Educational Technology Industry Veterans Dr. Chad A. Stevens, Michael Bell and Jeff Buening Bring Tech and Sales Expertise to Communications and Engagement Company
SAN FRANCISCO, April 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — ClassDojo, the flagship communications and engagement app beloved by tens of millions of schools, teachers and families, today announced three new additions to its leadership team. The company has named Michael Bell as Head of Enterprise Sales for ClassDojo for Districts, Jeff Buening as General Manager for ClassDojo’s B2B business, and Chad A. Stevens, Ph.D. in the newly-created role of Head of K-12 Engagement.
Bell has held senior leadership roles at leading education and technology companies. Before joining ClassDojo, he served as Regional Vice President of Sales at a live online learning platform, where he quickly accelerated pipeline development. Prior to that, Bell was Vice President of Sales at Follett School Solutions where he led North American sales strategy and consistently exceeded revenue targets. Bell also served as the Global Head of Sales for the cloud-based audio recording studio Soundtrap for Education where he significantly expanded the company’s recurring revenue. Bell holds a master’s in teaching from Loyola Marymount University and has spoken at ISTE, BETT and ASU+GSV.
Buening brings deep industry experience across media, education and vertical SAAS to his current position. Prior to ClassDojo, he served as COO and board member for the dual enrollment course platform Outlier. He led the launch of dozens of college courses and associate degree programs, and he spearheaded the sale of Outlier to Savvas Learning Company in 2024. Before that, Buening was a founding executive at childcare management software provider Brightwheel and also spent several years at Chegg. He has an MBA from Harvard Business School and graduated summa cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis.
Before joining ClassDojo, Stevens served as the CEO of TinkRworks. Prior to that, he served as chief strategy and marketing officer at ParentSquare and before that, he was at Amazon Web Services (AWS) where he was the leader for K-12 education and its inaugural K-12 employee. Before AWS, he was at CDW-G as its first chief education strategist. Stevens served on the board of CoSN (Consortium for School Networking) from 2019- 2025 and was inducted into its Volunteer Hall of Fame. He holds a B.S. degree from Tarleton State University, a M.S. in Educational Management from the University of Houston – Clear Lake and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from Texas A&M University.
“We’re excited to have Chad, Jeff and Michael on the ClassDojo team. We chose these three because their depth of experience make them very well suited to advance our mission to provide every child with an education they love,” said ClassDojo Co-Founder & CEO, Sam Chaudhary. “Michael has spent his career building and leading high-performing sales teams. Jeff built Brightwheel’s business functions from the ground up, enabling that company to serve thousands of childcare center clients around the world. Chad was recognized as EdTech Chronicle’s 2023 Best C-Level Officer in Education/EdTech and as a Top 100 EdTech Influencer by EdTech Digest. The repertoire of expertise and skills that these three bring to the table will make an exponential impact here at ClassDojo.”
About ClassDojo
ClassDojo’s mission is to give every child on earth an education they love. Its flagship app is the #1 communication platform globally for teachers, families, and kids to stay connected and to share photos, videos, messages, and classroom activities. Today, over 45 million children across 180 countries use ClassDojo to build positive learning experiences, all with student safety and privacy at the heart of it. The company has been recognized by Forbes, Inc. and Fast Company for innovation and is a top 100 Y Combinator company. To learn more, visit classdojo.com, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
SOURCE ClassDojo
