Ben Chun

Ben Chun has worked in a variety of roles in the tech industry since 2000. Ben began their career as a Software Engineer at Macromedia, where they designed and implemented new UI features for the Flash authoring tool. In 2003, they joined Simple Star (later acquired by Roxio) as a Lead Software Engineer, where they developed an MP3 mixing and CD burning desktop software title, built middleware for store, order tracking, customer service, and production/shipping integration, and designed and implemented analytical marketing and revenue optimization strategies. From 2005 to 2007, they worked as a Math Teacher at Leadership Public Schools, where they developed all curriculum including classwork, homework, and assessments, and designed courses in alignment with the California Mathematics Content Standards. From 2007 to 2012, they served as a Computer Science Teacher at the San Francisco Unified School District, where they developed curriculum for and taught three CS courses, including AP Computer Science A, and collaborated with English teachers to develop cross-curricular projects. Ben was also elected and served for two years on the School Site Council, overseeing a $10M budget. From 2012 to 2016, they were the Head of Product at Steve & Kate's Camp, where they created a mobile strategy, designed and shipped three iOS apps to 10k+ on-site users, managed contract developers, then recruited and built an in-house engineering team, and developed engagement metrics to drive priorities in an iterative, agile process. Ben is currently a Senior Product Manager at Academia.edu, where they have created a product roadmap over 4+ years of development, harmonized a cross-functional team to ship 45 new courses in one semester, and lead an initiative to 7x the capacity for simultaneous students in the online classroom.

Ben Chun obtained a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In June 2016, they also obtained Code.org's Computer Science Fundamentals and Computer Science Principles Facilitator certifications.