Adnan Mahmud

FOUNDER, CEO

As founder and CEO of FORWARD, Adnan is passionate about using data and technology to tackle the world’s biggest challenges. Through FORWARD, he has worked with more than 200 customers around the world and has been featured as a Gov100 company every year since 2016.

Prior to founding FORWARD, Adnan worked for eight years at Microsoft, where he managed the company’s largest data pipelines and received multiple patents in data analysis, visualization, and management. In addition, Adnan is co-founder of Jolkona, a nonprofit that provides mentorship and training for social entrepreneurs.

Adnan earned his master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Southern California.

Delane Hewett

CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

As Chief Technology Officer, Delane Hewett is responsible for oversight development, configuration, and implementation of the FORWARD Platform.

Delane worked across several start-ups within Microsoft for about 15 years and then a journey of another 14 years at start-ups across real estate, news, advertising, e-commerce, and helping businesses from the smallest to the Fortune 500 at DataSphere & Sinclair Broadcast Group. Delane then dedicated a year to building applications in deep learning and then another year at OfferUp leading several engineering, data, and product teams.

Tim Morones

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS

Tim oversees all FORWARD implementations, including design, management, and funds disbursement. Tim has more than 25 years of experience in leadership and growth, customer operations, and financial management for high-tech, high-growth companies. During this time he has also maintained an active community presence, serving on the board of both nonprofit and for-profit organizations. In 2012, he was elected Chairman of the Audit Committee for ITEX Corporation (OCQB: ITEX).

Tim holds a bachelor's degree in Finance from the California State University of Sacramento.

Srivaths Copparam

VP OF ENGINEERING

As VP of Engineering, Srivaths Copparam leads the engineering organization and is responsible for building and running the suite of applications and services that power FORWARD's grant programs and SAAS services. He is passionate about leveraging technology and data to serve best-of-breed solutions to customers and partners.

Srivaths brings over 20 years of engineering leadership experience to the team, having previously led global engineering organizations at Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Mr. Cooper. He has expertise in driving technology vision, strategy, and implementation and has launched several high-scale and high-availability services spanning cloud platform services, SAAS services, and consumer-facing applications.

Srivaths holds a bachelor's degree in engineering in Electronics from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India.

Suzanne Campbell

VP of People & Culture

Raven McShane

SENIOR DIRECTOR OF GROWTH

As Senior Director of Growth, Raven McShane leads FORWARD efforts around outreach, marketing, and partner engagement. 

Raven is an experienced operations director with a proven track record of delivering results in a constantly changing landscape. Skilled at creating marketing plans and conducting community outreach, she helps FORWARD develop relationships with community-based organizations on the ground in communities across the country. With 15 years as a political fundraiser and campaign manager in dozens of communities under her belt, she has a unique and valuable perspective on building relationships within communities.

Raven is a graduate of the Evergreen State College with a degree in history and political science.

Aja Brown

Strategic Impact Partner

Aja Brown is a trusted leader in the realm of government technology solutions, celebrated for her ability to bring transformative change to communities and governments alike. Currently spearheading government solution design, impact, and communications at FORWARD, Aja employs her unique blend of technical acumen, strategic vision, political expertise, government administration expertise, and track record to forge pathways in the marketplace that expand equity, efficiencies, access, and impact.  Aja leads FORWARD’s Impact Team, driving brand, strategic communication, marketing, new markets, social impact, and direct opportunities (RFPs).

In her extensive 20-year career in government administration, Aja is a trusted and respected innovator and impact driver, effectively modeling trusted and human-centered leadership. Her service as Mayor of Compton, CA from 2013 to 2021 remains a proof-point of her capacity to drive innovative change, amid significant adversity. Aja designed and led the execution of a transformative 12-point Vision for Compton Strategic Plan that catalyzed unprecedented economic growth, triggered a new wave of investment, and significantly reduced crime rates. This paradigm-shifting blueprint was covered extensively by both national and international media, serving as a strategic plan for community transformation and paradigm shifts.  Learn more at AjaBrown.com

Aja earned her B.S. and M.PL from the University of Southern California’s Sol Price School of Public Policy and Development, with an emphasis in Economic Development.

Dr. Aubrey Relf

DIRECTOR OF STRATEGY & RESEARCH

Dr. Aubrey Relf is passionate about enhancing the quality of life for communities. Aubrey has over fifteen years of experience in community development and has completed several large-scale city development projects, garnered multi-million dollar grant awards from Federal-State-Local-Private sources, and has effectively administered several public programs. Aubrey is a creative individual dedicated to delivering high-quality results to the company and clients. He enjoys spending quality time with his son at museums, hiking, science/art-related events, mixed martial arts training, and track events.

Aubrey earned his Doctorate Degree in Policy Planning & Development from USC and conducted research on urban planning techniques focused on building healthier communities.

Henry Qian

DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

Henry Qian leads the technical product and program management team and is responsible for defining the FORWARD platform’s product roadmap and strategy, managing product releases to align with business strategy, and meeting customer needs. He has over 25 years of experience in all aspects of software development, project management, business analysis, IT operations, and infrastructure management. Prior to joining FORWARD, Henry worked in various roles at Microsoft, Sinclair, and Ping An Group.

Henry holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Fudan University.

Kenyon Durr

Director of Engineering

As an engineering director with over 15 years of experience, Kenyon has a proven track record of building complex projects at startups and mid-sized companies. His ability to foster a collaborative and innovative work culture has increased efficiency, reduced costs, and led to successful product launches.

Scott Hoiland

DIRECTOR OF APPLICATION SERVICES

Scott has more than 10 years of experience in program and customer operations, with a focus on workflow management and analytical analysis.

He has worked with technology companies to provide turnkey solutions to advertisers through enhanced software platforms that were built from the ground up. Scott is a problem solver who enjoys learning how software works and working with engineering teams to design user-friendly platforms.

Scott graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Economics.

Aundrea McKay

DIRECTOR OF PAYMENTS

Aunie (Aundrea) is an experienced Finance professional with a strong interest and background in Financial Technology. She has grown the FORWARD payments program over the last 2 years as her team is responsible for quickly and efficiently funding all programs in the communities that FORWARD serves. She is passionate about improving and innovating the end-to-end payment processing capabilities for FORWARD while delivering seamless, secure, and reliable payment experiences at scale. Aunie has over 15 years of experience in finance and accounting roles.

She received her MBA in Accounting and Business Management from the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Tami Mullen

DIRECTOR OF PROPOSALS

Tami Mullen serves as the Director of Proposals, leveraging more than 24 years of adeptness as a strategic and analytical decision-maker specializing in government procurement. She leads the Direct RF X proposal team in executing complex proposal and grant pursuits by seizing on new funding opportunities and use cases, growing the organization's footprint, and leading the development of strategic partnerships to enhance program offerings. Her primary focus is to direct the charge of developing proposal responses that consistently secure millions in state and local government funding.

Tami is an alumna of Hampton University, holding a Bachelor of Science in Business Management as well as a Master’s degree in Project Management.

Tahmina Martelly

DIRECTOR OF CLIENT SERVICES

As Director of Client Services, Tahmina Martelly is responsible for program launch and management, analytics, and content creation.

Tahmina has over 26 years of experience in strategy and systems building for program design, community engagement and leading with ESJ principles. She has worked in government, non-profit and public health and has extensive experience working with refugee, asylee and BIPOC communities to build community-centered solutions to systemic problems.

Kelsey Martin

DIRECTOR OF CLIENT SERVICES

As Director of Client Services, Kelsey Martin is responsible for program launch and management, analytics, and content creation.

Kelsey has over 15 years of working directly with marginalized and disadvantaged populations. Her experience in managing large federal and state assistance programs and advocating for those in crisis gives her unique insight into understanding and anticipating the needs of our program participants.

Kelsey is a graduate of Eastern Washington University with a degree in Government and Social Services.

Julia Erdkamp

DIRECTOR OF ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT

Julia Erdkamp is a highly accomplished public sector strategist with an impressive track record of over 20 years. Julia’s extensive experience includes holding key leadership positions in municipal, state, and federal agencies, as well as the public sector. Her expertise spans across various specialties such as equity and social services, finance, regulatory compliance, performance management, marketing and strategic communications, technology, and risk-based security. With her vast knowledge and proven success record, Julia brings not only best practices but also remarkable passion and energy to FORWARD. Her addition to the team will undoubtedly accelerate the company’s growth in California.

Julia earned both her BA in Political Science and Master of Public Administration degrees from the University of Southern California, graduating magna cum laude from both programs.

Amy Thielman

CONTROLLER

Amy started her career in public accounting with Ernst & Young, where she obtained her CPA License. More recently, she worked at Slalom Consulting, where she became seasoned at solving problems for a variety of clients, ranging from general accounting to internal control testing and audit support. She has played a key role in preparing the FORWARD accounting team for growth over the last year. Amy is a calm and unflappable leader who strives to focus on the people, processes, and best accessible tools for improvement.

Amy graduated from the University of Washington Foster School of Business with a degree in Accounting.

Melissa Freeny

CHIEF OF STAFF, IMPACT

Melissa Freeny is a results-driven Chief of Staff of Impact and Communications, where she supports strategic initiatives and drives experimental expansion channels. Her extensive experience in both the private and public sectors enables her to drive impactful change and strategically translate the power of FORWARD to transform public administration. Prior to joining FORWARD, Melissa excelled as the Manager of Social Community Impact at Nike, Inc., where she led the Black Community Commitment in Los Angeles, managing multi-million dollar grants and developing corporate community partnerships.

Melissa holds a B.A. in Economics from Spelman College.