Leadership - Dito - The Google Apps Experts

Leadership Team

Dito is much more than the people mentioned on this page. We are a team. We work together to deliver solutions to our customers and to ensure their happiness. Without the team members not mentioned on this page, those of us who are, would not be nearly as good at our jobs. The short biographies below describe current visionaries and thought leaders working at Dito.

Jim McNelis - Principal - Jim co-founded Dito in 2007 with a focus on Google’s newest product: Google Apps for Business. Dito was accepted into the Google Apps reseller program in October 2008. Jim has since been very active in the Google Apps community, writing numerous articles published on Google-owned blogs, participating in user forums, and as a member of the Google Apps Partner Advisory Board. He was
also a panel member at the 2010 US Chamber of Commerce’s America’s Small Business Conference, and was a Speaker at Google I/O in 2011. In 2010, Jim and Dito worked closely with Google and CSC to develop and deliver training for thousands of City of
Los Angeles employees as they made the switch to Google Apps along with hundreds of other organizations. Jim currently resides in San Francisco where he enjoys bicycling, hiking, snowboarding, and eating foods from around the world.

Dan McNelis - Principal - Dan's understanding of Google Apps and its fit in the Business and Government sectors is second to none. After graduating from Virginia Tech Engineering, Dan embarked on his own “Rotational Program” holding positions in Engineering and
Sales/Marketing, Project Management, and Subcontract Management and Lean Six Sigma SME at Intel Corp, M.C. Dean, and Lockheed Martin, respectively. Dan spoke at several conferences on the subject of Google Apps in 2010 and is also a member of the Google Apps Partner Advisory Board. Dan currently splits his time between the DC Area and Miami, Florida, where he is working directly with Dito's customers. In his free time he enjoys running, snowboarding, hiking, and exploring the unique cultures in each city.

Jason Taylor - Director of Technology - Jason’s first IT experience began at a young age. He managed a personal BBS while in middle school that brought some of the first Internet discussion groups (Usenet) to area enthusiasts. That interest continued through his studies in Management Science & Information Technology at Virginia Tech . After an internship with ExxonMobile in their data center, Jason’s professional career began with a triple play (video, data, and voice)company, Triplecom, quickly advancing to Network Administrator. He then transitioned to the parent company, CMG Leasing and SAS Builders, first as a System Administrator

and later, IT Manager. Jason has experience with many different types of software and hardware including; Windows Server NT-2008, SQL Server, Active Directory, Microsoft Exchange 2003-2007, DNS, VPN, VOIP, email routing, Blackberry Enterprise Server, VMware, mobile devices. With Dito, he’s managed deployments for close to 100 clients, integrating and migrating their infrastructure to Google Apps using the skills learned from over 10 years of previous technical experience. One of Jason’s key strengths is knowing how to interact and communicate well with clients, as he acted in their shoes as the technical point of contact for many years.

Michelle Taylor - Director of Training & Change Management - Michelle holds a Master of Education from the University of Virginia, specializing in learning assessment, testing analysis, instruction and curriculum design. For the past 10 years, she has been an educator within Prince William County Schools, the second largest school division in Virginia. Michelle has experience with direct classroom instruction, and for the last 5 years has held the position of High School Department Chairperson. As Department Chair, she was responsible for staff selection and professional development, being a lead mentor teacher, master scheduling, program research and implementation, and education compliance. She also initiated a pilot program for county wide changes in instructional delivery, provided county level professional development training on instructional strategies, and was selected as a member of Technology Task Force to research and recommend emerging instructional technology. Michelle and Jason are not related, even though they share the same excellent last name.

Vinay Thakker - Senior Application Engineer - Vinay is a talented software engineer with an expertise in business workflow improvement. His career began with G.E. Commercial Financial Services, where he defined and solved inefficiencies in their business workflows. Following that, he was hired by Penn State University to implement a web-based, front-and-back office for their International Programs division. He has most recently been with Lockheed Martin, working on navigation and threat-assessment systems for fast-attack nuclear submarines. Vinay brings together his expertise in engineering, web development, and business process automation to architect industry-leading Google App Engine and Google Apps API driven solutions.