Rose Pleskow has been working at Brightspot since 2011 as a content and quality assurance specialist. In addition to writing employee profiles, Rose has played a critical role on a variety of client projects with her keen eye for detail and Brightspot publishing expertise. She has contributed to the launch of various projects ranging from SpecialOlympics.org to Amazon Science and Healthgrades.
Drew, a product delivery leader at Brightspot, recently celebrated his one-year anniversary with the company. In this interview with Rose, he reflects on leading major globalization efforts for Johnson & Johnson and shares insights into his role on the team and the things he's learned along the way.
Rose sat down with Jessie Kennedy, Brightspot’s newly promoted Vice President of Marketing, to talk about her career journey, leadership style and what excites her most about the future of marketing at Brightspot. From cross-functional collaboration to mission-driven work, Jessie shares what brought her to the company and what continues to inspire her every day.
Meet the mastermind behind Brightspot’s training and development — a passionate leader dedicated to helping employees grow, learn and succeed through creative, engaging programs. From onboarding new hires to designing innovative learning experiences, Kara is dedicated to making Brightspot a place where everyone can thrive.
With a career built on adaptability, strong customer relationships and a passion for problem-solving, Glenn thrives in his role leading Brightspot’s Strategic Accounts team. His ability to connect with customers, align technology solutions with business needs and foster long-term partnerships has made him a trusted advisor — one who is just as focused on building meaningful relationships as he is on driving growth.
Sam Panda, Director of Engineering at Brightspot, reflects on his role and experiences since joining the company in 2017 during a conversation with Rose. As the lead solutions engineer for one of the company’s major enterprise accounts, Sam approaches technical challenges thoughtfully while fostering the growth of his team. His work embodies a balance of hands-on problem-solving and collaboration across projects and people.
Curiosity, adaptability and a strong foundation in secure coding are key to thriving in the fast-evolving field of software security, says Brightspot's Mohammed Amiwala. In this interview with Rose, Mohammed shares insights into his career path and daily responsibilities as a security software engineer.
Laine has been part of the Brightspot team for five years, starting as an intern and now thriving in her role as a full-time content manager. She has been at the forefront of numerous customer projects, bringing creativity, attention to detail and customer-focused commitment to every task. In this Q&A with Rose, Laine reflects on her dynamic role, from crafting content to collaborating with customers, and shares how each project fuels her passion for delivering exceptional results
Having joined in 2021 in search of a more dynamic, collaborative environment, Tarik Josaitis has found his fit at Brightspot. Today, as Director of Customer Engagements, he’s all about keeping projects on track, building strong customer connections and delivering the best possible outcomes for some of our biggest customers.
A Principal Product Manager at Brightspot, Becky shares with Rose about what it's like working on customer projects with complex workflows, content requirements and integrations, plus how being an excellent listener and an open and transparent communicator are the hallmarks of a great product manager.
Since joining in January 2022, Duncan MacBride has experienced various roles within the company’s sales group that now see him leading Brightspot’s team of business development representatives. Duncan manages the team to nurture inbound and outbound sales opportunities, helping to clarify how Brightspot CMS fits each company’s unique needs and ultimately drive new business. Outside of work, he enjoys Charleston’s walkable neighborhoods, excellent food, outdoor activities like golf and tennis, live music, and time on the beach.
Reuniting at Brightspot with several former colleagues, Julia Heflin's role as Controller involves daily, weekly and monthly financial tasks, auditing and forward-looking forecasting to help the business thrive and grow. Outside her day-to-day accounting and finance duties, Julia is a passionate equestrian and is deeply involved with Brightspot mission activities including volunteering at Holistic Horsemanship Services and during Special Olympics' events.
Ninad Khalate reflects on his seven-year tenure as a software engineer at Brightspot, from making the connection as a passionate Java developer during a career fair to deploying innovative features and solutions for Brightspot CMS customers. Outside of work, Ninad's passion for sports—and especially soccer—places Barcelona at the top of his travel list.
Gaston Filardi shares insights on his journey from being a Brightspot client in Argentina to a product-management lead at our Virginia HQ. Read on to learn about the exciting projects he's leading for various customers across the media sector, as well as across countries and continents (plus, get his take on the big debate: greatest of all time, Maradona or Messi?).
Rose sits down for a chat with Chris Hutson, a Senior Product Manager with Brightspot. A man used to wearing many hats to get myriad customer implementations over the line, Chris has led the successful delivery of projects including for NBC Sports, the PGA Championship and Drive, Chip & Putt.
In this chat with Rose, Dan Sisan reflects on his 12 years at Brightspot, involving a switch from the physics lab into software engineering and more recently leading delivery and client engagement across multiple projects. Learn about Dan's lifelong computer fascination, his commitment to developing innovative solutions for our customers, and the vibrant company culture at Brightspot that engages employees both during and outside office hours.
Jake Graham, a developer at Brightspot since 2020, shares with Rose about his role in delivering innovative and creative solutions for the company's software teams and products. A keen video gamer and rock climber, Jake is also passionate about volunteering his time to support many of Brightspot's community-service efforts, including a trip in summer 2023 to volunteer at the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin.
Rose sits down for a chat with Brightspot's Alistair Wearmouth. Before joining in 2020, Alistair was a user of the Brightspot CMS at CoStar, plus has enjoyed a mix of editorial and product management roles that included managing homegrown and other CMS solutions for companies like National Geographic, USA Today and Orbitz.
Having joined Brightspot in September 2022, CEO Raleigh McClayton is ushering in the next chapter of growth for the company. Here, Raleigh shares what excites him most about the opportunities ahead as well as some of his personal passions and experiences.
Liz Bell is a Senior Manager with Brightspot's Customer Success team. Here, Liz shares how her prior role on the sales side of the business helped grow the communication skills that are essential to foster strong working relationships with customers and ensure they are getting the most out of their platform experience.
Grace Owolabi works as a quality assurance (QA) engineer at Brightspot, helping steer delivery projects to completion and to ensure they meet each customer's exact requirements and expectations.
Meet David Bultema, Brightspot's Chief Financial Officer. Here, he shares with Rose about his responsibilities overseeing all financial activities for the company, from budgeting and accounting to forecasting, reporting and analysis. Outside of the office, he can usually be found enjoying the outdoors (and with something pumpkin-flavored to eat, especially in fall).
Brightspot software engineer Praneetha Sattiraju shares her experiences developing a number of innovative yet challenging features across the Brightspot platform, which are helping make the CMS experience better every day for our customers and our internal teams.
Jenna Warren is a VP, Customer Engagement at Brightspot, and handles a key strategic account for the company that spans multiple current and emerging projects. She shares with Rose about her experiences growing and managing this relationship, plus her background in CMS technology, media and competitive figure skating.
Rose sits down for a chat with Brightspot content director Mark Hoover for his insights on the power of the Brightspot platform and what it takes to synthesize and communicate highly technical CMS concepts to diverse audiences.
Rob Lazorchak is Brightspot's Director of Quality Assurance, where he leads a team of QA specialists to assure the smooth and successful delivery of varied, challenging and unique customer projects. When he's not in the weeds of testing complex use cases and requirements, Rob can be found enjoying the outdoors and especially the beach with his family.
A product manager with Brightspot since 2020, Adam Hershaft shares his experiences as the main customer contact for high-visibility projects including Walmart's newly launched corporate website.
Lindsey Shields, a visual designer with the Brightspot design team, shares with Rose about her experiences working on a variety of web-design projects for Brightspot customers like Healthgrades and Johnson & Johnson, plus the inspiration she takes from across the art spectrum.
Rose sits down for a chat with Brightspot sales team member John Peterson to learn more about his perspectives on working with customers throughout the sales-engagement process, plus what excites him most about delivering innovative solutions for each new prospect.
Harshitha Mattapally sits down with Rose to discuss her history with Brightspot, what it's been like to work extensively with GraphQL on the platform team, and the advice she has for the next generation of female software engineers.
Ruth Amaya de Zelaya is often one of the first people Brightspot employees see when coming to the office, sharing made-to-order counter drinks at the barista station and essential support throughout Brightspot HQ each day. Here, Rose sits down with Ruth to learn about her role at Brightspot and how she makes the company a brighter place each day.
In honor of January's National Technology Day, Rose sat down to interview Matt Livas about how he got started in the IT field, the superpower he wishes he had and how working across the company in different departments has helped improve his work overall.
Samantha Miller discusses her first year at Brightspot, how her education at the University of Virginia shaped her product-management approach, and the advice she has for the class of 2022.
Roy Ben-Yoseph talks with Rose about the many hats he wears at Brightspot, from sales and business development to managing customer relationships, plus shares insights from his 20-plus years in the technology industry.
With Brightspot since September 2018, Amelia Bragg wears multiple hats in a role that involves teaching existing customers, prospective clients and internal staff about the powerful features and benefits of the Brightspot CMS.
A computer-science graduate of the University of Virginia, Kate Westman has been working as a Software Engineer for Brightspot since September 2017.
Lisa Edwards is Brightspot's VP for Account Delivery & Success. She rejoined the company in January 2021 after four years working as a Brightspot customer at Univision, a product she originally helped shape during her first tenure at Brightspot.
Kate Condon has been working at Brightspot since January 2009, overseeing some of the company's most pivotal projects and client engagements. Her experience includes helping Brightspot transition into a content management platform, as well as constantly adapting to best-serve our customers' needs.
Deepanjan Bhattacharyya, who has worked at Brightspot as a software engineer since 2018, discusses how he has learned to approach problems with an architectural mindset as well as his passion for outdoor photography.
Xhama Vyas is a senior software engineer who joined Brightspot after graduating from the University of Virginia in 2017. She shares her advice to young women interested in pursuing a career as software engineers.
Meet Brightspot quality assurance engineer Rebecca Grad, who brings over 20 years of experience to the job and a unique talent for "thinking around corners" on behalf of her clients and the projects over which she casts a careful eye.
Jon Rojas has been working as a product manager with Brightspot since April 2018. When he's not leading projects for Brightspot clients including Sotheby's and Walmart, Jon can be found behind the microphone as co-founder and co-host of the popular Smart People Podcast.
Rose goes on the record with video technology maverick, 3D modeler and all-around nice guy Chris Smith to learn more about his role as a Senior Product Manager on Brightspot's platform team.
In 2017, Sandeep Hulsandra made the jump from Brightspot customer to the head of the company's Media Practice. In her latest interview, Rose and Sandeep discuss his background in chemical engineering, what he experiences everyday in his role and how the pandemic has impacted him and his family.
Rose went on the record with Brightspot's biggest Nationals fan and VP of Operations, Sarah Tarpley to learn more about her role leading our DevOps team.
Since April 2018, Moustafa has been a program leader at Brightspot wearing many different hats to deliver great work for clients including California Times and Billy Casper Golf.
Claudia shares her insights into the critical and unique role that the quality assurance team plays in delivering excellence for our customers on every project.
In 2018, Sabrina joined Brightspot as a program manager helping manage the day-to-day tasks of client projects. She discusses her role and the path that led her to this career.
After celebrating his 10-year work anniversary in May 2020, Rich sat with Rose to reflect back on the company's evolution and his favorite project.
Maria, a product manager at Brightspot since 2018, shares about her recent project with AARP and a few book recommendations to entertain while we stay at home.
Brightspot's Manager of Mission goes on the record to talk about her new position and how the company aims to give back in this time of physical distancing.
Will discusses his work on the recent launch of The Los Angeles Times and shares how that and other experiences at Brightspot have helped him grow as a developer.
Rose kicked off 2020 by talking with co-founder and chief customer officer, Lisa Beaudoin, to learn more about what inspired her to start Brightspot 12 years ago.
To wrap up 2018, Rose went on the record with Dan Slaughter, a software engineer who has been leading teams at Brightspot for over eight years.
After graduating from JMU, Alea started her career at Brightspot. During her talk with Rose, she discusses that decision and her role as a product manager.
Dave talks about his transition from graphic design to web development and his plans for his upcoming sabbatical later this summer.
Our chief coffee officer and Director of Details, Anne Ulrich, discusses her role building culture at Brightspot.
Rose and Ashley talk about how Brightspot has changed over her 8 years and dive into her role as a product manager.
Rose and Andrew discuss the advantages of Brightspot, shifting from hardware to software in college, and the benefits of super speed.
Paul shares about his passion for motorsports and his experience traveling with his colleagues to Europe for the Special Olympics.
Brennan Ebeling, who went to college to study piano and pipe organ, sits with Rose to discuss how he wound up at Brightspot.
Parker discusses his unique position at Brightspot and the special relationships that he has formed during his 4+ years at the company.
Rose and James talk about the high stakes of his current projects, as well as how a math major winds up as a software engineer.
Mark sits with Rose and shares unique insights from his career change from chef to front-end engineer.
During their talk, Dylan provides unique insights on new trends in web design and details about his favorite project.
Rose explores Todd's winding journey from QA intern to lead developer, as well as his passion for the Washington Capitals.
Rose sits with David Habib, for a unique perspective on how Brightspot operates on a daily basis and insight into the company's future.
Avery talks with Rose about starting her career at Brightspot and provides advice for soon-to-graduate students.
During their conversation, Rose and Jenny discuss changes in web design, time travel, and the joy of exposing children to the world of art.
Rose talks with one of Brightspot's longest-tenured employees, Miles De Feyter and discuss a variety of topics.
Rose and Ben's conversation touches on a variety of topics ranging from the value of Brightspot to a review of The Martian.
Axel, who interned in 2014, shares how his internship impacted his decision to come back to Brightspot.
One of the few engineers not powered by coffee, Elizabeth provides valuable insight to her experience at Perfect Sense.
Rose went on the record with Rob Irvine, who plays a vital role in helping our partners create engaging content strategies to drive traffic.
Rose talks with Maegan Heuser, a software QA engineer, and discusses the unique challenges of QA at Brightspot.
Hyoo Lim, Perfect Sense CTO, sits with Rose to discuss the initial vision for Brightspot and where it's headed in the future.
In their conversation, Rose and Lee discuss what led him to a career in software engineering and the best lunch spot at Reston Town Center.
During their conversation, they break down the benefits of Brightspot and who would play him in the likely Oscar-nominated Paul Petty Story.
Mike, an Information Architect, who works with a variety of clients to design intuitive and engaging user experiences goes on the record.