Company Bios
At TheAcademy.com, we have assembled a team of highly qualified individuals with a great depth of knowledge and experience in their respective fields, ensuring your company receives the best possible training program and has a positive experience in working with us.
- Jay B. Rea, Founder and CEO
- Anne Hart Rea, Vice President
- Brenda Gonzales, COO & Director of Client Relations
- Nancy A. Bauer, Director of Product Management
- Adrian Swift, Director of Sales
- Carlos Sarmiento, Director of Development
Jay Rea founded TheAcademy.com to produce Internet based e-training programs for corporate, public and industry training. TheAcademy.com has developed numerous techniques and software systems to effectively train today’s workforce via the Internet, including the Athena Learning Management System.
Prior to founding TheAcademy.com, Jay spent more than 35 years in the travel and technology industries. He served as Vice President of Technology for Carlson Wagon Lit. He was also President and Owner of Compucheck Corporation, which provided the first automated air fare and reservation auditing and monitoring system ever developed. Additionally, Jay founded Travel Systems, Inc., which developed and marketed the TS-2000, a travel agency accounting and reporting system.
Jay is a featured speaker at industry conferences. He has consulted in the technology field for various organizations since 1987, and currently consults in the training and distance learning fields.
Jay is a graduate of the University of Texas, and served as an Officer in the United States Air Force.
Anne Rea joined TheAcademy.com in January of 2008, where she serves both as Vice President and as the head of Quality Control and Sales and Marketing Management. Anne previously spent more than 30 years in the travel industry, where she developed a wide range of skills, including the training of new hires, product sales, and upper management, in addition to owning her own agency. Anne was also responsible for training travel agents in the use of industry-related computer systems.
Drawing on her background in English grammar, Anne focuses on editing, writing, and expanding the course materials for TheAcademy.com’s catalog of online classes. In addition, Anne uses her many years of sales experience to assist the Sales Department in developing their materials and techniques.
Anne holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas, Austin, with a major in English and minors in Latin and Education. She has also completed graduate courses in Special Education.
Brenda Gonzales, COO, Director of Client Relations
Joining TheAcademy.com in 1998, Brenda Gonzales has functioned in a number of capacities, beginning in the Accounting Department, and later becoming the Chief Financial Officer. As she assumed more client-related projects, her role expanded to Chief Operating Officer and Director of Client Relations.
As Chief Operating Officer, Brenda is responsible for the strategic planning and operational leadership of day-to-day operations. As Director of Client Relations, she works to enhance and retain the existing customer base by ensuring excellent levels of customer service. Additionally, she uses business analysis to creatively identify new training opportunities.
Brenda holds an Associate’s Degree in Applied Science from San Antonio College and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Finance and Accounting from American InterContinental University.
Nancy A. Bauer, Director of Product Management
With more than 30 years of experience in product management and administration, Nancy Bauer joined TheAcademy.com in 2008 as the Director of Product Management. Her depth of experience includes more than 20 years centered on marketing and product development for a variety of global industries.
At TheAcademy.com, Nancy is responsible for market analysis and research, where she focuses on e-training markets, lead generation, competitive analysis, and market direction. Nancy was also a key developer of TheAcademy.com’s Healthy Employee Learning Program. Having previously spent 10 years in online training, education, and accreditation, Nancy was instrumental in creating this unique online learning system designed to improve employee health.
Nancy attended Texarkana Community College and Southern Arkansas University.
Adrian Swift, Director of Sales
Adrian Swift joined TheAcademy.com in 2009 as an Account Manager, where she quickly asserted herself as a leader, resulting in her promotion to Director of Sales in 2010. She uses her strong background in online training and education to drive the strategic direction of the sales team, providing support, training and motivation. In addition, she works closely with the sales support and development teams to increase the company’s brand awareness and product success.
Having previously worked in the field of behavior-based safety and industrial training, Adrian leveraged this skill set to aid TheAcademy.com in developing the Safety, Industrial, and HR Training libraries.
Adrian holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology with a minor in Sociology from Tarleton State University.
Carlos Sarmiento, Jr., Director of Development
Carlos Sarmiento joined TheAcademy.com in 2010 as a member of the design and development team. He quickly demonstrated his talent to lead and create and was named Director of Development in 2011. He manages the daily operations of the development team as well as being an instrumental part of the design and architecture of new projects. As Director, his passion for innovation shapes the technological direction of TheAcademy.com, forging towards new technologies at every opportunity.
Working for his parents’ company in the early 90s, Carlos took advantage of this new technology called the ‘internet’ and took this local business into the 21st century. Through education and experience he has honed his skills in management, leadership, graphic and web design, and programming.
Carlos has earned a Bachelor’s of Business Administration from the University of Texas, San Antonio.
