Meet Our Founding Team

Thuy oversees content creation, business development and strategic growth. In other words, keeping an eye on the ship at all times and making sure nothing runs aground.

Thuy immigrated to the U.S. as a Vietnamese refugee, lived in a couple of refugee camps, learned English and went on to a fulfilling career as a journalist. She has anchored and reported for various news organizations, including NPR and CBS, ABC and PBS stations.

A few of Thuy's notable achievements:

• Recipient of 7 Emmy awards, an Edward R. Murrow award, as well as more than a dozen other regional and national journalism honors


• Named by the Bay Area News Group as one of the San Francisco region's "Most Inspiring" women


• Was one of the first Vietnamese-American broadcast journalists in the U.S.

Thuy's philosophy:
Optimism and hard work will get you through a lot of tough situations. You can mope about a setback for 48 hours max, then it's time to pick yourself up and get going!

When she's not at GMN:
Thuy loves all kinds of dance fitness classes because then it doesn't seem like exercise. It just feels like one big party. She's also trying to figure out how to raise a teenager.

What he does: As COO, Jay is responsible for making sure everything at the Global Mentor Network runs and keeps running. He also does most of the writing.

Before GMN: Jay built a successful career in high tech marketing and executive management, working in enterprising startups, as well as with established companies like Google, eBay, AT&T, Office Depot, IBM and Lotus Development. (He’s been around for a long time.)

A few of Jay’s notable achievements:

• Being twice recognized as Marketer of the Year by B2B Magazine


• Creating eBayBusiness.com, which drove more than $4.7 billion in annual purchases on the eBay platform


• And being hired by Google to create a taxonomy to categorize all the information on earth (!)

Jay’s philosophy:
Work hard, seize opportunities, do things that are fun, be a good husband and dad.

When he’s not at GMN:
You can find Jay fixing something, or maybe rock climbing, though Jay points out he’s got more to lift and less to lift it with than when he started.

Connor is the “man on the move”, from managing the content library and scheming marketing initiatives, to running a camera and conducting podcast interviews.

After graduating from Cal Poly SLO, Connor moved to Colorado to work with blind Everest climber Erik Weihenmayer, helping to scale his educational programs, book corporate speaking engagements, and train for adventures around the world.

A few of Connor’s notable achievements:

• Helped found the Cal Poly Young Alumni Mentors program, giving graduating business students real-time and real-world career guidance


• Created the “No Barriers Climb Program”, a kinesthetic and standards-based 3-8 curriculum, and successfully integrated the program in schools across the US


• Summited all 58 14,000 ft. peaks in Colorado

Connor’s philosophy:
We honor the dream by doing the work.

When he’s not at GMN:
He’s in the high alpine, climbing and running in mountain ranges around the world.

As Product Manager, Priyanka is responsible for our product roadmap and managing the development and launch of new features. She's the one coordinating all the moving parts to bring the Global Mentor Network to our users.

Priyanka has a background in digital marketing as well as software development. She has a range of experience from being the third employee at an early-stage subscription box startup to being the twelve thousand and third employee at a multinational financial services company.

A few of Priyanka's notable achievements:

• Spearheaded the creation of a content distribution program that generated >$1M (net) in ad-equivalency value in its first year - the first of its kind in the financial services industry


• Led a redesign to refresh the brand of one of the most popular financial services blogs, doubling its readership year-over-year


• Taught herself d3 to build a data visualization program that analyzes the CrunchBase open data map to explore the words companies use to describe themselves

Priyanka's philosophy:
Good design is the difference between being memorable and being forgettable.

When she's not at GMN:
You can find Priyanka doing something creative - she dabbles in everything from painting to glass blowing to cake decorating. She might also be traveling, walking around San Francisco with her dog, or reading a good book.

Richard Hester is a co-founder and Senior Partner at Indiana Business Advisors, the leading and largest business brokerage firm in Indiana. His extensive experience includes 28 years of acquisitions and finance as an active intermediary for clients throughout Indiana. Deeply committed to public service, Hester has served as chairman or board member of Sigma Chi International Fraternity, American Red Cross, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, United Way of Central Indiana, the Hispanic Education Center, and the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce.

Dr. Paul G. Stoltz is Founder and CEO of global research and consulting firm, PEAK Learning, Inc. Voted “One of the Top 10 Most Influential Global Thinkers of our time," Dr. Stoltz coaches, teaches, and collaborates with top leaders, thinkers, and influencers in organizations from start-ups and NGOs to the Fortune 500. He is also the founder of the GRIT Institute and Global Resilience Institute, worldwide research collaboratives for advancing the frontiers of human endeavor. Also a #1 New York Times bestselling author, Dr. Stoltz has served as faculty for MIT’s acclaimed entrepreneurship program and Harvard Business School’s Executive Education and MBA programs.