Our Expert Team

The People Behind Every Personalized Story

Child psychologists, award-winning illustrators, AI engineers, and education leaders working together to create books where every child is the hero.

Tony Vu

Chief Executive Officer

business strategy
children's publishing
edtech

Tony Vu is the CEO and Co-Founder of Wondeme. With over 15 years in children's publishing and educational technology, he previously led product development at Scholastic Digital before founding Wondeme to make truly personalized storytelling accessible to every family. Tony holds an MBA from Stanford University and a BS in Computer Science from UC Berkeley. He is a frequent speaker at BookExpo and EdTech conferences on the future of personalized children's media.

Writes about:StoriesTrends
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William Nguyen

Chief Technology Officer

AI
machine learning
computer vision
software engineering

William Nguyen is the CTO and Co-Founder of Wondeme. He brings 12 years of experience in AI and machine learning, having previously worked as a senior engineer at Google Brain and led the computer vision team at Snap Inc. William architected Wondeme's proprietary AI illustration engine that transforms children's photos into storybook characters. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from MIT and has published over 20 peer-reviewed papers on generative AI and image synthesis.

Writes about:How-To
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Alex Nong

Chief Marketing Officer

digital marketing
brand strategy
SEO
content marketing

Alex Nong is the Chief Marketing Officer at Wondeme. He has 10 years of experience in digital marketing and brand strategy for consumer brands, previously serving as VP of Marketing at Shutterfly and Head of Growth at Artifact Uprising. Alex specializes in content-driven growth strategies for family-oriented brands. He holds a degree in Marketing from NYU Stern School of Business and is certified in Google Analytics and HubSpot Content Marketing.

Writes about:Gift GuidesTrends
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Dr. Rachel Kim

Director of Child Development Research

child psychology
early literacy
developmental milestones
reading development

Dr. Rachel Kim leads child development research at Wondeme. She is a licensed child psychologist with a PhD in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University and 8 years of clinical and research experience. Before joining Wondeme, Dr. Kim was a research fellow at the Yale Child Study Center, where she studied the impact of personalized media on early literacy development. Her research on self-recognition in children's books has been published in the Journal of Child Psychology and the Journal of Early Childhood Literacy.

Writes about:Parenting Tips
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James Walker

VP of Product Design

UX design
children's book illustration
print design
visual storytelling

James Walker is the VP of Product Design at Wondeme, overseeing book design, illustration quality, and the end-to-end user experience. With 14 years in children's book illustration and product design, James previously worked as a senior illustrator at DK Publishing and art director at Chronicle Books. He holds a BFA in Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). James has designed over 200 published children's books and was a 2022 Society of Illustrators award finalist.

Writes about:Inspiration
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Aisha Patel

Director of Content Strategy

content strategy
SEO
children's literature
editorial

Aisha Patel is the Director of Content Strategy at Wondeme. She brings 9 years of experience in editorial content and SEO for children's and parenting brands, having previously served as Senior Editor at Parents Magazine and Content Director at BabyCenter. Aisha holds a Master's degree in Children's Literature from Simmons University and a BA in Journalism from Northwestern University. She oversees Wondeme's blog, guides, and educational content to help parents discover the joy of personalized reading.

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David O'Connor

VP of AI Engineering

generative AI
NLP
image generation
ML ops

David O'Connor is the VP of AI Engineering at Wondeme, leading the team responsible for AI-powered story generation and photo-realistic illustration technology. With 10 years in AI research and engineering, David previously worked at OpenAI as a research engineer and at Adobe on generative image tools. He holds an MS in Artificial Intelligence from Carnegie Mellon University. David has 8 patents in generative AI and image synthesis and regularly contributes to NeurIPS and CVPR conferences.

Writes about:How-To
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Lisa Martinez

VP of Customer Experience

customer success
ecommerce
parent community
quality assurance

Lisa Martinez is the VP of Customer Experience at Wondeme. With 11 years in ecommerce customer experience, she previously led CX teams at Etsy and Zulily, where she built support systems serving millions of parents. Lisa is responsible for Wondeme's 4.9/5 customer rating from over 2,500 parent reviews. She holds a BA in Communications from University of Michigan and is a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP). Lisa is also a mother of three and a passionate advocate for family-friendly commerce.

Writes about:Stories
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Dr. Michael Brooks

Director of Education Partnerships

education
literacy programs
school partnerships
curriculum development

Dr. Michael Brooks is the Director of Education Partnerships at Wondeme. He is a former elementary school principal with a Doctorate in Education (EdD) from Teachers College, Columbia University, and 16 years of experience in K-5 education and literacy program development. Before joining Wondeme, Dr. Brooks led literacy initiatives at Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) and served as a curriculum consultant for the NYC Department of Education. He advises on age-appropriate content and partners with schools and libraries to bring personalized books into classrooms.

Writes about:Parenting TipsHow-To
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Nina Takahashi

Director of Diversity & Inclusive Storytelling

diversity in publishing
inclusive representation
multicultural children's media
accessibility

Nina Takahashi is the Director of Diversity and Inclusive Storytelling at Wondeme. She ensures every child can see themselves represented authentically in Wondeme's books, regardless of ethnicity, ability, or family structure. Nina has 8 years of experience in children's media representation, previously working as Diversity Program Manager at Penguin Random House Children's and as a consultant for the We Need Diverse Books initiative. She holds an MA in Cultural Studies from UCLA and sits on the advisory board of the Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC).

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Built by Experts, Made for Families

Every personalized book is backed by real expertise in child development, AI technology, and children's publishing. Your child deserves the best.