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; Chairwoman of the Board
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
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 2019-2020
In loving memory. 12/7/1943 - 12/21/2020
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 was Professor Emeritus at Buffalo State College in the education department and President of the Sunrise Rotary Club in Buffalo, New York and was no stranger to non-profits. He was also a humorist and magician and spent 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, Secretary
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.
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 74 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
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.
Camille Desrochers - Tech Pal
Camille works in the data and analytics space. In her spare time, she enjoys persuading her family members to optimize their personal tech stack. Her hobbies also include shopping and sending her oversees family members the latest and greatest video chat devices and helping them set them up.
She finds starting traditions of the digital age to be highly satisfying. Having mostly accomplished this with her family and close friends, she's decided to extend the help in her local community after being inspired by a colleague who recently shared her experience of being an informal tech pal .
Anil (Maddy) Soni - Board Member, Tech Pal
Anil (Maddy) has been working in the technology industry and worked for IBM for 7 years. He has worked at designing and developing android and iOS apps for multiple businesses.
In his spare time, Maddy enjoy photography and practicing new technology. He has a passion for helping senior embrace technology and loves being a Tech Pal.
Eli Abendroth - Tech Pal
Eli is a college student at Colorado Mesa University. He is studying film to become a skateboard filmmaker. As well as film, he enjoys skateboarding, snowboarding, and graphic design.
Sandy Johnson - Tech Pal
Sande has years of experience in educational publishing and online course and product development. She is mission-driven and thrives in service-oriented environments.
Sande met Leah this past year and is eager to jump on board to help others navigate the sometimes intimidating world of technology. Herself a self-proclaimed technology-novice, Sande understands first-hand how frustrating new tech tools and processes can be. But she operates from a philosophy that technology is just another tool and one to be leveraged to meet our personal and professional goals, rather than one by which to feel intimidated.
When not working, Sande loves to play with her pooches, travel to remote places, and hang out with her awesome family.
Connor Jordan - Tech Pal
Connor Jordan is a Digital Content Specialist for an educational publisher in Erie, PA. During his undergraduate studies at the University of Pittsburgh, Connor developed a passion for technical support while completing a year-long Information Technology internship in the Department of Psychology on campus. While searching for service opportunities after graduation, Connor found Tech Pals online, and thought contributing to the organization would be the perfect opportunity to use the skills he has developed in technology and education to make an impact in his community. He is excited to begin working to bring Tech Pals to Pennsylvania in 2022!
During his free time, Connor enjoys running, computer programming, music, and keeping up with the latest technology.
Hannah Chong - Board Member; Tech Pal
Hi all! My name is Hannah, and I am currently a senior at Emory University that is majoring in sociology! I am interested in all things sociotechnology and I am a staunch advocate for bridging the digital divide!
Hannah Chong is paving the way for Tech Pals boots on the ground in person workshops in Atlanta GA
Mateo Leyva - Board Member, Tech Pal
Mateo Leyva is the middle child of five siblings and is currently a college student studying Cyber Security at The University of Tampa. He’s had a passion for technology and electronics since childhood and has always wanted to work somewhere where he can pursue his passion while learning more about the industry and helping others. He has experience with Windows, Android, iOS, and macOS devices and has recently gotten into exploring the countless amounts of Linux distributions. He was born in Houston, Texas, and moved to Boulder, Colorado in 2016 where he graduated from Fairview High School in 2021. When he’s not working on his computer, he’s pursuing his love for longboarding and taking care of his dogs.
Michelle Watson - Administrative Assistant
Michelle Watson is a Colorado native who does a lot of our admin work.
She spends her days routesetting at local climbing gyms or climbing outside and often helps out tech pals in the evenings. Ever having problems? shoot her an email!