Our Mission

Joshua Sear CEO

Prior to founding Empower, Josh was Senior Counsel at SageNet, a large managed network and cyber security services provider. Before that, Josh gained M&A experience, first as counsel for Matterhorn Transactions, a legal tech startup, and then as an associate at a boutique transactional law firm. Prior to practicing law, Josh worked in the Obama White House and for the Senate Judiciary Committee. Josh is a graduate of The George Washington University Law School and The University of Virginia, where he was an Echols Scholar. Go Hoos!

Sarena Shen Vice President of Finance

Sarena brings a wealth of experience in both finance and entrepreneurship to Empower. Most recently, she was a co-founder of Unplugg, a beauty and wellness services platform. Prior to that, she spent 12 years working as an investment banker at Bear Stearns, Deutsche Bank and BTIG in New York. During her time as an investment banker, she helped both large and small clients raise capital across a spectrum of financial products and industries. Sarena earned her MBA from Columbia Business School and her bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of California, Berkeley.

Simon Bascombe Vice President of Customer Experience

Simon is a seasoned customer service leader with over twenty years experience building technology first startups across a range of industries. Simon joined Empower after leading operations at Touch of Modern, where he built highly scalable support and trust and safety teams for the innovative retail marketplace. Before that, he spent three years building a world class support organization at Rinse, leveraging technology and the gig economy to disrupt the traditional dry cleaning model. Prior to this, Simon built customer-obsessed teams at leading technology companies like Eventbrite and Classpass. Simon studied Computer Information Systems at the University of Adelaide in South Australia.

Chris Henry Senior Director of Engineering

Prior to joining Empower Chris spent 4 years as a Senior Software Engineer at Bentley Systems where he led development of a real-time document collaboration application for web and mobile. Before that, he spent 4 years across multiple domains including 3 years working in real-time embedded systems where he helped build a new engine controller for the RS-25 core stage engines on the SLS. He has extensive experience in Azure, real-time systems, C#, and web technologies. Chris studied Computer science at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. In his free time he enjoys playing board games.

Nikki Walsh Customer Support Associate

Nikki has extensive customer service and sales experience across multiple industries. Immediately prior to joining Empower, Nikki served as a Sales Lead at Dream Dinners. As an exceptional customer advocate, Nikki strives to delight customers at every step of their journey. Aside from her passion to help customers, Nikki has also been a member of the YMCA community, providing child care and education in various camps and elementary schools throughout the state of Connecticut.

Chloe Obert Chief of Staff to CEO

Chloe graduated from Vanderbilt University in the spring of 2021 with a degree in Human and Organizational Development and Business. Before joining Empower, Chloe worked at a creative agency in Nashville as a New Business Analyst. She also served as the youngest ever High School Programs Director at Camp Balcones Springs. Chloe also set a Vanderbilt fundraising record while serving as the Director of Fundraising for the Vanderbilt chapter of Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.

Ajmal Kukkangai Software Engineer

Ajmal worked at National Instruments for 3 years on the next gen labVIEW platform before joining Empower. He has extensive experience with c# and .NET technologies. He graduated from the PES Institute of Technology in Bangalore, India and has extensive experience with application development and research into cloud federation technologies during his undergrad tenure. Following that and the initial professional experience, Ajmal arrived at the US to pursue a master's in computer science at George Washington University. This is where his path crossed with Empower. He has worked with us on our DC launch while at university and continues to contribute to the platform on multiple fronts.

Navy Merianda Software Engineer

Immediately prior to joining Empower, Navy received a Masters in Data Analytics Engineering from George Mason University. Before that, he spent five years working as a software developer across multiple domains ranging from digital content to supply chain to healthcare. Navy has a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Information Science from PES University in Bangalore, India. He enjoys working in fast paced, continuously evolving environments that help him strive for the perfect intersection of data analytics and software development. When he is not writing code, you will most likely find him with a camera, exercising his passion for capturing portraits.

Clint Atkins Driver Engagement Specialist

Immediately prior to joining the Empower ops team, Clint spent over a year as an Empower driver customer in North Carolina. He has completed more than 15,000 total rides as a for-hire driver over 6 years. Prior to Empower, Clint worked in the automotive retail industry for 21 years with AutoZone. He was a Part Sales Manager, Assistant Manager and Store Manager (receiving Manager of the Year recognition), before being promoted to Regional Training Manager. From there, Clint was a District Manager, responsible for 12 retail locations and 150+ employees. He has a passion for cars and has worked with both the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) and the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) for 30+ years.

Alseny Barry Community Manager

Prior to Empower, Alseny worked as a community organizer for both The Working Families Party and Maya Wiley for Mayor. He graduated from St. Lawrence University in May 2020, with a bachelor's degree in Government and French. During his spare time, Alseny enjoys playing and watching soccer.

Hunter Laroe Operations and Data Analytics Senior Associate

Hunter graduated from Wake Forest University in May of 2021, with a degree in Business and Enterprise Management. He began his career with Empower in February of 2020 as a Brand Ambassador and transitioned to a full-time Community Manager role with the company in June of 2021. Prior to joining Empower as a Community Manager, Hunter worked as a Business Development Intern for Target PharmaSolutions in Durham, North Carolina.

Taylor Sasman Customer Support Associate

Taylor has over 10 years of customer support experience. Immediately prior to Empower, Taylor worked for Dime Bank as a teller and customer service representative, supporting local business owners. She is also passionate about community involvement, having played a key role in several large fundraising events. In her free time, Taylor can most likely be found with a book.

Nicolas Caranfa Customer Support Associate

Prior to joining Empower Nic worked at Dream Dinners for 10 years where he started as a dishwasher and eventually worked his way up to a sales lead and then the regional operations manager. In his free time Nic loves to host cookouts for friends and family.

Laura Sanchez Operations Associate

Laura started her career at Empower in 2021 as a Brand Ambassador. Previously she was the store manager at a Car Wash business in Brooklyn, New York. She is currently pursuing her bachelor's degree in Economics at Baruch College and holds an associate's degree in Sociology from Manhattan Community College. Laura enjoys visual fine arts and books.

Kimberly Hardy Customer Support Associate

Prior to joining Empower, Kimberly worked as an intern for US representative Joe Cunningham. She has years of experience in customer service and retail, and has a passion for helping others. Kimberly graduated from the College of Charleston with a degree in Psychology and Political Science. In her free time, she enjoys reading and spending time at the beach.

Eduardo Perez Technical Advisor

Eduardo was the first iOS developer at Lyft and built the first version of their iPhone app. Over the course of four years, as Senior iOS Engineer, Eduardo helped to scale Lyft’s development team and, as he puts it, “saw all the crazy growth and all the pain that comes with it.” Prior to joining Lyft, Eduardo was a part of the team that built LinkedIn’s iOS app from scratch. Before that, he led the software development of a number of commercially successful biomedical devices, including Impulse Dynamics’ Optimizer System, used to treat patients with systolic heart failure, and the Lungpacer DPT System, used to preserve and restore the strength of the diaphragm in patients requiring mechanical ventilation. Eduardo received his degree in software engineering from Universidad de la Republica in his hometown of Montivideo, Uruguay.

Ken Beasley Technical Advisor

Prior to joining Empower, Ken was Senior Software Engineer at Upskill, where he helped lead Upskill’s augmented reality software platform team. Ken has worked directly with dozens of large enterprise customers, including Ryder, Boeing, GE and Telstra, to develop and deploy tailored solutions in manufacturing, logistics and field services. Ken has extensive experience working with AWS, Kubernetes and other cloud services and has significant experience with data collection and processing, having designed and developed Upskill’s analytics service. Ken studied computer engineering at the University of Virginia.