The Fireside21 Team
The Fireside21 team includes former Hill staffers, so we understand and appreciate the demands of working in a high-pressure congressional office. When you need reliable, dependable and responsive people to support you, the team as Fireside21 will be there to help you succeed.
Ken oversees all facets of Fireside21’s operations by providing strategic oversight for new projects, ongoing software development and interface design. He spearheaded the development and expanded capabilities of our Fireside Email™ and Fireside CRM™ services.
Ken’s unique blend of Capitol Hill insight and technical expertise has helped a number of our clients win Congressional Mouse Awards for excellence in online communications.
Ken earned his B.S. in Computer Science from Georgetown University and has previously served as a Legislative Assistant and Deputy Press Secretary for former member of Congress.
Outside of the office, Ken enjoys golfing and sailing. A California native, Ken currently resides in Alexandria, Virginia, with his wife, Erin, and their cats, Tack and Jibe.
Josh Billigmeier – Director of Product Development
Josh works primarily to develop innovative solutions for Members’ online communications needs. Josh’s extensive technical expertise spans computer programming, database configuration and systems administration.
Josh has engineered the development of our industry-leading Fireside Web™, Fireside Email™ and Fireside CRM™ services.
Josh formerly worked at Epok where he managed a team of QA engineers on the Identity Applications team. His responsibilities included release testing, performance testing, certification testing, and maintaining the test lab. He has worked at the Department of Labor as a senior systems engineer, where he created and maintained the lab for testing patches before deployment to production. After 9/11, Josh was responsible for disaster recovery and data backup of 40+ servers. Josh has also worked at ADC in the R&D enhanced services division to test new products and prototypes, and he led a team on test automation.
Josh is originally from the D.C. Metro area and now lives in Wheaton, Maryland, with his wife, Joanna. In his spare time, he enjoys computers and video games.
Neda Nadjmabadi – Director of Client Services
Neda keeps all our clients happy. She is responsible for managing all of our projects to deliver the results our congressional clients have come to expect. As Members of Congress constantly seek new ways to refine their online outreach efforts, Neda works closely with our interactive team to deliver customized solutions for each client’s communications needs that incorporate the best mix of interactive features to reach constituents.
Neda’s efforts are critical to the success of our clients, including 19 offices that recently received Congressional Mouse Awards for excellence in online communications.
Previously, Neda worked for Magnolia Home Theater where she managed a department that produced more than $20 million in revenue, overseeing operations, sales, marketing, training and customer relationship management. She has also worked for National Consulting Engineers where she oversaw the day-to-day interaction on all client accounts.
Neda holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park, and plans to continue focusing on business and entrepreneurship by pursuing an M.B.A.
Born in Washington, D.C., Neda now lives in Maryland, where she remains close to her family. She speaks fluent Farsi and enjoys music, movies, sports and travel.
Andrew Edelen – Account Coordinator
Andy is another point of contact for our clients looking for help to update their web site, send an email newsletter or get a big batch of form letters printed. Before joining the Fireside21 team, Andy worked in the art and production department at Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine and as an assistant booking agent for small Maryland-based agency specializing in world music.
He earned a B.A. in Film from Vassar College in 2005 and a Licence 3 in Literature from the Sorbonne the following year.
Andy currently lives in Baltimore and rides the train to DC, which gives him plenty of time to read his favorite periodicals and gaze out the window at the passing Maryland landscape.
Mark Soldavini – Senior Software Developer
Mark is a software developer at Fireside21 working with the Fireside Web™, Fireside Email™ and Fireside CRM™ services. Prior to joining the Fireside21 team Mark worked at Epok where he was a senior developer/technical manager and later become the software architect.
Mark’s technical experience comes from working at both enterprises and Internet startups. Mark was the technical lead on a unified communication product that offered a web and mobile platform for email, calendar, phone, and fax. Mark also performed developer and architect functions on a product providing distributed authorization for web applications.
Mark is originally from California and now lives in Maryland. He enjoys his family, his work, and running.
Michael Lyons – Software Developer
Michael Lyons is a programmer at Fireside21, assisting in web site maintenance and software feature development. He previously worked for WeSay.org, a non-profit group developing literacy applications for minority language groups.
Originally born in the United States, Michael grew up as an expatriate in Thailand. He currently resides in Kensington, Maryland where he enjoys reading, music, and dancing in his spare time.