EChalk

Executive Team

With more than 20 years of product management and development experience, Charlene oversees all aspects of product design and development of the K-12 Communications Suite. Before joining eChalk in 2000, Charlene was the Vice President of Business and Product Development at Thomson Tax and Accounting and held similar positions at Reed Elsevier and Ziff Davis. 

Charlene is a Boston University graduate and received an MBA from Fordham University.

Why did you choose to work in education?

I chose to work in education because I saw the value and positive impact that technology and specifically a system like eChalk could bring to schools and districts.

Describe the eChalk culture. How is it different from other places you’ve worked?

eChalk is a dynamic and exciting organization to work in. Turnover is low, the few people that leave come back and many employees have been with the organization since its inception—10 years ago! The commitment that employees have to the company and its customers is a unique trait that you rarely find in companies.

How do you describe eChalk to your friends and family?

eChalk is a company that is passionate about education. We service K-12 schools across the country and provide them with easy to use communication, instructional, web publishing and collaboration tools (email, online classes, private groups, discussion forums and blogs). We make it easy for teachers to communicate and collaborate with their peers, administration and most importantly, students and parents.

What do you like best about working at eChalk?

The enthusiasm and commitment of eChalk’s employees make eChalk a great place to work!

What satisfies you most about working at eChalk?

Seeing the product we developed continue to have a positive impact on schoolwide communication, collaboration and student achievement.

Describe your fellow eChalkers.

eChalkers are energetic, intelligent and passionate about education and technology and we are all committed to producing a top quality K-12 system and service that continues to have a positive impact on education.

Is there one event that stands out during the time you’ve worked at eChalk? 

There are many incredible achievements and events that have occurred during my tenure at eChalk that were extremely powerful and motivating. Like the first time a parent told me about how empowering it was to have access to her son’s class information and how thankful she was for our service because of the huge difference it made in her son’s progress at school. 

Or, the amazing feedback that teachers, administrators, students and parents send to us about how much they appreciate a new feature, as well as the system in general. Here are some examples of the feedback that we’ve heard over the years:

From a school administrator: “I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the new features for the home page. My staff loves that the important stuff pops up. Thanks!  Thanks!  Thanks!” 

From a student: “Hello eChalk People!! Ok, well actually—eChalk has helped me a whole lot!! Sometimes I forget my USB drive and panic on how I am going to save all this information!!! But, luckily I have eChalk!!! There is soo much more to this…but…for now…I just want you guys to know…GOOD JOB!!!”

From a teacher: “I would like to congratulate you on setting up the eChalk program. I like being able to do things myself. This is the best program I have to be able to advertise my After Care School Program and Enrichment programs I offer throughout the calendar school year.”

From a parent: “I just want to show my appreciation for the great idea of giving parents the opportunity to have access to everything that is happening regarding our students.”

Also, the enthusiastic responses that I get when I visit eChalk schools to conduct research for new product ideas are extremely motivating.

Tell us what you look forward to most at eChalk. 

I’ve seen lots of growth within the company since I started here 10 years ago. I look forward to expanding our footprint and continuing to improve our products and services and most importantly to providing our K-12 customers with leading edge technology and services that will continue to enhance the learning experience.