News & Press
Presence, a premier solution for PreK–12 remote special education-related and mental health evaluation and teletherapy services, is pleased to announce the appointment of Jessie Woolley-Wilson and Eric Cantor to its Board of Directors. Woolley-Wilson and Cantor’s successful careers in education technology and extensive operating experience will support Presence’s management team in driving innovation, unlocking growth opportunities, and continuing to provide industry-leading resources to a growing number of children with diverse needs.
“I am delighted to welcome Jessie and Eric to the board,” said Presence CEO Kate Eberle Walker. “They each bring a diverse set of skills and expertise and will provide meaningful counsel as Presence continues our growth. In combination with the support of the leading education impact funds, we are well poised to deliver on our mission to empower all who serve students with special needs.”
Jessie Woolley-Wilson is the former CEO of DreamBox Learning, the only education technology company in the country to provide ESSA Strong rated solutions in both math and English language arts, serving over 6 million students and over 500 thousand educators. She brings to Presence over 20 years of experience in K-12 educational technology, having also served as the President of BlackBoard and LeapFrog SchoolHouse. As an accomplished executive and thought leader within the education community, Woolley-Wilson’s insights and relationships will enhance Presence’s positioning in the market and support the company’s growth strategy and mission.
“It has always been a personal goal of mine to serve special education students. During a time when shortages of highly qualified providers continue to plague schools, Presence has developed a unique technology-enabled solution that supports both the needs of clinicians and schools,” said Woolley-Wilson. “The company’s Kanga platform enables access to innovative resources for clinicians to reach every child, regardless of their age, needs or zip code. I look forward to partnering with Kate and her team to build the future of online therapy and empower providers nationwide to leverage these solutions to advance opportunities for students with diverse needs.”
Eric Cantor is the former CEO of Knowfully Learning Group and New Mountain Learning, and a former executive of College Board, Kaplan, and McGraw Hill. With more than 30 years of experience in K-12, higher education and professional development industries, Cantor brings a diverse skillset that includes executive leadership, strategic planning and operations, as well as a deep understanding of the innovative learning space.
“Presence is an organization that is committed to balancing mission and margin as they pursue their goals,” said Cantor. “I am energized by their work and thrilled to be joining the board alongside Jessie Woolley-Wilson, and to work with the Presence team to transform the special education and behavioral health landscape.”
Since 2009, the Presence network has grown to over 2,000 clinicians who now serve students at over 10,000 schools in 47 states across the country. Under Eberle Walker’s leadership, Presence has delivered over 6 million teletherapy sessions to students with diverse needs.
The Presence therapy platform is designed by clinicians, for clinicians, with the goal of enhancing human connection between a therapist and their student. Some of the clinicians in the Presence network, who have been with Presence for over a decade, have individually delivered over 10,000 teletherapy sessions to students with diverse needs. Now, clinicians across multiple disciplines, including speech language pathologists, occupational therapists, school psychologists and mental health professionals, utilize Presence’s online platform to support the full spectrum of their work–from case management to planning to therapy delivery to documentation.
The platform has thousands of digital learning resources, games and activities from well-known content providers and beloved brands like Boom, Hasbro and Highlights and a breadth of curated assessments from marquee test publishers including Pearson Clinical Assessment and Riverside Insights.
Presence services and technology are used at schools in rural, urban and virtual settings. By leveraging Presence’s network of clinicians to provide secure, efficient, and engaging online therapy solutions, schools have been able to reduce heavy caseloads and help more students make progress on their Individualized Education Program (IEP), complete required assessments and work on mental health goals.
About Presence
Inspired to drive solutions for the national shortage of school clinicians, Presence is unlocking the potential of schools and clinicians by removing traditional barriers to success through an elevated approach to teletherapy. As a trusted leader since 2009, Presence is innovating how schools assess and address student special education-related and mental health needs. By equipping a nationwide network of teletherapy providers with award-winning technology and end-to-end clinical support, Presence is helping to meet the needs of schools, students, and clinicians today—wherever they are. Presence is teletherapy, elevated.
Presence is supported by Spectrum Equity, TPG’s The Rise Fund, Bain Capital Double Impact, and Catalyst Investors.