Who We Are
John Danner – Advisor
John co-founded Rocketship Education, where he served as CEO from 2005 to 2013. Rocketship combined classroom and online teaching serving 3,500 students across 7 schools and became the highest-performing low-income school system in California. John advises Sora on organizational development and school processes.
Chris Mahoney – Advisor
Chris led one of the fastest growing charter schools in California, focused on project-based learning that integrated the students’ interests into their learning. Right now, Chris works with the Sora team on pedagogy, policies, and enrollment. He’s particularly focused on relationships, intellectual growth, and strong development of morals in our students.
Lisa McGuire – Advisor
Lisa McGuire has served as a teacher, department chair, and director of admissions for schools for multiple years. At King’s Ridge Christian School in Georgia, she helped acquire partnerships and impactful resources for the school as part of their experiential education, encouraging students to take on internships and meet with mentors. Lisa advises Sora on enrollment, recruitment, and partnerships.
Brandy Daniels – Counselor
Brandy is a Certified Professional Coach (CPC) who holds a master’s degree in public health with a focus on behavioral sciences and health education from Emory University, Atlanta, GA, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Miami University, Oxford, OH. Her mission as a counselor is to help her students realize their strengths, and embrace who they are so they can confidently navigate through changes in their life or career.
Michael Granado – Humanities Expert
Michael has an extensive educational background in the humanities, paired with 5 years of teaching experience at high school and college levels. Michael is currently a PhD candidate in Philosophy at Staffordshire University, and has earned a M.T.S in Historical Theology from Emory University. He will be working with students on their individual projects, while simultaneously educating them in writing, reading, critical thinking, and other humanities related skills needed to excel in their future endeavors.
Carolyn Reeves – STEM Expert
Carolyn started off her career as a software engineer. Eventually, she decided to get her Masters in Mathematics and moved into teaching, serving as a high school math teacher in multiple schools. As a teacher, she believes in making math project-based and teaching real skills like coding in the classroom. Carolyn is working with students on their individual projects, while also helping them incorporate math and science skills.
Garrett Smiley, Indra Sofian, and Wesley Samples — all of whom have founded revenue-generating, successful startups — met at Georgia Tech and founded Sora.
Prior to Sora, Garrett co-founded charities that built wells in developing nations and taught financial literacy concepts to foster kids.
Indra worked as a venture partner at Contrary Capital, a university-focused venture capital firm and started an organization called The Intern Project that hosted a community of interns in cities around the country.
Wesley co-founded a creative agency called Elevate Media and served as Co-Director of a student entrepreneur organization called Startup Exchange at Georgia Tech.
New from Sora
