Christopher Gentile, PhD
President & CEO
A nationally-recognized educator and entrepreneur, Dr. Christopher Gentile is a pioneer in the field of innovative academics. Experienced in public and private education-related enterprises, he founded and led Virtual Sage Online Curriculum and the University of Miami Online High School, both of which were acquired by the Washington Post Company/Kaplan Education in April 2007.
Gentile holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Science, a Master’s degree in Psychology, and a Doctorate in Neuropsychology from the University of Miami. He also holds an Education Specialist degree in Education Leadership from Nova Southeastern University. He began his career as a psychologist/researcher in the area of learning and memory and later applied his knowledge to teaching and developing experimental technology-based education programs for the Miami-Dade County Public Schools and Nova Southeastern University.
During his 20-year professional career, he has held numerous high-level leadership positions in K12 and university institutions as well as private companies. Notably, he served as the national director for the National Academy Foundation, American Express and Citigroup's education foundation in New York City and as chief learning officer for an educational technology start-up in San Francisco.
A noted speaker, consultant, and author, he has published more than 25 articles and books including Microsoft's Technology Roadmap: A Comprehensive Guide to Planning and Implementing Computer Technology in K-12 Schools. Additionally, he has served as a consultant to federal and state governments, businesses, foundations, and universities.
Raoul Betancourt
Chief Operating Officer, COO
Raoul Betancourt is the Chief Operating Officer for FYI. With experience in the investment, wealth management, airline, and hotel industries, Betancourt has the expertise to run the day-to-day business operations for FYI. He was also instrumental in FYI’s startup and development.
Before returning to Miami, Betancourt was working on Wall Street as Client Services Manager at an Ameriprise Financial Private Wealth Advisory Practice in New York. There, he worked closely with clients, managing portfolios whose net worth exceeded $450 million dollars.
Raoul holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Miami.
Christian Ward
Instructional Design
Head of the e-learning department at FYI Online, Christian Ward uses his expertise in instructional design and his knowledge of current trends in technology to develop next-generation curriculum. Ward spent the past decade designing highly engaging course curriculum for the virtual high school market. At the University of South Florida's MIT Department, he assisted faculty to develop courses. In 2003, he became the first employee at Virtual Sage, and later became the Lead Instructional Designer and Director of Product Development for both Virtual Sage's online curriculum and the University of Miami's Online High School. There, he was instrumental in developing the original course interface design and online instructional model.
Ward holds a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from Florida State University and a Master's Degree in Instructional Technology from the University of South Florida.
Bill Mattax
Technical
Owner and manager of a web design, hosting, and marketing company since 2001, Bill Mattax brings his considerable experience in the field of technology to FYI Online. Mattax specializes in data-driven web sites and content management systems, and uses his skills to oversee the technology side of the business. His area of expertise includes graphic design and html, focusing on Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Mattax currently manages FYI's technical needs and leads the production team in assuring a high level of quality. In addition, he is responsible for the integrity of the Content Management System (CMS).
