Our Team

A teacher, learner, strategist, implementer, leader and co-founder of ED MAP, Dr. Mark has overall responsibility for ED MAP’s success. He has been aptly described as an educator who became a serial entrepreneur through need. Nearly 20 years ago, as the director of adult learning services at a major state institution, he recognized that his distance learning students needed a better way to get their course materials. (This was in the days before there was an Internet in commercial use.) Two companies later, he is credited with starting this industry and, along with his valued colleagues, continues to set industry benchmarks.

He holds a doctorate in adult education from the University of Georgia. As an author, consultant and college instructor he has been in the trenches and those valuable experiences inform the structure and culture of ED MAP. His mantra, “It’s the service, not the book” is the distinguishing feature of his companies.

His commitment to customers, staff and his community are exceptional in any environment. While he readily admits that it’s an old tired saying, his actions and ED MAP’s activities underscore his belief that it’s “what you do, not what you say.”

A strategist and co-founder of ED MAP, Kerry is responsible for most company activities. As ED MAP’s chief operating officer, Kerry oversees the company’s technology, operations, business development and client service areas, ensuring ED MAP’s products and services match and anticipate changing market needs. Equally important, her passion for providing truly outstanding customer service guarantees that the company’s values are reflected in all client activities.

Kerry is also a director on ED MAP’s board where she is actively engaged in strategic planning, managing the company’s growth and strategic partnerships.  

Kerry has spent her entire professional career in the distance learning industry. Prior to co-founding ED MAP, she served as the Operations Manager and General Manager at another company in the industry. Indicative of the generalist and the thinker, Kerry holds degrees in Spanish and philosophy.

Greg Smith is the Chief Financial Officer of ED MAP. As an entrepreneurial leader with solid business acumen, Greg has more than 25 years of progressive financial and operational experience and a proven track record of generating bottom-line improvement. Greg brings with him experience in numerous industry sectors including risk management, insurance, technology, healthcare, real estate and automotive. Greg also brings to ED MAP prior experience in working with both PE- and VC-funded entities.

As CFO of ED MAP, Greg is a key member of the executive team who is responsible for both setting and driving the agenda of the company. Greg also oversees the accounting, treasury, budget, tax, legal, financial reporting, risk management, M&A and administrative functions for the company.

Prior to joining ED MAP, Greg had a 17-year career serving as the CFO of The Frank Gates Companies. Greg was instrumental in growing Frank Gates from an Ohio entity to an international holding company by executing a series of more than ten startup entities, six acquisitions and strong organic growth. Greg began his career with Arthur Andersen & Co in Dallas, Texas.

Greg is also a Certified Public Accountant. He received his BBA from Southern Methodist University and an MBA from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University.

A principal and member of the start-up team, Andrew is instrumental in procuring many of the programs and client institutions currently being served by ED MAP. His activities contribute to ED MAP's rapid growth and he continues to build upon an impressive network of contacts in the distance education community, with particularly robust links to many higher-ed textbook publishers.

Andrew was the Director of Business Development at a similar company for several years prior to his activities with ED MAP.  Andrew's experience and background are firmly centered in the European and global sales markets as a result of his employment with Libbey-Owens Glass Company's European Division. Andrew was educated at the British Institute of Management and the Royal Society of Arts.

In joining ED MAP in August 2008, Kelby was continuing a professional career built on software development and technology consulting. At ED MAP Kelby oversees the development of next-generation technology products and a scalable infrastructure to support expanding business development, operational and accounting activities.

Kelby graduated from Ohio University in 1994 with a degree in Management Information Systems and Finance and took a job developing middleware solutions. Five years later he left that position to co-found a technology consulting company focused on software quality and system performance testing and optimization. After selling that company to a larger firm, he eventually founded a new venture that worked with universities and small- to mid-sized businesses to assist the assessment of their overall technology management and operational maturity. A serial entrepreneur, his last venture before joining ED MAP was co-founding an onshore technology outsourcing firm specializing in data conversion and management and application development, testing and integration.

Since joining ED MAP in April 2008, Sarah has continued a career fundamentally grounded in customer support and client retention activities. In her position as vice president of client services, Sarah is responsible for supporting all aspects of ED MAP client relationships and oversees client-facing ED MAP activities. Her teams support clients and their students in all aspects of course materials acquisition and distribution. With a special focus on digital migration planning and project management, the account management and student support teams at ED MAP help our clients successfully transition to the future.

Sarah studied English Literature as an undergraduate at Ohio University. She began working in student housing for Ambling Management Company in 2002, increasing student retention by more than 10% during her time as manager. After successfully managing all staff, budget, and marketing aspects at a property at Ohio University, and traveling frequently to other Ambling Student Housing properties around the country to train other managers' staff, Sarah decided to round out her education. She entered Ohio University’s Professional MBA program, earning her MBA degree in 2011.

Paul Benedict is the senior vice president of business development for ED MAP. Prior to joining ED MAP, Paul was a senior associate with Adena Ventures – an early stage venture capital fund investing in technology firms located in central Appalachia. Paul was with Adena for nearly 10 years and served on the boards of directors of Threewide, Inc., Toobla, and Global Cooling. He was an observer on the boards of ED MAP and Mersive Technologies, named a Red Herring 100 Most Promising Tech company in 2009. In 2010, he was instrumental in selling Threewide to Realtor.com (NASDAQ:MOVE) for $13 million in cash. Paul also ran the fund’s $7.5 million operational assistance program and led $3.1 million in financings. Prior to Adena, Paul was Rev. Jesse Jackson’s speechwriter at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. He earned his MBA from Ohio State University's Fisher College of Business and his bachelor's degree in political science from Ohio University's Honors Tutorial College.

Nancy started working with ED MAP in 2008, advising us on employee matters and serving as our HR and Employee Relations consultant. In 2011, she joined ED MAP full-time as Vice President of Human Resources. In her current position, Nancy plans and directs all aspects of ED MAP’s human resources policies, objectives and initiatives. She is responsible for employment and compensation policies as well as reviewing benefits and ensuring compliance with applicable labor laws. Nancy also leads our management efforts in strategic change for employee issues, including leadership training and team development, project management, compensation, benefit and reward programs, and recruitment and retention programs.

Nancy has been involved in employee relations and human resources for more than 25 years as a manager, director, leader and instructor. A resident of Athens, Ohio since 1994, she has earned a business degree from the University of Northern Iowa and post-graduate work from Ohio University.