Meet the Team
Elaine Queathem
CEO, Co-Founder
ELAINE has been involved with technology her entire life, but when working for a small software technology company in 2009, she became acutely aware of the shortage of qualified programming resources which were essential for a small company to grow and thrive. Now, several years later, she is in a position to begin to help people develop those important and sought after skills. That’s why she founded Savvy Coders.
Alex Pearson
VP Learning, Co-Founder
ALEX is one of the co-founders of Savvy Coders and the primary author of the course curriculum. It’s Alex’s mission to help others grow as developers through formal instruction, personal mentorship, and contributions to the software development community. He currently works as a Senior Software Engineer/Application Team Lead at Volley Labs.
Dezerae Abelon
Director of Operations
DEZERAE has spent much of her life living abroad in Europe and enjoys the excitement and challenges that travel and new experiences bring.
With a strong background in international business operations and a Masters in Organizational Change, she brings to the table a yearning desire to inject change for the better and bring the opportunity of Savvy Coders to those who want to make a difference. She is a recent coding graduate and uses her experience as encouragement to others who want to join the field.
Laurie Wilson
Mentor and Corporate Sales
LAURIE has always had a passion for Information Technology. Starting early in her career, she worked for MasterCard International and was responsible for their Email Help Desk and Training function.
Over the years, she has built a great reputation in the St. Louis area as a Recruiter, Account Executive, and Leader. Her resume and interview preparation are quality-oriented and she works hard to ensure that everyone is as prepared as they can be for the interview, which makes her a great fit for mentoring Savvy Coder students!
Ashley Hunter
Social Media Manager
ASHLEY is a bilingual “Jill of many Trades” that wears many hats. She likes web development, UI/UX, and interacting with people on social media. Being a business owner, she found out how much of a niche she had for social media marketing which landed her where she is now. When she isn’t working, she’s at home spending time with her husband, dog Invidia and tending to her plants & vegetable garden. She can be reached at [email protected]
Vivek Khattri
Instructor & Agile Coach
VIVEK is passionate about sharing his knowledge, expertise, and experience that he’s gained from working in 7+ multinational companies and multiple startups. Working as a Scrum Master & Agile Coach, he has gained valuable insight into how to be an effective facilitator and coach. In addition, he has spent 100’s of hours in agile boot camps; teaching and coaching agile to aspiring Scrum Masters and Product Owners.
Cameron Brantly
Instructor
CAMERON heard about coding in casual conversations several times. “I decided that I should learn a little about it for the next time it came up. As it turns out, I really liked it!! I signed up for Savvy Coders shortly after that. I recently made a career change to become a web developer and enjoy my daily tasks. I’m not sure what to say my future goals are. Right now I’m enjoying learning more about this field and the opportunities that it has opened up for me.”
Brandon Bunch
Review Instructor
BRANDON is a Full-Stack Software Engineer working for InSequence Inc, creating a software procurement tool to be used by government agencies. When he isn’t working, he enjoys traveling, games, playing with his dog and binge watching entire series of shows in a weekend.
Matt Thomas
Advisor/Instructor
MATT is an experienced solution-minded Senior Software Engineer currently employed at Bayer Crop Science on the customer platform for internal and external web presences. He is dedicated to mentoring students & junior developers in development and career skills. He routinely presents talks and assists in organizing local Meetups. In his personal time, he likes to work on and build automotive, web and IoT projects.
Johan Bester
TA
Johan is an alum of the June 2020 Savvy Coders Bootcamp. He is currently a freelance web developer living and working in the bi-state metro area of St. Louis. He has been in love with technology ever since he was 5 years old when he saw a main-frame computer at his dad’s work.
Johan is a 5th generation African from mix European heritage and has worked and lived in several countries around the world. When he is not messing with computers, he’s reading, playing games, watching movies, working in his vegetable garden, and practicing stick fighting.
He likes to help people. He is motivated to help build a better, brighter, more just, and more sustainable tech future for all.
https://johanbester66.wordpress.com/
Trey Allen
TA
TREY has a background in Customer Service, IT Support, and Networking. “I enjoy helping others push towards their dreams and desires for achieving the unachievable. I enjoy coding and spreading the knowledge I learn with others.”
Jonathan Dove
TA
JONATHAN got into coding a few years ago. “My job was going nowhere and I wanted to move into something new. So, I started by taking classes and tried to learn on my own but I was laid off, I decided to really dive into coding.
Savvy Coders gave me the transition I needed. Outside of coding, I enjoy Yoga, hiking, video games, and I run a weekly session of Pathfinder second edition, which is a tabletop role-playing game. I found that I enjoy teaching and I’m happy to help.”
Eric Keiser
Instructor
ERIC is a web developer and designer who lives and breathes tech! “I am constantly honing my skills to solve bigger and better problems.”
Michael Bryant
Instructor
MICHAEL is an experienced Freelance Web Developer with a demonstrated history of working in the computer software industry. Skilled in Negotiation, Github, Customer Service, Engineering, and Strategic Planning. Strong engineering professional attended college at Chattanooga State Community College.
John Cotton
Instructor
JOHN is a full stack developer living in Chattanooga. He is passionate about open source and mobile. In addition to developing software and teaching others, he programs electronic music, produces documentary films, and spends the rest of his time outdoors. John has endless creativity, which he combines with a passion for teaching others about coding to create a dynamic and fun learning experience. A little known, fun fact about John; he won an Emmy Award for his work on From The Streets to The Stage: The Journey of Fredrick Davis, a PBS documentary.
website: johncotton.us
github: thejohncotton
