Management

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Ms. Sapna Ganeshan

President & CEO

Ms. Ganeshan holds a bachelor's degree in computer engineering from Mysore University, India, and a master's degree in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence from Queen's University, Canada, where she received the 'Distinguished Thesis Award'. As a recipient of prestigious scholarships, including the National Scholarship Award in India and the NSERC Scholarship in Canada, she declined an offer to pursue a Ph.D. at Trinity College, Cambridge University, opting instead to launch her career at Bell Northern Research laboratories.

With extensive experience in software programming, product design, program management, and business development, Ms. Ganeshan has held senior management positions at companies like Nortel Networks and Cisco Systems. At Cisco Systems, Ms. Ganeshan was the Interim VP of operations for the Mobile Wireless Internet Forum, a global consortium of telecom equipment providers and network operators, where she chaired sessions for defining mobile wireless architecture. Notably, she co-founded Glow Networks, securing over $17M in funding within a year.

As owner of the educational franchise Mad Science in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Ms. Ganeshan transformed the franchise's performance, earning recognition as the fastest-growing franchise in North America.

Since 2010, Ms. Ganeshan has led Red Comet, revitalizing the company's curriculum, policies, and technology platform. Under her leadership, Red Comet achieved full accreditation, approval from NCAA, OSPI, WA, and recognition as a top K-12 curriculum provider. Twice featured in Inc. 5000, Ms. Ganeshan was named one of "The 10 Most Inspiring Leaders Making Difference in 2023" by Inc. Magazine. CIO Today featured Ms. Ganeshan in the Cover Story for their issue on "Most Inspiring Business Leaders Making an Impact In 2023."

Outside work, Ms. Ganeshan is an accomplished classical dancer, excelling in forms such as Flamenco and Kathak. In 2021, she earned a bachelor's degree in Kathak dance and debuted a performance in 2022 with an audience of over 400 people.


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Dr. Jay Srinivasan

Managing Director

Dr. Srinivasan has a Bachelor’s degree, Masters of Science, and Ph.D. all in Engineering. In addition, he also has a MBA in Finance & Marketing. Being a stellar student, merit-based scholarships funded his studies right from the fifth grade all the way until he completed his Ph.D. studies. Dr.Srinivasan has taught credit courses for engineering students at both under-graduate and graduate level (India & Canada).

Dr. Srinivasan has over twenty years of experience in the technology and engineering industry. He has held a number of senior management and executive positions in various technology and engineering companies. Dr. Srinivasan founded Glow Networks, Inc., a very successful telecom professional services company. Glow Networks won numerous awards for being the fastest growing company. The company employed over 400 engineers and technicians in 2010 before CSS Corp., a global Information Technology company, acquired it. Dr.Srinivasan played a key role in facilitating the acquisition of Glow by CSS Corp. After Glow Networks, Dr. Srinivasan held VP-Sales positions at global telecom / software companies.

At Red Comet, Dr. Jay is responsible for setting the sales and marketing strategy. He has been instrumental in marketing the Red Comet curriculum and associated products throughout the United States.

Dr. Srinivasan is an avid runner and has run several marathons in the past few years.


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Mr. Raj Bathini

Chief Financial Advisor

Raj Bathini is a Chief Financial Advisor for RedComet. He has over 25 years of experience in the Tech Industry ranging from small start-up organizations to large established ones. His expertise includes auditing of accounting and financial records and managing national and international companies' accounting and administrative functions. Raj has a successful track record working with operations in developing processes and procedures designed to improve profitability, efficiency, and growth. Specialized skills include Strategic Planning, Mergers and Acquisitions, Operation Management, Debt Restructuring, Risk Management, Capitalization, Compensation strategies, and Business Relationships.

Raj is a CPA and a member of the Washington Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Also, a Chartered Accountant and a member of the Indian Institute of Chartered Accountants.


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Mr. Dev Sridharan

Financial Advisor

Mr. Dev Sridharan was the CFO-Carrier Services at CSS Corp. and has held financial and management positions at various companies throughout the world. His key strengths include implementation of management information systems, strategic planning and budgeting, cost and management accounting, cash and treasury functions including handling of difficult Cash flow situations, mergers and acquisitions and ISO9000. Familiar with structuring international transactions and experienced in start-up, turnaround and managing growth, Mr. Sridharan brings years of financial and accounting experience to Red Comet. At Red Comet, Mr. Sridharan is responsible for strategic financial planning and management.


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Mr. Rick Rodden

Head of Teachers

Mr. Rodden has been in public education for the past 35 years, teaching at Toppenish High School, Central Washington and Washington State Universities and at the Yakima Valley Community College. Mr. Rodden was a critical part of the online high school program at Toppenish from its inception in 2006 until his retirement in 2018. Mr. Rodden was a National Board-Certified Teacher in science and taught courses for NBCT teacher candidates for Washington State University. Prior to his teaching career, he was a research chemist working at universities and private companies.

At Red Comet, Mr. Rodden oversees the day-to-day activities of Red Comet teachers in addition to teaching science. He is responsible for coaching and mentoring new teachers as well as training them. In addition to being a member of a community band, he started a brass quintet that tours assisted living communities providing music for senior citizens.


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Ms. Varshini Gunasekaran

Director, Educational Technology and Curriculum Innovation

Ms. Gunasekaran has several years of IT experience specializing in application development and finding technical solutions. She has over 6 years’ experience working with Learning Management Systems. She has extensively worked on publishing courses online with Agilix Buzz and Canvas. In her experience, she has worked with several curriculum developers to manage content and course launches. She has over 6 years’ experience designing solutions for customer and company needs, working with various departments to gather and analyze data, identifying weak areas, and recommending solutions through new processes and policies for optimal service and performance. She has a degree in Technology and has practicum experience as a Support Analyst/Database Analyst with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Ms. Gunasekaran also has deep understanding of the curriculum requirements for K-12.

At Red Comet, Ms. Gunasekaran's job is to maintain the Learning Management Platform and manage course offerings. She works with the curriculum team to ensure content alignment to state and national standards and ensures an efficient course launch process. She has designed an efficient content design and launch process which meets the design and accessibility standards. She works with Agilix and the Red Comet Admin staff to ensure that the platform runs smoothly for all users. She ensures that students have the best possible learning experience on the Red Comet platform. She works with Database experts to ensure that all data is stored securely on our Database and all database processes are efficient. She has developed a ticketing process for her team to ensure that all incidents are ticketed and tracked efficiently.


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Mr. Sudhanshu Somasundar

VP - Business Development

At Red Comet, Sudhanshu Somasundar, a Biomedical Engineer, focuses on adoption, training, and implementation of the company’s goal of making education equitable and accessible to students of all abilities, cognitive and otherwise. Sudhanshu is our resident expert on healthcare education applications and resources using augmented/virtual/mixed reality (AR/VR/MR) technology for immersive learning. He has a Master’s in Biomedical Engineering from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and University of Texas at Arlington and comes with extensive experience in working directly with customers and leading teams and projects across R&D, Product Management and Business Development of various Biomedical Technologies like robotics, AIML, and AR/VR/MR addressing Pain, Speech, Hearing, Cognition and Movement Disorder conditions. Sudhanshu’s mission at Red Comet is to “integrate proven cognitive assistive technologies within education and make it possible for every student to form a healthy and lifelong relationship with education.”


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Ms. Dusti Crenshaw

Sr. Director Business Development & Customer Support

Ms. Crenshaw holds a Master of Educational Administration alongside a Master of Business Administration, embodying a unique blend of educational expertise and business prowess. She has over twenty years of dedication to shaping young minds. As a certified CTE Business Teacher, CTE Director, and Administrator, she has not only spent sixteen years in the classroom but also eight years steering the direction of CTE programs and three years in school administration. Throughout her career, Ms. Crenshaw has been a catalyst for change, seamlessly integrating innovation both within her classrooms and on a school-wide scale. She has championed numerous professional development sessions, empowering fellow educators with the tools and strategies to seamlessly integrate technology into their teaching methodologies. With a passion for fostering forward-thinking educational practices, Ms. Crenshaw continues to inspire and lead in the realm of education.

At Red Comet, Ms. Crenshaw helps schools and districts throughout Washington implement Red Comet’s comprehensive curriculum and CTE solution.


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Mr. Sridhar Narayan

Associate - Business Development

Master's degree in Computer Science & Engineering. He has worked for Walmart for over 15 years in different technical & leadership positions. He also worked as an IT consultant and in the Supply Chain industry. Sridhar is very customer driven and strives to meet customers’ requirements.

At Red Comet, he plays a key role in market expansion in the mid-western states. As a resident of Arkansas, he helped launch the program in Arkansas where Red Comet is anchored with one of the larger school districts in the state.


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Ms. Cynthia Poisel

Director - Customer Service & Administration

Mrs. Poisel has been with Red Comet since 2014 and is responsible for maintaining the day-to-day operations of the ALE Tuition-Free program. She diligently manages her team through student registrations and enrollments, as well as monitoring student schedules, tracking student progress, and creating student reports. Mrs. Poisel guides students as they endeavor to follow State regulations for the Tuition Free Program.

She also oversees the staff for student services, customer service and administration for private pay throughout the country.


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Ms. Debbie Cahoon

Human Resources

Ms. Cahoon has more than 30 years of domestic and international experience in Human Resources, having been responsible for setting up and maintaining effective and responsive HR departments. She also has extensive experience in managing large HR-related projects, assuring projects are completed on-time and within budget. Debbie’s areas of expertise and responsibility have included staff planning and management, resource coordination, employee relations, staff mentoring and evaluations, client relations, time sheet monitoring and approval, administrative functions and vendor/customer relationships. At Red Comet, Debbie will be heading the Human Resources function and will be responsible for all HR-related activities.


Awards, Approvals, and Accreditation