EXPERTISE & EXPERIENCE
People and Technology United for Impact
As a leading technology partner to educators across districts, states and independent tutoring providers, Pearl lives at the intersection of relationships, teaching, and technology. Our products and services work to streamline operations, report actionable data, and improve outcomes in the communities we serve.
Our Team
JOHN FAILLA
Founder & CEO
JONATHAN KELLEY
Chief Operating Officer
JONATHAN BECHTEL
Lead AI Engineer
QUYNH NGUYEN
Product Designer
AMY RADICH
Account Executive
DEX SHY
Account Executive
MATT BARROW
Director of Services
RAQUEL FORD
Customer Success Manager
ANDREW BARDACHENKO
Senior Engineer
PRANAVI KONDA
Technical Support Specialist
MELISSA SROKA
VP, Partnership
NATE CASEY
Chief Strategy Officer
CHRIS KERR
VP, Product
ERIN GRUBBS
VP, Marketing
TRACILYN BABINGTON
Demand Generation Manager
D’ARCY CARLSON
VP, Customer Success
AMANDA WOODFORD
Sr. Manager, Customer Support Operations
ROBERT ROTONDO
Customer Success Manager
DR. DORA VILLARREAL
Superintendent in Residence
JARED NUBY
Account Executive
MATT PAUPORE
Account Executive
CHRISTA ROBLES
Account Executive
RELATIONSHIPS DRIVE EVERYTHING WE DO
Our Mission
At Pearl, we believe strong relationships drive effective learning. We use AI with intention, to enhance, not replace, the human connection at the heart of education. By improving data, streamlining tasks, and surfacing key insights, we empower educators to act with clarity and speed. Our approach is guided by transparency, privacy, and ethics.
Look How Far We've Come
THE START
Founder and CEO, John Failla, credits his academic success to a formative experience with a tutor who prioritized building a relationship with him, not just teaching math.
January 2016
August 2016
INSPIRATION STRIKES
Inspired by his personal experiences, John establishes Trilogy Mentors (the OG Pearl) as an in-person tutoring company - right out of college. Because he was familiar with the value of mentorship, John creates an advisory board of Richmond executives.
GROWTH
To pilot and grow the company, John partners with nonprofits and private schools. This soon expands to more than 300 tutors facilitating 8,000 hours of yearly instruction. In 2018, John received the Richmond 25 Under 25 award - a tribute to his hard work.
September 2017
2019-2020
EVOLUTION TO INFRASTRUCTURE
Pearl grew, however, John recognized that technology could hinder crucial student-tutor connections. In 2019, Pearl developed a Tutor Management System (TMS) that eliminates friction and empowers thousands of relationship-based educators nationwide. To support this system, Pearl establishes relationships with partners like the National Student Support Accelerator (NSSA), Johns Hopkins School of Education, and Stanford’s Graduate School of Education.
REBRAND
In response to the evolving education landscape, Trilogy Mentors underwent a rebranding to better reflect its mission and capabilities. This transformation is present-day Pearl, a fully digital tutor management system and tutoring ecosystem.
January 2021
February 2025
EXPAND OFFERINGS
Pearl expanded to include two key offerings: a Program Design service and a Data Hub. The Program Design service provides direct support for districts to establish and scale their own tutoring programs. On the product side, the Data Hub was designed to simplify reporting and reduce administrative burden while ensuring consistency across programs and vendors.