Jesse Pickard is the co-founder and CEO of MindSnacks, a company based in San Francisco that creates educational games to help people learn Spanish, French, Italian, German, Mandarin, Portuguese, SAT vocabulary, and English as a second language. In 2012, he was featured in Forbes magazine for its “30 under 30” profile series.

An entrepreneur who is changing the ways in which people learn, Jesse Pickard’s love of technology dates back to his days at Parker School in North Greenbush. At Columbia High School, his love of studio art, photography, writing and computers still draws strong fond recollections from his former art teacher, Ms. Patricia LeRoy, as well as Mr. Rudofsky, the former advisor to the school newspaper. Jesse’s aptitude with computer graphics, and enthusiasm for learning about each wave of software programs that the early 21st century had to offer, were manifest. He also exhibited an ease in working with others, and provided constructive criticisms and moral support to his classmates in their own endeavors. Despite a rigorous academic schedule, the demands of putting together layouts for the school newspaper, and working as an online multimedia developer for Dynamic Applications, Inc., he still found time to play on the school’s basketball team.

In his senior year, Jesse had to consider his future beyond Columbia. Highly selective schools were interested in him, naturally. Impressed by his strong academic credentials, commitment to extracurricular and community activities, and good character and citizenship, Syracuse University offered Jesse a dean’s scholarship to major in Art in 2002. Technology remained a major part of his life, and his internships with MTV Networks and Industry Next reflected that growing curiosity.

After graduation from Syracuse, Jesse worked as an account executive, senior user experience associate, information architect and strategist for Razorfish, a public company specializing in marketing and advertising.

An entrepreneur with a vision rooted in making learning fun and accessible, Jesse cofounded MindSnacks in May 2010 in New York City. This privately-owned company, which later moved to San Francisco, now has over twenty-five employees and is growing. In 2011, Apple voted MindSnacks as the Educational App of the Year, echoing the opinion of users across the globe.

In 15th century Europe, Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of movable type helped to usher in the Renaissance. In the 21st century, Jesse Pickard’s MindSnacks will be introducing new mobile applications in a variety of subjects, no doubt changing the culture of learning in exciting ways for students of all ages, even when they are on the go. This evening, the East Greenbush Education Foundation is honored to induct Mr. Jesse Pickard, Class of 2002, to the Columbia High School Alumni Hall of Fame for his extraordinary professional achievement.