Our mission
We aim to change the nature of reading — from the traditional
solitary experience to an engaging and collective one. We aim to
change education — so all students do the reading, come to class
prepared, and are motivated to do so because they care about
the content. And we aim to advance behavioral science
and AI research in the service of improving education — using
our work at Harvard University and Perusall Labs to improve the Perusall platform
and to help students, educators, researchers, and society at large.
Our story
We began Perusall following a major four-year research project at Harvard University;
we created the platform to serve students in our classes, and then in 2015
built the business to bring our research to students and instructors
everywhere. Perusall is now a profitable business serving 1,000,000
students at 3,000 educational institutions in 85 countries. We grow
mostly by word of mouth when instructors share their experiences teaching
using Perusall with friends and colleagues.
Our investors
We don’t have any! We make all research, product, and strategic
decisions ourselves in the interests of students, instructors, and educators everywhere.
Our founders
In addition to being developers, teachers, education researchers, and behavioral and data
scientists from Harvard University, we are an experienced entrepreneurial team:
We previously built
Learning Catalytics
together to manage the in-classroom experience, and have also separately
built four other successful businesses.
Gary
King is the Weatherhead University Professor, Harvard's most
distinguished faculty position, and Director of the Institute for
Quantitative Social Science.
Brian Lukoff
is an educator, entrepreneur, and software engineer. A Lecturer in the
McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin,
he has a Ph.D. in Education from Stanford.
Eric
Mazur is Balkanski Professor of Physics and Applied Physics
and Dean of Applied Physics at Harvard. He is also inventor of Peer
Instruction, and pioneer of the flipped classroom.
Kelly
Miller is Lecturer at the Paulson School of Engineering and
Applied Sciences at Harvard. Her research is in Peer Instruction.
She has a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Harvard.
Our team
Gretchen Brevnov
is the Chief Operating Officer at Perusall, supporting the team to achieve the best possible experience for Perusall clients. Gretchen has a BA from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She lives in Virginia with her family, where she enjoys horseback riding and other outdoor activities.
Chloe Pangonis
is the Operations Manager at Perusall. She manages bookstore and publisher relationships, as well as assisting with consumer product feedback from instructors and students. Chloe graduated with a BA from Emmanuel College in Boston, MA. She is an avid distance runner, most recently running in the 2021 Boston Marathon.
Nolan Quella
is a Success Specialist at Perusall. Nolan fills essential roles in sales, customer support and marketing. Nolan received his BS from the University of San Francisco. Nolan is an avid surfer, snowboarder, and comic book enthusiast and lives in the Boston area with his wife and kids.
Maggie Rodgers
is the Customer Success Lead at Perusall. She assists Perusall users with getting adjusted to the platform and with any technical aspects inside courses. She has a BFA from George Mason University and also studied at the O'Neill Theatre Center. Maggie is currently an actress performing in the New York City area.
Michael Rosenberg
is the Vice President of Sales at Perusall. Michael has been associated with innovation in higher education for his entire career. A highlight along the way was producing a film series adapting classic American short fiction to the screen including works from Alice Walker, John Updike, and Eudora Welty. Michael graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder and lives north of Boston.
Kate Stewart
is the Marketing Director at Perusall and lives for sharing Perusall educator and student success stories! When she isn't crafting marketing campaigns, you will find Kate planning her next adventure around the globe! Kate lives in central New Jersey with her family and two westies. Kate graduated from the College of Wooster and has spent her career in higher education publishing.
Justin Sumblin
is a Success Specialist at Perusall. He assists Perusall users with navigating the platform, technical aspects, and fielding other questions that we receive in Support. He has a BFA and Graduate Master’s Certificate in Teaching Theatre PK-12 from George Mason University and has taught middle school theater for Fairfax County Public Schools. Justin is an actor, Zumba instructor, and avid crocheter residing in the Atlanta-area.
Allison Villaseñor
is a Success Specialist at Perusall. She helps Perusall users with Support needs while connecting to the Perusall universe through social media and video. Allison has a BA from UC Berkeley and is currently studying at an acting conservatory in New York City. She loves cooking, running, and hanging with her Corgi dog.
Kyle Voigt
is a Success Specialist and Knowledge Base Contributor at Perusall. Kyle lives in New York and has a BA from SUNY New Paltz. In his spare time, Kyle is preparing for law school, training to run a half-marathon, or relaxing with family and friends.