Management Team

We have what it takes to create a helpful online consumer web site. Our leadership team is comprised of Internet and community veterans who come from search, community and syndication companies such as Microsoft, Sierra Online, Classmates.com, AdPay, Amazon.com, Siemens, F5, Cingular, Motorola, and others.

Dave Rice, President and CEO

Dave Rice brings over 20 years experience leading software companies through growth and change to his role at Dipiti. Prior to Dipiti, as CEO of AdPay, Inc., he led the team that built the dominant online classified solution serving traditional media companies, created a participatory nationwide classified marketplace unifying media companies to counter online competition, and implemented a successful cost-per-click online advertising business model. Previously, Mr. Rice held senior executive roles in public and private software companies in marketing, product management, sales, business development, and product development. Mr. Rice has an MBA from the University of Oregon and a BA from Stanford University.

How I like to be helpful

I enjoy laying a foundation of resources, knowledge and connections that enable people to envision and realize ambitions and personal and professional growth. And, I get great satisfaction from being helpful, particularly when it’s unexpected.

Jim Kaufman, VP of Business Development

Jim has over 25 years of product development, project management, marketing, and sales experience. After spending 14 years in the Financial Services industry (including serving as vice president of marketing and product development for the Merrill Lynch Insurance Group), he has devoted the last 11+ years to Internet focused companies. He's held positions of project, program and product managers and held director of new business product management and director of partnership (Ad-based) products positions at Classmates.com. He has been a co-founder of two start-ups – one in the Insurance space and the other in the Web 2.0 Privacy / Profile world. Jim holds a BS in Psychology from The Johns Hopkins University and an M.A. in Clinical-Counseling Psychology from the University of Akron.

How I like to be helpful

I especially enjoy spending time searching for things on the Internet and then imagining someone being delighted that exactly what they needed was just "given" to them. I do this when relatives are looking for places to stay on a trip or friends are trying to find out the history of something they care about. Taking care in finding online resources that someone has spent time and creative energy building and then offering them to someone to make their life easier gives me a deep sense of satisfaction. It's the same way my dad felt, I think, when he showed someone a building that he designed or built or even admired. For me, life is about using your creative energy to solve problems for folks in need.

Cathy Shoaf, VP of Marketing

Cathy has 20 years of marketing leadership experience working with technology companies in product marketing, branding, PR, and online programs. Prior to joining Dipiti, Cathy served as a director of marketing for Myrio where she successfully positioned the company as a global leader in IPTV solutions, followed by an acquisition by Siemens. While at Siemens she was responsible for the global development of the strategic positioning and channel program strategy for the home entertainment division. Cathy led corporate branding for Classmates.com including public relations, the website, advertising, Classmates Magazine and Classmates TV programs. Cathy has also been an early employee at emerging technology companies such as iCat, eCharge and Mylackey.com. She holds a B.A. in Communications from the University of Idaho, and a certificate of Software Product Management from the WSA/University of Washington.

How I like to be helpful

I really enjoy giving random acts of helpfulness. Lately, I experience tourists in Seattle who are confused over the parking meter machines. It's usually a new experience for them - a big departure from the familiar old-style coin & meter system. So, I like to stop and explain the purchasing and sticker process. After all is said and done, most are very thankful for the assistance, and happy to begin their day in our great city.

Pia VanHanen, VP of HR and Finance

Pia has 18 years of experience in the areas of operations, human resources and organizational development. She has developed business and organizational processes with emerging technology companies such as iCat, ECDirect/Vitessa, Telicor, Radical Software and PAR3 Communications. Most recently, she led the operations and HR functions for Nervana, Inc. a semantic search and knowledge discovery company. She has served as an advisory board member for local technology companies and as a long-time board member for MIT Enterprise Forum Northwest. She is both the current co-Chair and Chair Emeritus for MIT Venture Lab, a local business non-profit organization that she re-launched in early 2002 to offer strategic business education to technology entrepreneurs. She holds a Bachelor's Degree from the Helsinki Business Polytechnic and an SPHR (Sr. Professional in Human Resources) certification from the Society of Human Resource Management. Pia has been a regularly featured speaker both at global and North American HR conferences.

How I like to be helpful

I like being helpful through connecting people with experts, knowledge and resources they need in order to make their dreams come true. I am passionate about entrepreneurship and have dedicated many years to working with early stage companies as well as volunteering in the local business community by organizing business education for entrepreneurs. Not only do I continue to learn a great deal myself, but I also meet many new friends in the process while building a strong and thriving community for our beautiful city. But the greatest reward is to see the entrepreneurs succeed while knowing that my actions perhaps had a small, small role in making it happen.

Sharon L. Bolding, Ph.D., VP of Content and Services

Sharon has 20 years experience working with Seattle technology companies in technical product management,  globalization, and international business. She has held a variety of domestic and international product management positions at companies such as Microsoft, Motorola, WRQ, Asymetrix, and F5. At LizardTech she spearheaded the move to globalize the company's offerings and the strategic launch of European and Asian products. Sharon has been a board member for several Seattle nonprofits in the areas of Literacy and International Cultural Awareness. She is a frequent guest lecturer on linguistics, semantics, and technology. She holds a B.A. in French and German from the University of Washington, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in French from the University of British Columbia, where her research focused on Structural Semantics and Semiotics.

How I like to be helpful

I love to cook and show people that I care by cooking for them. When a friend is sick or has a new baby, I bring the family a meal. Every year, I prepare chocolate fondue for hundreds of guests at an annual fund raiser for a non-profit literacy group in the Rainier Valley. I'm planning to give cooking classes at my home for international friends who want to know how to cook American and French foods. One of the greatest things about eating together is that you can introduce interesting people to each other and build community through hospitality.

Community Team

Doug Nakano

How I like to be helpful

Finding and providing information to help a person better perform a task or job is something I enjoy. This can take the form of helping a family member use a new software application, assisting a friend to locate scholarship resources or providing a colleague hard-to-find marketing statistics. Even more so, I like to help people learn on their own by teaching them what I know, then letting them try it out for themselves. I've learned a great deal from the people near to me and I hope to benefit others by passing it on.

Ed Matuskey

How I like to be helpful

At work and at home, I like being the guy who always says "no problem" when someone needs help. Need help loading furniture or staying awake during a late-night road trip? No problem. Need a subject researched, or thousands of products sorted into their proper categories, all before a looming deadline? No problem. I like the challenge and unpredictability that comes from being someone people know will never say "no" if they're at the end of their rope and need assistance. I enjoy taking those tasks that are too big for one person, and getting them done with a minimum of fuss. That's what it means to me to be helpful.