New Healthcare Technology Company Creates New Jobs in Mercer County

OhanaLink Technologies Hires New Employees despite Pandemic

New technology company, OhanaLink Technologies®, announced the hiring of new team members in areas including finance, technology, marketing, operations, and customer service.  

The development company, headquartered at the eCenter@LindenPointe in Hermitage, PA, was created by founder and CEO, Kara Wasser, 39 year-old banking executive turned entrepreneur, who saw the need to directly connect families and patients during a healthcare event or episode.  After missing the birth of her niece, Wasser set out to create mobile technology solutions that bridge the gaps in healthcare communication.  OhanaLink Baby, the first mobile app in the market for expectant parents and families, launched in June of this year.  Expectant parents can use the mobile app to connect with their circle of family and friends before, during, and after labor and delivery and allows them to share their pregnancy journey privately.  Available for download on either the Apple Store or Google Play, the app offers security as users preselect their own groups and deliver messages, updates, reports, images, in real time, without the chaos of group emails, texts and chats offered by existing social media channels.

Stated Wasser, “Coming up with the idea for a new product was easy.  But then I realized that the real challenge came along with building an actual company.”  Wasser has been developing the company over the past 4 years and is committed to remaining in the Mercer County community.  “Let’s just say that I have learned a lot since this amazing journey began.”  She explained, “I live in the community and I want to see the business grow in the community.  I also know that for our company to succeed, I need to recruit top notch talent.” Since January of this year, Wasser has hired twelve full and part time employees and contracted staff to support all areas of the business.  In addition, she has worked to create partnerships with area colleges and universities to provide paid internship opportunities in technology, marketing and other key areas and has partnered with the Mercer County Career Center to fill a number of entry level positions that provide on-the-job training, such as customer service.  

“Ohana is the Hawaiian term meaning family.”  Concluded Wasser, “We believe that it’s our family and friends - it’s what keeps us connected.  It is also why our team is more committed than ever to the continued growth of our company and the regional economy. We will continue to look for new talent as our business grows.”

In November, OLT will be launching two new products for healthcare consumers and will include a general-purpose app supporting all healthcare events including illness, surgeries, chronic diseases, inpatient care and an app to help families dealing with childhood illness, diseases resulting in children needing short- and long-term care.  OhanaLink solutions solve a problem for patients and families to remain connected especially considering the pandemic.

OhanaLink Technologies welcomes the following employees:

Tom McKinley Chief Technology Officer

Well known to the region, Tom McKinley joined OhanaLink Technologies to lead product design and development.  From New Wilmington, PA, Tom is a serial entrepreneur bringing decades of technical and business experience within both startup and corporate environments. Prior experience at Apple computer and three Silicon Valley startups, as well as extensive experience with startups within Sony, AT&T and Motorola New Enterprises in Chicago, IL. Tom served as the principal of McKinley Technical Services that developed and serviced new technology services of the hospitality industry. In addition, Tom has been active in regional economic development activities and projects as a long-time board member of the 8- county Northwest Regional Planning and Development Commission. He has served his local community as the president of the New Wilmington Area Chamber of Commerce and a founding member of the New Wilmington EDComm, a local economic development engine. Tom graduated from Gannon University with a degree in electrical engineering. 

Janet Earle, Chief Financial Officer

Janet brings extensive financial expertise to OhanaLink Technologies with more than 25 years in the finance and accounting field in a variety of markets, including financial services, manufacturing, and healthcare. In 2019, Janet founded Riverchapel Financial, LLC specializing in private equity and real estate fund accounting and administration, with over $30M under her administration. Janet also consults as an independent CFO partnering with businesses to promote growth within their communities. Prior to founding Riverchapel Financial, she served as CFO and Managing Principal of JFS Wealth Advisors in Hermitage, PA, an investment firm with over $3B of Assets Under Management. Janet has been involved with numerous start-up’s during her career and has participated in multiple mergers and acquisitions, spurring rapid growth in companies. Janet is an Accounting graduate of Robert Morris College and earned her MBA at Gannon University. Janet resides in Greenville, Pennsylvania.

Lisa DiMuccio-Zgela, Chief Marketing Officer

Lisa joined OhanaLink Technologies as the Chief Marketing Officer leading the sales and marketing efforts. As a senior marketing and brand strategist, Lisa has spent nearly three decades developing and implementing large scale marketing, communications, public and media relations, and customer acquisition strategies in a wide range of industries.  She spent 15 years working in multiple community hospital settings and another decade at a national health care group purchasing organization where she oversaw the marketing and media relations for 1,200 hospital members and affiliates. In addition, Lisa launched her own marketing consulting company, Little Gal Communications, to help businesses succeed by providing strategic marketing planning. Lisa holds a BS in Communications, completed her professional certification in Marketing and Public Relations, is certified in grant writing, and is a graduate of a regional leadership program. 

Debbie Anderson, Operations Manager

Debbie brings a wide variety of skills to her role as Operations Manager with OhanaLink Technologies.  Debbie has more than 30 years of experience in purchasing, administrative support, organizational set-up, and eCommerce. Debbie worked for over 4 years at the eCenter@LindenPointe business incubator supporting early stage start-ups.  Debbie has personally delved into the entrepreneurial world as small business owners in multiple businesses with her husband, Ron.

Debbie founded LeChic Bath Boutique, Luxurious & Trendy Bath & Body Products from a hobby gone wild where she has honed her skills in eCommerce, retail, marketing, and drop-shipping. Debbie received her degree from Laurel Technical Institute in Health Information Technology in Sharon, PA. 

Ashley Bateman, Marketing Manager

Ashley Bateman is a creative marketing professional with a proven track record of successful projects, campaigns, and events from initial concept to completion. Ashley has held positions as Marketing Communications Manager, Chief Digital Strategist, and CRM Specialist from a range of industries including healthcare, digital marketing, and automotive.

Ashley has a bachelor’s degree in Media Arts and Public Relations from Westminster College where she also played soccer. Additionally, she holds a Certificate of Completion in Graphic Design from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. Ashley completed the Leadership Shenango, a leadership development program through the Shenango Valley Chamber that focuses on business and community leadership with innovation of future community leaders.

Tejita Rajbhandari, Software Engineer

Tejita Rajbhandari, originally from Nepal, was hired as a full-time software engineer. She completed her B.S. in Computer Science from Gannon University in May where she was the recipient of Inspiration for the Next Generation and Academic Excellence Award for Computer Science at Gannon. Prior to graduation, she completed an internship with Epic Web Studios as a Website Developer. She is a founding member of BotDev, LLC where she develops open source STEM curricula and conducts STEM outreach for K-12 students. Her responsibilities include automating and performing regular testing of systems, gathering requirements, and developing new features for mobile apps and software maintenance.

Kalie Knight, Customer Care Associate

Originally from Crawford County, PA, Kalie Knight brings her customer service experience to the organization. Having spent four years in both retail and restaurants service industries in various roles, she prides herself on her ability to build relationships and thrives while providing outstanding customer service.  Kalie is responsible for customer outreach and responding effectively to customer service inquiries.

Interns

George Cupec, Mobile App Product Development Intern - Thiel College

George Cupec, from Slippery Rock, PA, is completing his senior year at Thiel College in Business Administration: Marketing, Advertising & Management. George has worked for the Thiel marketing department for three years and is completing his second internship with OhanaLink Technologies using his experience in assisting with managing digital campaigns, marketing, and design projects.  

Cullen Wester, Network & Security Admin – Laurel Technical Institute

Cullen Wester is from Greenville, Pennsylvania and graduated from Jamestown High School in 2016. With an interest in computer skills, he opted to attend Laurel Technical Institute in Meadville, PA, where he is further expanding his knowledge in networking and cybersecurity through his internship.