Who are Tech Pals?
We are volunteers, bridging the generational technology gap. Teaching others to embrace technology. Enriching lives since 2019. Non profit since 2020
About Us
Leah Baum - Founder; President
Before teaching seniors how to use technology, Leah spent years tutoring Organic Chemistry and is a patient, natural born teacher. She received dual degrees from the University at Buffalo graduating Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. in Chemistry and a B.S. in Biomedical Sciences. In 2015 she started her PhD in chemistry at Syracuse University. In 2016 she survived an accident with a resulting brain injury making working in the field of science a thing of the past. Now she is happily helping others to embrace technology. She states "I understand learning can be difficult sometimes, I struggle myself, but learning to embrace technology enriches lives. If I can do it and the 90-year olds that attended our workshops can do it, you too can embrace technology and enrich your life."
(716)380-6811
Joshua Merriman - Senior Technican, Videographer
Joshua Merriman attended community college for business in his hometown, Farmington, NM and has experience with non profits working in Los Angeles from 2011-2015, where he worked on a project called Let’s Clean Up Los Angeles. Joshua also organized volunteers to feed the homeless in parks around Los Angeles accompanied by community cleanups. As a child, having a passion for computers, Joshua began disassembling them at the age of 10 years old. Joshua spent the rest of his teenage years building “super computers” for various PC gamers in his community. He discovers new technology on a regular basis. Now in Boulder, CO Joshua is the most knowledgeable team member in the field of technology landing him the title of Senior Tech at Tech Pals, Inc.
(720)759-8637
Isaac Furtney - Photographer; Tech Pal
Isaac Furtney is the only Colorado-native pioneer team member of Tech Pals. He is a Fort Lewis College of Durango graduate and a freelance photographer--you can see some of his work by clicking here. He resides in Denver but spends a lot of time with the Tech Pals team in Boulder County. He was hired as a photographer for our Frasier Meadows pilot program workshops and ended up assisting the seniors with their tech problems and now he is both a Tech Pal and Tech Pals Photographer. His expertise is with Windows 10, Microsoft Office, and Android-supported devices.
Shane Willing - Tech Pal
Shane graduated form the University at Buffalo with a B.S. in Chemistry. Leah and Shane were study buddies and friends in college. Shane moved to Boulder, CO and was excited to hear what L.E. was doing with Tech Pals. Shane has been a part of Tech Pals since the start of their pilot program in 2019 at their first retirement community at Frasier Meadows.
Drew Harvey - Chief Accounting Consultant
Drew is currently a senior at The University of Colorado at Boulder majoring in Accounting. He has since accepted a job offer with Pricewaterhouse Coopers, where he will be acting as an Audit Associate. Drew has a lot of experience in the accounting world, between 2017 and 2019 he was the Director of Accounting and Finance for Simor Inc. He joined Tech Pals in 2020 as an Accounting Consultant. He joined the organization because, as he said “Tech Pals offers important services to some of the most underutilized and often forgotten members of our society, I am happy to be part of the team and to be able to help accomplish their mission.
Dr. R. Bruce Baum - Board Member
Father of Founder Leah Baum, Dr. Baum was the impetus of Tech Pals. It was his idea for Leah to start a business installing smart technology for seniors after she hooked up an Alexa device he had in his drawer for years. Dr. R. Bruce Baum is Professor Emeritus at Buffalo State College in the education department and President of the Sunrise Rotary Club in Buffalo, New York and is no stranger to non-profits. He is also a humorist and magician and spends his Tuesdays at Roswell Cancer Research Institute performing magic tricks and giving out candy to kids with cancer. More on Dr. R. Bruce Baum can be found at www.humorcreativity.com
Trudi Foreman - Board Member
Trudi is a Boulder, CO business owner and retired Chemist. She met Leah volunteering at Meals on Wheels which provides meals for seniors. They bonded over chemistry as Leah was once a chemist and they have been friends for years. When she heard about Tech Pals, she loved the idea and wanted to help. She helped Tech Pals get their 501(C)(3) and when they needed board members, she was one of the first on board.
Joel Fleet - Board Member; Tech Pal
Joel is a native Coloradian born and raised in Golden. As such, his favorite activities all happen outdoors, where he extensively hikes, bikes, kayaks, and generally does anything that will get him outside. All that outdoor activity is in direct response to balance the amount of time Joel spends working with people and technology. With a 20+ year career in consumer electronics, business technology, IT, enterprise software, and instructional design, Joel is fully invested in understanding the needs people have for technology to do for them what they want it to. "Some people own tech because they simply enjoy having the latest and greatest. While I do love cool tech, I have a far more practical approach. The tech needs to serve a need or have a purpose, otherwise people end up with expensive paper weights!" Joel has found applying empathy to his customers and students has been the reason for his success.
Cathryn Crane - Board Member; Tech Pal
Cathryn is a self-described techno-nerd, she has B.A. in Mathematics with a minor in Computer Science and a MBA in International Business. Cathryn worked in the consumer software industry for over 20 years introducing products like Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?, Print Shop, Myst, SimCity, Prince of Persia and Heroes of Might and Magic with Broderbund Software, New World Computing and the 3DO Company.
“My greatest joy is watching the lightbulb moment when I see technology improving lives, even just a little.”
She has worked with several nonprofits, including a board position with the Arts and Humanities Assembly Of Boulder, Chicago’s Children’s Museum (docent and videographer) and the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless (Fundraising Committee and Coordinator of Extended Learning Program). In addition, she volunteers at a goat dairy where she tends to the baby goats with bottle feedings and assists with milking the does, making cheese, giving dairy tours and working the farm store.
Suzi Komarek - Board Member; Tech Pal
Seven years ago, Suzi left the Healthcare IT world for another journey which has included teaching skiing as a PSIA Certified Instructor at Copper Mountain and tour guiding for a Boulder Hiking and Biking Adventure Company. Suzi spent over 20 years implementing various IT systems in hospitals and working with all levels of clients in the acute care setting from clinicians to CEO’s.
Suzi enjoys working with folks of all ages and loves when success is reached whether a 6 year old skis downs the mountain or a 70 year old figures out new technology on any device. Suzi’s philosophy is to spend as much time as possible outside and she continues to bike, hike, and ski whenever she can in Colorado. Additionally, Suzi is a Clemson alumni with a passion for college football only second to the outdoors. Go Tigers!
Jeremiah Cullison - Board Member, Tech Pal
Jeremiah is a Proprietary Consultant of Information Systems at Irie IT Solutions LLC engaged in providing technology solutions to help people navigate everyday technology.
He has over 20 years experience providing hands-on one on one tutorials; end user technology support for thousands of people in personal computing, enterprise business information systems, and small business technologies over a vast array of platforms and hardware. Strength in troubleshooting, research and development, patience and kindness.
Daisy Saunders - Healthy Aging Advocate
Daisy Saunders is 72 year olds and is Tech Pals Healthy Aging Advocate. She is an author, a public speaker, and a Zumba instructor! She teaches Zumba Gold for seniors and Chair Zumba. She is the author of ZEAP, Zestfully Embracing the Aging Process and her Zumba YouTube videos have 1,000s of views. We met Daisy in Sarasota, FL and did a Zumba expertise which is up on YouTube. You can learn more about Daisy by visiting her website by clicking the button below. You can find links to purchase her book which is also available on Amazon and can subscribe to her YouTube channel by searching Daisy Saunders for all the latest Zumba exercises and Latin dances for seniors videos. Too view her videos, you can click the link below.
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCDPM9ouBTNI-8HAUdoGIq8w/videos
Sandra Mejía - Spanish Tech Pal
Sandra es colombiana y habla español nativo. Luego de 15 años trabajando en finanzas, decidió encontrar cómo trabajar online y viajar. Le encanta aprender sobre marketing digital y herramientas de Internet, que le ayudan a estar conectada con sus clientes y familia desde cualquier lugar. Buscaba una forma de ayudar a la gente a estar conectada también, sobre todo adultos mayores, durante estos tiempos de distancia social y permanecer en casa. Para ella, encontrar a Tech Pals es una oportunidad de servir y ayudar a la gente. Le encanta enseñar y compartir su conocimiento con los demas
Sandra is from Colombia and she is our Spanish speaker. After 15 years working in Finance, she decided to find how to work online and travel. She loves to learn about digital marketing and Internet tools that allow her to be connected with her costumers and family everywhere. She was looking for a way to help people to be connected too, especially seniors, in these particular days we are globally facing, with social distancing and being more at home. For her, finding Tech Pals is an opportunity to serve and help people. She loves to teach and share their knowledge with others.
Ricardo Esparza, Ph.D - Spanish Network Consultant
Dr. Ricardo Esparza is a nationally recognized clinical psychologist - one of the very few bilingual, Latino practitioners with a Ph. D. He has operated his own clinical practice for more than 40 years focusing on individual and couple's psychotherapy, head injury rehabilitation, and cognitive testing. Given his background his patients are often Latino and low-income individuals who seek out Dr. Esparza for his unique ability to identify with their experience.
In addition to his practice, Dr. Esparza has been a guest lecturer and later Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Colorado Department of Medicine. He has long serve as a trusted consultant to various physicians, hospitals, and community service organizations. Today, this advisory work has evolved to include engagements with various corporations and other institutions around issues of diversity & inclusion, organizational health, and change management.
Originally from Southern California and the oldest of twelve children, Ricardo graduated from St. John's College, earned a Masters in Social Work from UCLA, then went on to become a Ford Foundation Fellow and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan - the first Latino to earn a Ph.D. in CLinical Psychology from the University of Michigan. Ricardo lives with his wife, Maryann, in Boulder, Colorado ans is the proud father of two children and two grandchildren.