Meet Polsky Member of the Month: Jill Kahane
August 2019 Polsky Member of the Month, Jill Kahane
Jill Kahane joined as a member of the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation’s Polsky Exchange in March 2018. She was first introduced to the Polsky Center through a lunch and learn event hosted in Fall of 2017 and was fascinated by the co-working space and the opportunities to meet and collaborate with like-minded individuals.
Kahane is interested in solving problems using technology and data in an educational environment. Currently, she serves as manager of reporting and data science at DeansList, an educational software company. She has prior experience working in K-12 education in Boston. One of the main challenges she faced in her work was finding a data entry system that was convenient and suitable for the needs of educators, students, and families. Then, she discovered DeansList, a software platform that was flexible enough to meet the evolving needs of complex school models and user friendly enough to ease the burden of data entry. After seeing how DeansList could make an impact in education, she decided to join the company as its fifth employee.
Her advice to other Polsky Exchange members?
“Find the time to go to Polsky programming and talks – I’ve always found them interesting and valuable.”
And, of course, we asked her some other questions (just for fun) …
If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?
Flying – it seems like a fun, speedy alternative to walking.
What is your spirit animal and why?
A rabbit, since they like to explore during the evenings, and they are grazers. I love seeing them around Hyde Park!
What would the title of your autobiography be?
“Walks, Talks, and Everything Bagels.”
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
“Sometimes you need to slow down in order to speed up” – it’s often best to take the time needed to deeply understand a topic at hand before moving forward.
You’re trapped on a desert island and can only choose one book to read, movie to watch, and album to listen to for the rest of your life. Which do you choose?
Book(s): Common Ground (by J. Anthony Lukas), Americanah (by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)
Movie: Black Panther
Album: Ratatat by Ratatat