Meet the Team
The Visionary
Benjamin Weinberg
Ben is The Physical Learning Company's (TPLC's) President and Chief Executive Officer and specializes in creatively applying human-centered design- and systems-thinking approaches to the art of business. A member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, Ben earned a J.D. with an emphasis in taxation from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and a M.B.A. in Marketing and B.A. in Biology from the University of Colorado at Denver. He lives in Denver with his wife Yael and loves to travel and enjoy the best restaurants in the world.
Ben’s primary responsibility is to plan for what the company should be in a year...or five years...or ten. As the Chief Visionary of an impact-focused startup, he recognizes that he doesn't have the right to be wrong about any of this, which is mostly what keeps him up at night.
The Communicator
Camilla Modesitt
Camilla, TPLC's Chief Communications Officer, has spent the past 14 years working in public education as a school founder and Director at the Denver Language School. She is an expert in designing effective and efficient systems and processes that help bring an idea to life with specialties in communications, marketing, and organizational health. Camilla earned her J.D. from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, and a B.A. in Political Science from Moravian College and lives in Denver with her husband and children.
While she loves spending her days surrounded by the kids at DLS, Camilla admits she had her own children so she would have company watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The Engineer
Christopher Fredd
Christopher Fredd, TPLC’s Chief Technology Officer, has over 20 years of experience in new product development, new product introduction, and technology management. Prior to joining TPLC, Chris held a variety of senior engineering and technology leadership positions including Technology Center Director, where he oversaw the development of 12 new products that delivered more than a billion dollars in new technology revenue. Chris earned a Ph.D. degree in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan and holds more than 30 patents, almost 40 publications, and over 40 invited presentations at professional events. He lives in Denver, Colorado and enjoys skiing with his fearless little kids.
Chris leads the company’s technology and intellectual property strategies and is focused on developing innovative concepts from initial MVP and to full-scale production. He is passionate about making an impact with quality products, and his sixth sense tells him that physical learning will enhance the world.
The People Person
Stacy McElhany-Rodgers
As both an entrepreneur and business leader, Chief People Officer Stacy’s background is in Product Development, Retail/Wholesale Distribution and Business Development. Dearest to her heart is building supportive cultures and communities and inspiring teams to go above and beyond their stated goals. With a BA from the University of Colorado Denver, Stacy is dedicated to life-long learning and avid reading. Outside of work, she loves to travel, dine out, and experience the arts wherever she goes with her husband and daughter.
Stacy runs TPLC’s Human Resources department while coordinating continuing education initiatives and generally being the glue that holds the company together.
The Problem Solver
Nathaniel “Aka” Lauenstein Denjongpa
With a Master of Arts in International Development, Education and Business and over a decade of leadership experience, Aka, as TPLC’s Chief Problem Solver, offers strengths in inclusive organizational design, program development using design thinking, data and key indicators, financial oversight, leading and developing diverse teams, and resource management to execute the planning and implementation. As a leader, he builds and empower high-performance teams with a focus on collaboration, awareness, and creative problem-solving to overcome any challenge.
Aka is a Social & Economic Justice Entrepreneur, a BIPOC & LGBTQ+ Ally, a Girl Dad, a Himalayan Buddhist Legacy Holder, and an Equity Economist (whew!) whose primary role at the company is to bring passion and focus toward designing the company’s systems and policies for inclusivity and scale.
The Pragmatist
Judy Ruha
As TPLC’s Implementation Designer, Judy informs how TLPC products can be deeply relevant and usable to users and equitable for the communities being served. She has spent much of her adult life working in education—from supporting K-12 students in learning mathematics during classroom instruction to teaching economic course sequences to undergraduate students at the University of Washington. Judy received her Ph.D. in Economics at the University of California, Berkeley and her B.A. in Mathematics and summa cum laude in Economics at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Judy specializes in seeing the company’s vision through an educator’s lens to help shape exciting and meaningful learning experiences. She firmly believes all students can achieve at high levels with quality, customized instruction and sustained support. She lives with her husband in Seattle and her two fabulous daughters are in college in California.