About Us

Sondra Phifer
Founder & Creator
For over a decade I have worked in higher education in a variety of roles: faculty support (Barnard, NYU), adjunct instructor for art history (NYU), graduate admissions operations (NYU). I am currently the faculty administrator for Barnard's French, German, and Comparative Literature departments. I recently completed my second Master's degree in Learning Experience and Technology Design at NYU Steinhardt, with a focus in higher education.
While teaching an undergraduate art history course designed for future engineers, I was faced with the question: How can we creatively utilize 21st-century digital platforms to teach objects from the past? This was the moment I decided to follow a career in instructional design for higher education.
My research interests focus on the disparities between academia pedagogy and up-and-coming technology, as well as ways to implement innovative, engaging tools & projects into a flipped-classroom setting.

I have over 10 years experience working in the tech industry as both a developer and development leader. I am the founder of Tech Me Up B, a tech development company that has built software for education, environmental, automobile, wellness, real estate, financial industries.
In addition, I was the founder of DeRose Meditation, an online platform for mindfulness and meditation. During the pandemic, I hired and led my team from inception to go-to-market in the US, South America, and Europe.
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For more than 20 years, I have been teaching meditation and mindfulness to hundreds of people, including professional athletes, top executives, entrepreneurs and companies, to help them to reach their maximum potential.
Ricardo Soares
Tech Co-Founder