Our team

We share a passion for great science education

Five Stile staff seated in a circle smiling at the camera
Three Stile staff posing with our teacher materials, with plants in the background
Three Stile staff doing a pottery workshop together
The decoration in Stile's Portland office, including plants and our periodic table poster
Six Stile staff members in front of their conference booth
Five Stile staff seated in a circle smiling at the camera
Three Stile staff posing with our teacher materials, with plants in the background
Three Stile staff doing a pottery workshop together
The decoration in Stile's Portland office, including plants and our periodic table poster
Six Stile staff members in front of their conference booth

Stile was founded and is led by Alan Finkel, Byron Scaf, and Danny Pikler. They, plus investor Aquasia Pty Ltd, are the only significant shareholders.

Every aspect of Stile is crafted in-house by our passionate team of teachers, scientists, artists and engineers — a multidisciplinary group of the best and brightest. You’ll find Stilists scattered all around Australia, New Zealand and the United States with our global Headquarters based in Melbourne, Australia and US Headquarters in Portland, Oregon.

Meet the Stile team

We asked the team how they would describe a Stile person. Here is what they had to say.

Team USA

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Hailey Vogel Carvajal smiling at the camera

Hailey Vogel Carvajal

Teaching and Learning Specialist

Hailey is a former special education science teacher who began her career in Brooklyn, NY, before transitioning to a research coordinator role with NYC's Education Department. At Stile, she provides teachers with training and on-the ground support.

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Julianna Jimenez smiling at the camera

Julianna Jimenez

Director of School and District Partnerships

Julianna failed her HS science classes which led her to believe she was terrible at science. That changed during her 3rd year of community college where a science teacher inspired her new path of becoming a HS science teacher. She is passionate about making health and science education fun, relevant, and accessible to all.

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Kat Gentry smiling at the camera

Kat Gentry

Head of Stile USA

Kat was a science teacher before researching pest management in aquaculture across Norway, Australia, and New Zealand. Striving to cultivate student curiosity, enhance teacher job satisfaction, and bring more science classrooms to life, Kat leads Stile’s US team.

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Lilka Jones smiling at the camera

Lilka Jones

Administrative Assistant

Lily is a former elementary and preschool teacher. Her most valued memories with children have all taken place in nature or in the art studio. Lily is a creative problem solver and loves employing this skill in Team USA.

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Mark Picardo smiling at the camera

Mark Picardo

North Carolina Science Education Leader

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Matt Hanlon smiling at the camera

Matt Hanlon

Marketing Champion

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Mel Horton smiling at the camera

Mel Horton

Oregon Science Education Leader

Mel, an experienced teacher with over 11 years in the classroom, is driven by the goal of eliminating the question "Why do we have to learn this?" from her students. As an Oregon native, she empathizes with the challenges faced by teachers in engaging students. Her passion lies in providing every student with a top-notch science education, enabling them to comprehend the world and their role in it. Mel is thrilled to take on her new position as the Oregon Science Education lead with Stile, where she will support teachers in revitalizing the joy of teaching.

Global Leadership

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Alan Finkel smiling at the camera

Alan Finkel

Chair & Co-founder

Alan Finkel is a neuroscientist, engineer and entrepreneur. He was Australia’s chief scientist from 2016 to 2020, during which time he led the National Electricity Market Review, the development of the National Hydrogen Strategy, and the panel that advised the Australian Government on the 2020 Low Emissions Technology Roadmap. Amongst Alan’s other roles within the government, Alan has returned as our Chair.

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Daniel Pikler smiling at the camera

Daniel Pikler

CEO & Co-founder

After working as a musician, then as a geneticist at the CSIRO in Canberra, Danny studied secondary teaching in Melbourne and saw first-hand the need for better science teaching resources. Danny joined Byron and Alan to found Stile in 2012.

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Byron Scaf smiling at the camera

Byron Scaf

CEO & Co-founder

Byron got a few months into a PhD in Neuroscience at Melbourne University before building Australia’s first electric vehicle charging network with Better Place. Finally understanding what STEM meant in the real world, he co-founded Stile in 2012 and set about working with schools.

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Clare Feeney smiling at the camera

Clare Feeney

Chief Schools Officer

Clare started as a medical scientist before she was introduced to the joy of teaching when tutoring refugee families. As a science and maths teacher, she became aware of the positive impact of technology. In 2015, she joined Education Perfect and built their Science, Mathematics, Geography, History and Numeracy resources. In 2019, she joined Stile and is responsible for developing all teaching and learning resources.

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Daniel Rodgers-Pryor smiling at the camera

Daniel Rodgers-Pryor

Chief Technology & Security Officer

Daniel’s academic background in Condensed Matter Physics and Computer Science gave him a passion for promoting scientific literacy and the skills to manage complex computing systems. Daniel joined Stile in 2014 and stepped into the role of CTO in 2017.

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Jaclyn Rooney smiling at the camera

Jaclyn Rooney

Head of Teacher Engagement and Professional Learning

Jaclyn is a dedicated educator, bringing a wealth of experience in teaching, curriculum design, and teacher professional learning in both science and physical education. She joined Stile in 2016 and is responsible for Professional Learning. She is passionate about supporting, celebrating and enhancing the amazing work that science teachers do to help make science learning not only impactful, but relevant and engaging for students.

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Jayde Taylor smiling at the camera

Jayde Taylor

Chief Financial Officer

Jayde was traveling in South America when she started to think differently about purpose. She had been working in New York and London for award-winning creative agencies, integrating new digital ventures for a rapidly changing market. In Stile she saw a unique opportunity to unlock the potential of young people with innovative content and technology.

The dream team

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Alex Finkel smiling at the camera

Alex Finkel

Head of Platform Engineering

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Alexandra Russell smiling at the camera

Alexandra Russell

Head of Curriculum and Pedagogy

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Ally Macdonald smiling at the camera

Ally Macdonald

API and Integrations Engineer

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Anastasia Reid smiling at the camera

Anastasia Reid

Teacher Happiness Team Member

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Andy Smith smiling at the camera

Andy Smith

Science Team Leader

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Bee Spencer smiling at the camera

Bee Spencer

Science Content Coordinator

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Ben Taylor smiling at the camera

Ben Taylor

Software Engineer Team Lead

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Caitlyn Jones smiling at the camera

Caitlyn Jones

Executive Assistant

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Campbell Edgar smiling at the camera

Campbell Edgar

Science Curriculum Editor

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Chamathi Gamage smiling at the camera

Chamathi Gamage

Business Systems Engineer

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Charlotte Newall smiling at the camera

Charlotte Newall

US Product Operations and EA

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Chelsea Page-Saxton smiling at the camera

Chelsea Page-Saxton

Product Administrative Assistant

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Chloe Marie smiling at the camera

Chloe Marie

Professional Learning Leader

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Chris Hoang smiling at the camera

Chris Hoang

Community Manager

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Daniela White smiling at the camera

Daniela White

Employee Experience Coordinator

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Dave Canavan smiling at the camera

Dave Canavan

Head of Schools, QLD

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Dimity Hately smiling at the camera

Dimity Hately

Special Projects Coordinator

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Elise Kovacs smiling at the camera

Elise Kovacs

Head of Schools, NSW

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Emily Cheng smiling at the camera

Emily Cheng

Finance Manager

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Emma Ngo smiling at the camera

Emma Ngo

Designer

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Gina DiBenedetto smiling at the camera

Gina DiBenedetto

People & Culture Advisor

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Gisela Beer smiling at the camera

Gisela Beer

Illustrator

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Hamish McCoy smiling at the camera

Hamish McCoy

Science Curriculum Editor

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Ikram Saedi smiling at the camera

Ikram Saedi

Software Engineer

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Isere Meaney smiling at the camera

Isere Meaney

Office Administrator

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Jeff Parsons smiling at the camera

Jeff Parsons

Senior Tooling Engineer

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Joshua Ravek smiling at the camera

Joshua Ravek

Head of Schools NSW

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Jules Ius smiling at the camera

Jules Ius

Senior Teacher Happiness Officer

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Katrina Don Paul smiling at the camera

Katrina Don Paul

Customer Operations Officer

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Kelly Fernandez smiling at the camera

Kelly Fernandez

Sales Operations Analyst

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Lavinia Monteiro smiling at the camera

Lavinia Monteiro

Software Engineer

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Leah Jabornik smiling at the camera

Leah Jabornik

Teacher Happiness Team Lead

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Mackenzie Brown smiling at the camera

Mackenzie Brown

IT Specialist

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Makeila Reyes smiling at the camera

Makeila Reyes

Head of People and Culture

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Marcus Finlay smiling at the camera

Marcus Finlay

Science Curriculum Writer

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Mark Mannion smiling at the camera

Mark Mannion

Science Content Coordinator

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Matthew Needham smiling at the camera

Matthew Needham

Head of Business Systems

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Max Lewis smiling at the camera

Max Lewis

Product Engineering Team Lead

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Meghan Fennessy smiling at the camera

Meghan Fennessy

Operations Coordinator

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Mia Holton smiling at the camera

Mia Holton

Videographer

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Nick Spain smiling at the camera

Nick Spain

Senior Platform Engineer

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Nicole Li smiling at the camera

Nicole Li

Commercial Finance Partner

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Paul Giardina smiling at the camera

Paul Giardina

Senior Teacher Happiness Officer

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Penelope Creagh smiling at the camera

Penelope Creagh

Science Curriculum Writer

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Pooja Prabhakaran smiling at the camera

Pooja Prabhakaran

Designer

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Quynh-Chi Nguyen smiling at the camera

Quynh-Chi Nguyen

Staff Software Engineer

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Rhys Walsh-Tindall smiling at the camera

Rhys Walsh-Tindall

Support Engineer

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Sean Hurley smiling at the camera

Sean Hurley

Head of Design

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Shannon Cole smiling at the camera

Shannon Cole

Senior Software Engineer

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Shawna Jensen smiling at the camera

Shawna Jensen

Head of Curriculum and Pedagogy

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Sofia Linardou smiling at the camera

Sofia Linardou

Software Engineering Intern

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Stacey Carter smiling at the camera

Stacey Carter

Senior Software Engineer

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Steve Dornan smiling at the camera

Steve Dornan

Head of Schools, WA

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Stiele Hagens smiling at the camera

Stiele Hagens

Operations Manager

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Tim Brade smiling at the camera

Tim Brade

Studio Manager

A black & white portrait of Stile team member Toni Cox smiling at the camera

Toni Cox

Head of Special Projects

Who we are

Join the team

We share a passion for great science education

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Join a vibrant community of passionate science educators

Thousands of teachers use Stile every week. It’s already the #1 science curriculum in Australia, and it’s fast becoming the curriculum of choice for teachers in the US.