Not Just IT Support. People Support.

Who?

Mike Landman founded Ripple in 1997 and dedicated himself to two propositions: That IT should be about empowering people instead of computers, and that people should have the freedom to do their best work.

Where?

Mike moved to Atlanta in 1995 when living intown was considered weird. He’s spent most of those 25 years in West Midtown in search of a properly built Manhattan.

Three words that describe Mike:

Humans first, always.

Who?

Jayesh is the Chief Operating Officer at Ripple. His mission is to empower Ripple’s clients get their work done. He accomplishes this by aligning the operations at Ripple to support the mission. When not at Ripple, Jayesh trains regularly, drives a swim taxi for his daughters, and engages in personal challenges (obstacle course racing, military style crucible events, etc.).

Where?

He's lived all over the country and has been in Atlanta since '95. He attended Georgia Tech and graduated in 2000 with a Bachelors in Computer Science. He's been in technology consulting since 1997. In 2003 he started his own consulting company. In 2004, he combined efforts with our now CTO, Aiman, to build Avision. He then sold Avision to Ripple in 2016.

Three words that describe Jayesh:

Grateful, driven, and teammate.

Who?

Kim is the Client Services Manager, which means she oversees the Client Services lifecycle and how finance, procurement, and strategy responds to and evolves the client experience. It is the sole responsibility of the Client Services Manager to ensure all clients are treated like a human. When not at Ripple, she can be found enjoying a horror movie, cuddling with her dogs, kayaking, hiking, and dancing (music optional).

Where?

Originally from Dunedin, Florida, Kim joined Ripple in May 2014 after graduating with B.S. in Business Administration. She lives in the suburbs of NW Atlanta with her husband Kyle, 3 huge dogs (Leroy, Otis, and Remy Jeff), and a Three-Striped Mud Turtle (Littlefoot).

Three words that describe Kim:

Crazy dog lady but also silly, kind, and affectionate!

Who?

Chris is Ripple's Director of People Operations. Outside of Ripple, he dabbles in music, video games, and spends time with his wife and two children.

Where?

Chris comes from a mechanically-inclined family and grew up listening to the language spoken by troubleshooters. At the age of 7, his mother brought an Apple IIe computer home and this sparked a fascination with technology.  He found that the same principles applied to working on jet planes and cars also worked with computers. He also was interested in people and the dynamics of relationships and emotions, and he completed a BS in Psychology from Georgia State. After several years working as a mechanic, he went back to school for an IT degree and was hired straight out of school by Ripple in 2007 as a Support Engineer. He served as Service Delivery Manager for much of his time. Throughout the years, he steadily applied himself more and more into nurturing and developing his fellow Ripplers, and in January of 2022, officially assumed the role of Director of People Operations.

Three words that describe Chris:

Genuine, sturdy, and saltybeer.

Who?

Melissa is the Director of Strategy at Ripple, where she helps to guide the delivery of strategic initiatives that align technology and solutions to the business goals and needs of her clients. Outside of her day-to-day at Ripple, she loves to volunteer in her community as a Sunday School teacher, spend time with her family and kids, and also swim.

Where?

A Texas-born, Jersey native, Melissa has lived all over the map from New Jersey to Turkey, but started calling Georgia home in 2005. She graduated from the New Jersey Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Management Information Systems.

Three words that describe Melissa:

Ambitious, personable, and warmhearted.

Who?

Joan’s genuine love of people makes her the perfect fit as Ripple’s Director of Partnerships. With a background in sales and marketing, Joan has spent a majority of her career "in the field" - working with customers, growing markets, and managing teams. When not working, she can be found cycling the Silver Comet Trail with her family, paging through Architectural Digest, or (hopelessly) training her dog to fetch something more useful than a sock.

Where?

Joan currently calls Atlanta home with her two daughters, husband and rescue dog, Oliver, but is a California native by way of Michigan. She studied Marketing and Communications at University of Michigan and completed her MBA at Emory’s Goizueta Business School. Joan has worked for some of the world's largest multinationals, but there is nothing quite like being part of the journey of a fast-growing company that challenges the status quo.

Three words that describe Joan:

Strategic, relationship-focused, and energetic!

Who?

James is a Senior Solutions Architect. He helps build plans, processes, and procedures that support the service delivery team. He enjoys being outdoors as much as possible. He and his wife enjoy hiking, camping, and biking at nearby parks. Providence Canyon, Sweetwater Creek, Don Carter State Park, and Pine Mountain are a few of their favorite spots.

Where?

Born and raised in the Tampa Bay area, James narrowly avoided becoming "Florida Man" by moving to Virginia at the age of 14. We imagine that he must have missed the humidity (but not the gators) because eventually, he found his way down to Georgia. James is now settled in Atlanta and is at no risk of becoming a Florida stereotype.

Three words that describe James:

Devoted, compassionate, and stubborn.

Who?

Justin is a Systems Engineer. Outside of work, he likes working on and modifying his S2000 and WRX. He plays guitar, video games, and likes working on upgrades at his new house. He's also a big DIY nut.

Where?

He was born in Ft. Lauderdale, FL and moved to Georgia when he was very young. He managed a small IT company for three years, then moved into IT for flight operation systems for an airline company in Atlanta before joining Ripple.

Three words that describe Justin:

Meticulous, dedicated, and comical.

Who?

Nick is an Infrastructure Engineer at Ripple. After work, Nick loves to play golf and hang out with friends, family, and his dog, Krewe the Dood. He is a big sports fan who supports the Braves, Arkansas (Woo Pig!), and tolerates his wife’s loyalty to the LSU Tigers.

Where?

Nick was born in Louisiana and went to college at University of Louisiana at Monroe where he graduated in 2019. He got married and moved to Atlanta where he started working for Ripple.

Three words that describe Nick:

Reliable, dedicated, and friendly.

Who?

Anthony (Ant) is a Support Specialist. Or, as he puts it, "I help people when their computer is rude." Outside of Ripple, Ant enjoys video games, hanging with friends, taking care of his dog, and messing around with his home computer lab.

Where?

Anthony was born on Long Island, but moved to Georgia when he was 6 years old and has been there ever since. He studied IT at Georgia Southern for a spell, then spent five years waiting tables and learning a lot about working with customers before joining Ripple.

Three words that describe Anthony:

Cheerful, polite, and wild boar.

Who?

Caroline is the Client Experience Coordinator at Ripple. Outside of work, Caroline is a fire performer and artist who conceptualizes and organizes art shows. She loves developing short plays with her friends which dig into themes of science fiction, history, and Jungian psychology. She has performed in several art venues across Atlanta. She is also an avid hiker, traveler, sci-fi fan, and meditator.

Where?

Caroline got her BA in History and MA in Writing and Digital Communications from Agnes Scott College. Her earlier career was working in the Atlanta art scene and non-profit space, where she focused on supporting small farmers and local food systems. While still a passionate local food activist, Caroline pivoted to IT and loves utilizing her passion for listening, helping, and problem solving in the tech space.

Three words that describe Caroline:

Compassionate, curious, and driven.

Who?

Corey Borovicka is a Senior Support Specialist. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his family, playing video games, and woodworking with his wife. Corey is a self-taught IT wizard that worked as a technician before moving into a Managed Service Provider role for the past six years.

Where?

Corey was born, raised, and currently resides in northeast Ohio. His curious nature led him from building desks as a way to keep busy during the pandemic to renovating his own house! He takes advantage of his proximity to Cleveland to enjoy music from one of the top five symphony orchestras in the US with his daughter.

Three words that describe Corey:

Happy, inventive, and curious.

Who?

Brian is an Escalation Lead. He is a big fan of retro gaming on his MiSTer FPGA and smoking BBQ - Memphis-style, the only way that matters.

Where?

Brian grew up in North Mississippi, moved to Atlanta to work with Ripple. He recently moved to St. Augustine, Florida, where he is conveniently located just minutes from the Fountain of Youth. Besides, no matter what happens in life - good or bad - it’s always better by the beach.

Three words that describe Brian:

Hard-headed (in the best way), empathetic, and passionate.

Who?

Jumaan is a Senior Support Specialist. Outside of Ripple he likes to keep his eyes and ears open.

Where?

Born and raised in New Jersey, Jumaan went to Rutgers for journalism and film. He stumbled clumsily into IT and, well, it stuck. He first became a Rippler in New York City from 2011-2014 and now is back!

Three words that describe Jumaan:

Nasty, brutish, and short.

Who?

Tamon is an Infrastructure Engineer. Outside of Ripple, he plays competitive sports. Well... Esports that is. So, he's big on video games. He also dabbles in various different arts and loves a good D&D party. Other than that stuff; he likes to build media servers.

Where?

Tamon is originally from a small, rural town in Alabama. He lived there until his family moved to the big city (AKA Birmingham) while he was in 3rd grade. He lived there until 2015 when he moved to Atlanta.

Three words that describe Tamon:

Waaaay outta sight!

Who?

Ramon is a Support Specialist. During his personal time, he enjoys spending the afternoon with his partner, two dogs, two turtles, and playing video games. The Legend of Zelda and God of War are his favorites to play.

Where?

Ramon has lived in a few states ranging from New York, Massachusetts, and Florida. Everywhere has its perks. The people in Boston were very friendly, when he lived in Tampa and Orlando he enjoyed the warm weather, but he currently calls Brooklyn home. He loves being near his family; but to be honest, he’d rather be in Florida.

Three words that describe Ramon:

Anime game nerd.

Who?

Jared is a Field Specialist at Ripple. He enjoys making music with his friends in his spare time, playing video games, and reading every day. His favorite book series of all time is Harry Potter, and he is a Ravenclaw.

Where?

Jared grew up in Decatur, Georgia, where he still lives today. He studied Business Management and Entrepreneurship at Kennesaw State University (GO OWLS!), but moved from the management field into the world of tech. One year in and he loves every new experience!

Three words that describe Jared:

Honest, dependable, and friendly.

Who?

EJ is a Senior Support Specialist. He enjoys console gaming on his PS5 and Xbox, traveling (San Francisco is a favorite), and serving his local community with his Phi Beta Sigma brothers.

Where?

EJ was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina but left after high school to enlist in the Navy. While in the Navy, he began his IT career, serving for 5 years before moving to Atlanta and becoming a data center technician for GE. Other opportunities followed that brought EJ into the world of MSPs before he eventually found his home at Ripple.

Three words that describe EJ:

Direct, opinionated, but laid-back.

Who?

Parker is a Support Specialist at Ripple. In his free time, he likes restoring vintage computers, bicycle trail riding, tinkering with his Coyote GT Mustang, and hobby engineering/computer science.

Where?

Parker has lived in Georgia his entire life, from South Atlanta to Savannah and back to North Atlanta. While living in Savannah, he completed school and became the sole technician at a small MSP, but wanted to be part of something bigger. That’s when he joined the Ripple family and left Savannah.

Three words that describe Parker:

Patient, positive, and innovative.

Who?

Michael is the Controller at Ripple. Outside of his role at Ripple, Michael enjoys watching Sci-Fi, Action, and Thriller movies. He also loves spending time with his family going to the beach, mountains, or camping with his kids.

Where?

Michael grew up in the panhandle of Florida and studied Music at Florida State University until he decided to do something different and move to Atlanta. After some time working in Atlanta, he received a degree in Business Administration from Oglethorpe University. Michael has a diverse work history but found his passion working in accounting and has been happily keeping the books straight ever since.

Three words that describe Michael:

Happy, dedicated, and kind.