Mark Atkinson
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Mark Atkinson is responsible for Mursion’s long-term strategic plan, capital requirements and key leadership positions. Mark has spent the last twenty years building technology ventures that support human capital development in K-12 education and corporate learning. Mark founded TeachForward, LLC a full service educational consulting firm with a proprietary web platform that delivers custom-developed, performance assessments to K-12 educators. Before working in education, Mark served as Senior Producer and Manager of New Markets for CBS News Productions, and was an Emmy award winning Producer for Peter Jennings Reporting, ABC News, where he produced a series of network specials on U.S. foreign policy. Mr. Atkinson is a graduate of Yale College.
Arjun Nagendran
CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER
Arjun Nagendran is the founding visionary behind Mursion’s extraordinary simulation platform. He overseas all aspects of Mursion’s technology, product strategy, and it’s overall vision. Arjun completed his Ph.D. in Robotics from the University of Manchester, UK, specializing in landing mechanisms for Unmanned Air Vehicles. Prior to Mursion, he worked for several years as an academic researcher leading the ground vehicle robotic systems for Team Tumbleweed, which was one of the six-finalists at the Ministry of Defense (UK) Grand Challenge. During his academic career, he contributed to several projects and manuscripts including the development of a robot to explore the Great Egyptian Pyramid.
Dovid Gurevich
EVP, FINANCE
Dovid leads Mursion’s finance and administrative operations. Before Mursion, Dovid Gurevich spent 8 years at NexGen Investments placing and monitoring operating investments. There, he was also was running $15M/yr advisory services, with a focus on educational technology and health technology. Prior to NexGen, Gurevich spent 4 years at the Knowledge Universe private equity fund, where he was responsible for $250 million in strategic investments in K-12 and post-secondary segments. Gurevich holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from DeVry University and an MBA from the Keller School of Management.
Christina Yu
VP, MARKETING
Christina Yu overseas all aspects of Mursion’s brand identity and growth across verticals and is committed to unlocking workforce potential through emerging learning technologies. Prior to her current role, she was on the founding team of a new PaaS adaptive learning division at McGraw-Hill Education, working to open and license technology to workforce learning partners. The role leveraged her experience managing a portfolio of adaptive products in the Higher-Ed division and guiding strategic communications. Earlier in her career, she worked at the edtech startup Knewton in a variety of product, learning, and business roles, and as a professor of English at Kean University and Southern Connecticut State University. Christina holds an AB in English and Creative Writing from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business.
Brentt Brown
VP, SALES
As Mursion’s Director of Business Strategy, Brentt is responsible for expanding Mursion’s ground-breaking training platform to new verticals, securing partnerships to fund R&D efforts, and raising awareness about the power of virtual simulation for occupations that require complex interpersonal skills. Prior to joining Mursion, Brentt was the Director of Innovation at Pivot Learning Partners, a large professional learning and coaching organization in California. In this role Brentt was responsible for leading teams of experienced subject matter experts in designing, piloting and scaling new professional learning programs. Brentt has a Master’s in Public Policy (MPP) from the University of California Berkeley, and has published numerous articles and research reports.
Carrie Straub
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Dr. Carrie Straub, Executive Director of Education Programs and Research: Dr. Straub is responsible for leading the design and implementation of virtual reality immersive learning among Mursion’s 100+ partners. Dr. Straub provides guidance and consultation to leaders, researchers, and educators about how to best leverage virtual reality simulation to elevate communication skills for high-stakes professions. Previously, she was the Research Director for TeachLivE, the project at UCF that originally developed and tested the core technology utilized by Mursion. In that capacity, she planned, directed, and coordinated activities for a $1.5M national research project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Sheryl Linsky Adam
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CUSTOMER SUCCESS
Sheryl Linsky Adam is passionate about empowering professionals to build skills and become leaders. After a career leading complex teams and projects in K12 education, she now focuses on delivering measurable outcomes to learners and organizations. Every day she aims to delight clients with authentic simulations that blend the best in live human interaction with artificial intelligence. Sheryl is a Bay Area native, a graduate of Yale School of Management, and currently lives in Oakland with her family of mischief-makers.
Alex Zelenin
ART DIRECTOR
Alex Zelenin is responsible for all 2D and 3D art development at Mursion. Driving the content development branch of the business, Alex oversees production of Mursion’s virtual emotive avatars, animation systems and VR environments. Leveraging game development experience, he has built scalable production pipelines, streamlined project execution and contributed key features to Mursion’s proprietary technology platform. Working with clients in the corporate, education, healthcare and defense industries, Alex is passionate about building real-time simulation technology that empowers people unlock their empathic potential. He holds an MS in Interactive Systems and Computer Animation from the University of Central Florida.
Robin Van Horn
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CLIENT SERVICES
Robin Van Horn is passionate about enriching the client experience at Mursion. Her work experience includes over 20 years of roles in the Professional and Client Services for software companies in the Education sector. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Texas Austin in French and a licensure in Elementary Education with a Reading Specialist endorsement also from UT.
Our Talented Team, Interactors & More
Our Advisory Board
Jeremy Bailenson
Bailenson is the founding director of Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab, Thomas More Storke Professor in the Department of Communication, Professor (by courtesy) of Education, Professor (by courtesy) Program in Symbolic Systems, a Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment, and a Faculty Leader at Stanford’s Center for Longevity. Bailenson studies the psychology of Virtual Reality (VR), in particular how virtual experiences lead to changes in perceptions of self and others. He has published more than 100 academic papers, in interdisciplinary journals such as Science and PLoS One, as well domain-specific journals in many fields.
Dr. William Follette
Dr. William C. Follette received his PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Washington with additional specialty training in research design and quantitative psychology. Dr. Follette is a full professor at the University of Nevada, Reno. He has served as a member of multiple grant review panels for the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Follette has more than 200 academic papers, book chapters and presentations at professional conferences. Of special interest to Dr. Follette is the study of how individuals learn complex social skills.
Walter Greenleaf
Dr. Walter Greenleaf is a research scientist trained in neuro and behavioral science and a medical product developer, with a specific focus on virtual reality and digital health technology. He is currently the Director of Technology and Strategy at the University of Colorado National Mental Health Innovation Center, and a member of the Board of Directors for Brainstorm: The Stanford Laboratory for Brain Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship. He has consistently maintained a dual-role in academics and business–lecturing, conducting research and publishing, while concurrently developing and bringing medical products to market.
Scott Compton
Compton, Ph.D. is an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Duke University Medical Center and an associate professor in the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience. Dr. Compton’s interest in advising Mursion is fueled by his interest in how to leverage technology to evaluate and improve complex interpersonal behaviors informed by basic principles of human behavior. Dr. Compton’s other research interests have focused broadly on child and adolescent psychotherapy treatment development and evaluation, with particular interest in pediatric anxiety and depressive disorders; multi-site comparative treatment trials; and translating efficacious treatments into community settings. Dr. Compton’s more general research interests include behavioral theory, philosophy of science, analysis of outcome studies and longitudinal data; clinical trial outcome research and design, and mental health policy issues relevant to clinical practice.
Alex “Sandy” Pentland
Pentland directs the MIT Connection Science and Human Dynamics labs and previously helped create and direct the MIT Media Lab and the Media Lab Asia in India. Some of his focuses include Machine Learning, Human Computer Interactions, Data, and Pattern Recognition. He is one of the most-cited scientists in the world, and Forbes recently declared him one of the “7 most powerful data scientists in the world” along with Google founders and the Chief Technical Officer of the United States. He has received numerous awards and prizes such as the McKinsey Award from Harvard Business Review, the 40th Anniversary of the Internet from DARPA, and the Brandeis Award for work in privacy. Pentland advises Mursion in areas related to constructs and automated analytical measures that are potential indicators of human performance in simulations.
Chris Dede
Dede (Harvard University Graduate School of Education) is a professor at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. His fundamental interest is in developing new types of educational systems to meet the opportunities and challenges of the 21st century. His research focuses on emerging technologies for learning and assessment, leadership in educational technology implementation, and effective policy for educational technology utilization. His focus in emerging technologies includes multi-user virtual environments, augmented realities, transformed social interaction, and online professional development. Dede advises Mursion in the area of instructional design, assisting with the fundamentals of creating simulations within which human performance can be measured and altered.