Lizzie Merritt – Director of Education

Lizzie first joined the Mirasee community in September of 2014 when she enrolled in the Audience Business Masterclass. Prior to that, a family relocation had taken her away from teaching fitness to moms of small children. Thus, she decided to start blogging as a way to stay connected with “her moms.” ABM was the perfect fit for helping her blog to iterate and grow. In the spring of 2015, Lizzie jumped at the opportunity to contribute her teaching skills to the Mirasee team as a Student Coach.

Prior to her fitness career, Lizzie utilized her Masters of Education degree while teaching middle school science for 5 years. Most people cringe when she says “middle school,” but middle schoolers are actually really fun to work with. They are young enough to still respect authority (pretty much), but old enough to have a great sense of humor. Lizzie loves learning about a whole range of things, but especially behavioral psychology and weight loss.

When she’s not interacting with the Mirasee community, you might find Lizzie exercising or writing about making peace with the imperfect body. She has also written a book called 7 Ways to Willpower.

Her favorite way to relax is open a good book. These days she reads a lot of non-fiction, but teen dystopian novels are never too far away. Lizzie loves the ocean and nature, but her favorite pastime of all is snuggling with her kids.

Jim Hopkinson – Director of Courses

Jim Hopkinson joined the Mirasee team in the Fall of 2015 as their Director of Courses. Throughout his career he’s had the chance to work in all 3 work environments—startup, major corporations, and entrepreneur—and brings a diverse set of skills as an author, speaker, teacher, digital marketer, project lead, and course creator.

Jim began his interactive education career as the 3rd employee of a Boston-based startup, helping to grow the company to 30+ employees and directing the development of 90 interactive training courses for Fortune 500 companies.

A lifelong sports fan, Jim then landed his dream job 3,000 miles away in Seattle, working as a technical producer in the Fantasy Sports group of ESPN.com. He later moved into online marketing and transferred to New York City. Work highlights included projects with ESPN the Magazine and Mobile ESPN; Fun perks included seeing his Red Sox and Patriots win championships — in person.

As a tech geek, Jim found his next dream gig at WIRED.com, where he managed their online marketing, social media strategy, and launch of their first iPhone app. During his time there, he embraced a “side hustle” culture, hosting a blog and podcast (250 episodes!), publishing the book Salary Tutor, and teaching a class at NYU.

In 2011 Jim launched his own business, helping ambitious professionals negotiate their salaries and get paid what they’re worth. He offers tips on SalaryTutor.com, works 1:1 with clients, and has produced a series of informative and entertaining online courses.

In addition to his love of sports, Jim is an avid runner and mountain biker and enjoys mentoring young business professionals.

Rocky Kev – Technologist

Rocky has been a fan of Mirasee for 3 years, devouring their newsletters, blog posts, and podcasts. When he saw that Mirasee had a job opening, Rocky jumped at the chance to join as a student coach.

Before being a student coach, Rocky spent his early adult years teaching art and game development to kids ages 5-15. He then worked for 6 years at a national comedy club, where he worked his way up from the bottom to become their Online Manager.

Rocky is an lifelong learner. When he’s not reading or listening to an educational podcast, Rocky relaxes by playing PC games and engaging with the game development community. Feel free to chat with him if you’re a fan of video games, stand-up comedy, and most importantly, if you love personal growth.

Krunal Patel – Technical Lead

Krunal Patel  joined Mirasee as the Technical Lead in November of 2015.

Krunal is from Ahmedabad, India, and has a Master degree in Mathematics, but he has been passionate about the businesses and systems, so he moved to
Melbourne, Australia to complete his education in Information Systems. Since then he has been working in the IT industry.

In April 2015, Krunal began working with Mirasee in a freelance capacity. He jumped at the chance to join the team in November.

Krunal loves spending time with his family, especially his wife Hiral and their two kids, Leah and Janya.