake City, UT
Carmen Gunther Customer Success Manager
Sacramento, CA
Catherine Liu Head of Support Services
New York, NY
Chris De Arcangelis SVP, Engineering & InfoSec
Baltimore, MD
David Sauro Head of Cybersecurity
Downingtown, PA
Emily Bernard User Acceptance Testing Lead
Myrtle Beach, SC
Eric Brickman Chief Operating Officer
Scotch Plains, NJ
Eric Edgerton Software Engineer
Pikesville, MD
Erica Miller Controller
Washington, DC
Frank Steinberg Software Engineer
Norfolk, VA
James Sheridan Head Student Debt Coach
Tinton Falls, NJ
Jordan Klein Enterprise Account Executive
San Francisco, CA
Keisha Ennon Senior Support Specialist
Brooklyn, NY
Kevin Morris Software Engineer
Baltimore, MD
Kevin Solan VP, Marketing
Raleigh, NC
Kevin Walker Co-Founder and President
Marblehead, MA
Lakshmi Kadiyala DevOps Engineer
Irving, TX
Larry Sanford Vice President of People
San Francisco, CA
Laura Voskova Director of Strategic Partnerships
CA
Laurel Taylor Founder & Chief Executive Officer
San Francisco, CA
Lauren Elkins Marketing Engineer
Pikesville, MD
Lawrence Rausch SVP, Lending Partnerships
Marblehead, MA
Lydia Ward Marketing Manager
Honolulu, HI
Maria DiMaggio VP, Operations & Payments
Pasadena, CA
Mark Rose SVP, Product & Experience
New York, NY
Mary Lansberg Head of Project Management
Bradenton, FL
Meera Oliva Chief Marketing Officer
Newton, MA
Michael Kosoff Director of Marketing
San Diego, CA
Michaela Noe Head of Customer Success
Hoboken, NJ
Mindy Hurtado Customer Success Manager
Nanhee Kim Revenue and Billing Manager
Washington, DC
Nicholas Ferdon SVP, Revenue & Partnerships
Tiburon, CA
Patrick Hendershott Data Scientist
Los Angeles, CA
Paul Kovarsky Head of Strategic Partnerships
Brooklyn, NY
Ross Orthwein UX Designer
Pasadena, CA
Sam Martin Data Scientist
Pleasanton, CA
Sam Murphy Customer Success Manager
Wayne, NJ
Sam Shoemaker Customer Success Operations Analyst
Atlanta, GA
Samantha Silberstein Student debt coach
Philadelphia, PA
Scott Iwamoto Compliance Manager
Hacienda Heights,
Sheetal Suchde UI Designer
Edison, NJ
Steve Saracino Director of Strategic Partnerships
Westerly, RI
Varun Bopardikar Product Manager
San Francisco, CA
Zainab Rehan Lateefi Senior Product Manager
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
Our values
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.
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!).
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.
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?
Leadership
Benjamin Levine Chief of Staff & Head of Data Science
Seattle, WA
Catherine Liu Head of Support Services
New York, NY
Chris De Arcangelis SVP, Engineering & InfoSec
Baltimore, MD
Eric Brickman Chief Operating Officer
Scotch Plains, NJ
Erica Miller Controller
Washington, DC
Kevin Solan VP, Marketing
Raleigh, NC
Kevin Walker Co-Founder and President
Marblehead, MA
Larry Sanford Vice President of People
San Francisco, CA
Laurel Taylor Founder & Chief Executive Officer
San Francisco, CA
Lawrence Rausch SVP, Lending Partnerships
Marblehead, MA
Maria DiMaggio VP, Operations & Payments
Pasadena, CA
Mark Rose SVP, Product & Experience
New York, NY
Meera Oliva Chief Marketing Officer
Newton, MA
Michaela Noe Head of Customer Success
Hoboken, NJ
Nicholas Ferdon SVP, Revenue & Partnerships
Tiburon, CA
Board of directors
Laurel Taylor
Kevin Walker
Jenny Abramson
Jim Palermo
Observers
Alan Becker
Anthony Marino
Bharat Rajaram
Claudine Emeott
Michael McGovern
Stuart Nagae
Investors
Contact Us
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