Our team

Jamie MacDonald

CEO

Jamie MacDonald

CEO

Jamie was born in Gore and went to Gore Playcentre. Since then he has worked for a variety of businesses helping people get the most out of their online interactions. Jamie originally created Storypark for his mum, who is an early childhood educator in Gore.

Andrew Fyfe

User Experience Designer

Andrew Fyfe

User Experience Designer

Andrew was born in Karangahake Gorge and went to Nassau Kindy in the Bahamas. Andrew has been helping design Storypark since it first began, and makes sure it’s easy for teachers and families to use.

Athena Skliros

Canadian Pedagogical Consultant

Athena Skliros

Canadian Pedagogical Consultant

Athena was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. She has worked in a range of child care and family support programs and now provides training and education to early childhood educators and other professionals. Athena is active in her promotion of best practices in early childhood and was named an Exchange Leader by Child Care Exchange magazine in July 2018

Lynnette Parkin

Head of Customer Experience

Lynnette Parkin

Head of Customer Experience

Lynnette was born in Lower Hutt and went to Brown Owl Kindergarten. She was a primary school teacher before moving into customer focused roles throughout the health and wellbeing sectors. Lynnette was a user of Storypark in her daughter’s ECE centre before joining the team in 2018. Lynnette’s passion in her role is fuelled by her core belief that every child deserves an environment filled with love, warmth and a deep understanding of their unique needs. She channels this philosophy into our customer journey and thrives on creating positive experiences for our customers.

Sharon Carlson

Head of Pedagogy

Sharon Carlson

Head of Pedagogy

Sharon grew up in Taranaki, and went on to become an ECE ICT facilitator for CORE Education in New Zealand. Sharon joined Storypark to make sure teachers get the most out of their professional development.

Aaron Thornton

Software Developer

Aaron Thornton

Software Developer

Aaron was born in Lower Hutt and went to Jack and Jill Kindergarten. He graduated from VUW with a Computer Science degree. Inspired to work on projects with good social outcomes he decided to join Storypark.

Esmé Putt

iOS developer

Esmé Putt

iOS developer

Esmé grew up in West Auckland and went to Woodlands Park Kindergarten. She is currently finishing studying Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Biomedical Science degrees as well as studying Te Reo Māori. She has a huge passion for learning and is most happy when she is around people.

Alex Quinlivan

Head of Mobile Development

Alex Quinlivan

Head of Mobile Development

Alex was born in Wellington and went to Khandallah Kindergarten. Alex has been developing mobile apps since he left school.

Ben Childs

Media Production Manager

Ben Childs

Media Production Manager

Ben was born in London, but he went to Busy C’s preschool in Lyttelton. Ben’s strongest skill is telling stories through video.

Kim Paice

Accounts

Kim Paice

Accounts

Kim was born in Wellington, but later moved to Rotorua. When she’s not crunching numbers, she’s training her dogs to compete in three different dog sports.

Beth Clements

Australian Pedagogical Consultant

Beth Clements

Australian Pedagogical Consultant

Beth has worked in early childhood in a variety of roles over the last 17 years, including Educator, Centre Director, Area Manager, Educational development manager, Trainer and Coach. She’s been an expert user of Storypark for three years and brings this unique perspective to her pedagogical training skills.

Amanda Higgins

New Zealand Pedagogical Consultant

Amanda Higgins

New Zealand Pedagogical Consultant

Amanda has managed and led teaching teams in both long-day and sessional early childhood education services, lectured at University, and has been a facilitator working with teams of teachers exploring how digital technologies support children’s learning. In 2015 she completed her Master’s thesis, which investigated how e-portfolios affected communication between teachers and families in an early childhood education centre.

Matt Tunnicliffe

Head of Business Development

Matt Tunnicliffe

Head of Business Development

Matt was born in Wellington and went to Newtown Kindergarten. He has spent his career working across Australasia building and maintaining meaningful customer relationships. Since the birth of his daughter, Sophie, in March 2018, Matt has found new purpose and is committed to supporting every child’s learning journey through creating meaningful connections with the community around them.

Jamie Lawrie

Data Analyst

Jamie Lawrie

Data Analyst

Jamie grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland and attended Mary Erskine Nursery. He has spent 20 years working in various data analytics roles and is excited to see how data can help Storypark develop even better products and deepen the understanding of its users

Bernadette Keating

Product Marketing Manager

Bernadette Keating

Product Marketing Manager

Bernadette was born in Salisbury, England, moving to New Zealand at the age of one where she attended Moriah Kindergarten. From moving to South Korea, to teaching 5 year olds and adults, she enjoys the challenges associated with new cultures, experiences and relationships and seeks them out to learn from and apply to work.

Sarah Pennell

User Experience Researcher

Sarah Pennell

User Experience Researcher

Sarah was born in Lower Hutt and went to Maungaraki Playcentre where her sensational Mum was a Supervisor. Sarah is passionate about creating truly delightful web experiences; helping people feel valued, heard, comfortable and safe.

Eileen Schwab

Product Manager

Eileen Schwab

Product Manager

Eileen was born in Berlin and grew up around Northland, attending Bream Bay Kindergarten in Ruakaka. She loves creating tools and experiences that help make people’s jobs easier, more effective and enjoyable.

Libby Schumacher-Knight

Full-stack developer

Libby Schumacher-Knight

Full-stack developer

I was born in Wellington and went to Ngaio Kindergarten. I eventually followed my mother and sister into the education sector by becoming a secondary school teacher. In 2015 I changed careers by completing Enspiral Dev Academy and have been working in the tech industry ever since. I love surfing and can often be found down at Lyall Bay waiting for the perfect wave.

Marielle Cheyne

Web developer

Marielle Cheyne

Web developer

I grew up on a small sheep farm in the Waikato region. Prior to completing my BSc in Computer Science and Information Systems at Victoria University, I studied some early childhood education, which makes Storypark the perfect place for me to be.

Katie Dowle

Chief Customer Officer

Katie Dowle

Chief Customer Officer

Katie was born in Wellington and went to Newtown Kindergarten. She started her career as a high school mathematics teacher and her extended family is full of educators. In recent years Katie has been working in the areas of product and data for technology companies, helping them provide better solutions for their customer's needs.

Kerry Parker

Customer Success Team Lead

Kerry Parker

Customer Success Team Lead

Kerry was born in Wellington and went to Northland Kindergarten. She was once an NZSL communicator for deaf children but now works with grown-ups to help businesses communicate with customers. She's also lived in the UK and Canada, and loves travelling, coffee, baking, and looking at other people's dogs (and cats).

Paul Gray

Growth Product Manager

Paul Gray

Growth Product Manager

Paul was born in Rotorua and went to Elstree Kindergarten. His background is in growth and product marketing, and he’s happiest turning ideas into outcomes. With two teachers in his immediate whānau, he’s excited to work at the intersection of education and technology. Outside of work, he’s in his element exploring Aotearoa on foot or mountain bike.

Melissa George

Account Manager

Melissa George

Account Manager

Ben Salt

CTO

Ben Salt

CTO

Ben was born in Tauranga and attended Marlin Street Kindergarten in Mount Maunganui. As a child he loved taking things apart to see how they work - more recently he’s learnt how to put some of them back together again. These days he works with technical teams to help them deliver business outcomes.

Winsey Li

Mobile Developer

Winsey Li

Mobile Developer

Winsey was born in Hong Kong and went to Tsing Yi Trade Association Kindergarten in New Territories. She moved to Auckland NZ in 2017. Winsey has been a developer since graduating with a computer science degree. She enjoys using her technical knowledge to help people make their life better with IT solutions.

Nellie Hodda

Australian Pedagogical Consultant

Nellie Hodda

Australian Pedagogical Consultant

Nellie grew up in Wollongong and went to Balls Paddock Children’s Centre. She is an Early Childhood Teacher with several years experience working with Storypark in early childhood services in Sydney. Nellie has a focus on relational pedagogy and is an advocate for respectful practice with infants and toddlers in group care settings. Nellie is on the board of the Infant and Toddler Advocacy Network Australia (ITANA) and became one of the first Australian RIE® Associates in 2023.

Cam Findlay

Product Manager

Cam Findlay

Product Manager

Cam was born in Brisbane, Australia and came to New Zealand at 18 months old (his kiwi parents just happened to be across the ditch when he arrived). He had a great time at Craighead Kindergarten in Timaru, New Zealand - always one for asking why and digging into problems. Involved in tech from a young age, Cam has a wide range of expertise having worked across the private, public and non-profit sectors in a number of roles including software developer, community manager/advocate, public policy advisor and product manager/wrangler.

Dan Simmonds

Software Engineer

Dan Simmonds

Software Engineer

I'm Dan, I went to kindy at Pooh Corner on the UNSW campus. I still remember trying to dig a tunnel with our plastic spades from the sandpit, underground to the McDonalds we could see over the wall. We were all very upset when the hole was filled in the next day. I've been working as a software developer for over 20 years, but have also been a child actor, a punk accordionist and a home-brewer. I love baking, swimming in the ocean and being overdressed for the occasion. If you invite me to your karaoke party we will be friends forever.

David McMartin

Customer Success

David McMartin

Customer Success

I was born in Invercargill and went to Longbush kindergarten with other rural kids based outside of the city. From all accounts, as a toddler I was a “memorable experience”. With that, I have the deepest respect for early childhood educators and their bottomless patience. Now as a grown up, I consider myself a communicator, a helper and a doer. I love challenges, refining processes and problem-solving. In my spare time I live for travelling, high-country motorcycling, music, film, technology, plants, dad jokes, and taming a nerdy curiosity for everything else.

Danny Smith

Chief Financial Officer

Danny Smith

Chief Financial Officer

Danny was born in Te Puke, and went to Daybreak Montessori where he can remember playing with the trucks in the sand pit. He has a passion for technology, finance, and trying to make things simpler. He loves a good book, keeping fit, and great food. After graduating with commerce and arts degrees and becoming a Chartered Accountant, Danny has worked with high-growth companies to help them navigate all manner of potholes when scaling.

Josh McKnight

Account Executive

Josh McKnight

Account Executive

Josh was born in Tillsonburg and went to Karen's Capers Preschool. Since then, he has found a passion for communication and connection. Josh works to empower educators to ensure every child has the opportunity to flourish. Outside of work, Josh enjoys sports, music, and being with friends and family.

James Everett

Finance Manager

James Everett

Finance Manager

James was born in Wellington, New Zealand and went to Adventure Kindergarten, where he can remember taste-testing play dough and operating the heavy machinery in the sand pit. With a background in finance at a high-growth SaaS company, James has developed a passion for using technology to optimise processes and maximise efficiency, freeing up time for high-value tasks. When not working, you can find him exploring the outdoors, playing sports or enjoying video games

Samantha Tyler

Account Executive

Samantha Tyler

Account Executive

Sam grew up in Christchurch where she went to Fairleigh Kindergarten and moved to Wellington in 2023. With a background in sales, and customer service Sam has a passion for building relationships and delivering memorable customer experiences. Sam has been a first hand user of Storypark with her daughter for the last few years and knows how impactful it is to be able to have that connection to your child and early learning centre. Outside of work Sam is dedicated to her health and fitness, is a devoted Mum to her 4 year old daughter, and enjoys spending time with her friends and family.

Braymon Ramirez

Senior Developer

Braymon Ramirez

Senior Developer

Braymon was born in the Philippines and attended kindergarten at St. Paul College of Ilocos Sur. He moved to New Zealand in 2016. He liked to piece together Lego blocks to build different creations during his childhood. Now, instead of Lego blocks, he builds software applications as a software engineer.

Sumedha Saini

Head of Engineering

Sumedha Saini

Head of Engineering

Sumedha was born and raised in India. She has been in the tech industry for over 15 years, in a range of leadership roles. Having used Storypark with both of her children, she understands the value it brings to both the families' and the educators' lives, so she is really excited about driving more delightful experiences for our users.

Sabeena Tsan

Customer Success Representative

Sabeena Tsan

Customer Success Representative

Sabeena spent her early childhood years in Taiwan and attended the kindergarten branch of Dunhua Elementary School in Taipei. She moved to New Zealand when she was 7 and now calls Tairua home. She considers herself to be a bit of a generalist / jack of all trades, having worked across multiple industries and roles, before finally setting her sights on applying her passion for people and building relationships in the tech industry. Outside of work, Sabeena enjoys reading, travelling, and taking part in her local community theatre.

Erika Vaughan

Customer Support Representative

Erika Vaughan

Customer Support Representative

Erika was born in Sydney, Australia and attended a family-run child care service close to her home. While growing up during the Lion King era, she went to preschool and believed she was a powerful tiger - walking on all fours, this has developed over time to a normal two feet walking position but she still has a powerful perspective on life and lives each day hoping she can help people and make them smile. In her spare time, other than doing five loads of laundry and picking up 100 Lego pieces up off the floor for the 10th time for the day, she likes to get out in the sun with her 3 children, walking, going to sports and finding new spots to eat out at. She loves to talk and get to know people over a good coffee or spaghetti bowl.

Tiffany Wall

Account Executive

Tiffany Wall

Account Executive

Tiffany is originally from the UK where she went to the local preschool, she studied at university in both the UK and Memphis, USA. She has spent the last 10 years working in Sales and Customer Services, Tiffany loves chatting with customers and building relationships. Outside of work she enjoys travel, working out and family time. As a parent, Tiffany is a first hand user of Storypark - which she loves!

Karl Dougherty

Customer Success Representative

Karl Dougherty

Customer Success Representative

Karl was born in Whanganui and went to Paparārangi Kindergarten. He loves exploring, travelling and supporting the community, and has worked as a project consultant, SCUBA professional and lighthouse keeper.

Farida Elkerdany

Senior QA Automation Engineer

Farida Elkerdany

Senior QA Automation Engineer

Farida was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt. She started school at the age of four, but through her three children, who attended a Montessori preschool in Egypt, she came to appreciate the value of a good kindergarten. This experience inspired her to study the Montessori learning approach more deeply. Sometime after, Farida moved to New Zealand with her family. She is a strong advocate for quality and good user experience, with professional experience in various industries, including healthcare, banking, and insurance.

Kyra Sproule

Product Marketing Manager

Kyra Sproule

Product Marketing Manager

Kyra spent her early childhood in Opotiki where she attended Playcentre with her mum and discovered her love of creative expression. She then travelled and worked in the UK and Canada before returning to NZ with her husband and 3 charming children in tow. She loves product marketing and the opportunity to help people use tech solutions to make their lives easier. She's currently attempting to complete all of New Zealand's Great Walks, doing one each year with her dad and her husband, and maybe one day will consider taking the children.

Marian Clements

Senior Engineer

Marian Clements

Senior Engineer

Marian is from the Wellington region. Her earliest memory of kindergarten was constructing things at the mini woodworking table. She followed that love of building things into VUW's Computer Science degree and has been working as a web developer for 8 years. Her passion is to deeply understand software and develop sustainable systems to empower users.

Eugene Pempel

Senior Engineer

Eugene Pempel

Senior Engineer

Eugene was born and brought up in Russia. He has enjoyed working as a software engineer for over 15 years. Outside of work he is a coffee lover, a huge fan of good, old electronic music and a keyboard enthusiast.

Andy French

Senior Engineer

Andy French

Senior Engineer

Andy was born and raised in Wellington, getting his first education at Miramar Central Kindergarten. He has done numerous things across his working life but, along with coaching sports, coding is the one that stuck - coming up on 17 years. If he's not behind a keyboard or a chisel, you can find him out on the grass somewhere, chasing a ball or coaching children to chase a ball.

Bren Murrell

Senior Front End Engineer

Bren Murrell

Senior Front End Engineer

Bren was born in Lower Hutt and went to Petone Kindergarten. As a neuro-diverse developer, he's super passionate about accessibility and making the web accessible to all. Bren's youngest sons were both Storypark kids and he followed us for about 10 years before joining the team.

Edwin Rozario

Senior Engineer

Edwin Rozario

Senior Engineer

Edwin was born and raised in Kerala. He moved to New Zealand after completing university and now calls Wellington home. Edwin fell in love with programming at his first job with a telecom company where he watched live logs of people using the service he helped build. Edwin loves the outdoors, he is always training for either a swim or a run event and has done two triathlons at Scorching Bay.

Join the Storypark team

Think you can help us achieve our purpose? Want to work in an inclusive, high performing environment? Got a great childhood picture you want to share with the world?

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Our team

Join the Storypark team

Think you can help us achieve our purpose? Want to work in an inclusive, high performing environment? Got a great childhood picture you want to share with the world?

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