About us.
What made us build Better Together?

Sometime in early 2023...

This is where the story starts.
 
An IT guy went looking for a new way to use his skills and expertise. He had designed several projects over his lifetime, but this time he was looking for something a bit different. Not sure exactly what he was looking for, he was patient, continued to serve in different capacities around the globe. Then, one day, as he watched the world navigate a pandemic and complicated social and political landscapes, he asked questions of those who shared the same concerns.
 
It was during this research he found this red-haired, savy, very experienced social worker hell-bent on changing the way support services were delivered and empowering communities to learn, heal and show compassion (never mind the what you've heard about red heads). Together they shared concerns and possible solutions. Each brought their own perspectives, one having a unique vantage point of tragedy and conflict, strategy and impact on a national and international level.
 
The other having tried to dead lift a struggling US social services system from all angles. Ultimately agreeing the current system and it's trajectory just would not work.  If there was going to be a solution, it needed to be innovative, needed to eliminate the barriers to care, needed to be available across cultures, languages, socio-economic status, etc., needed to create community.
 
It is here that Better Together, Corp was born. This is only where the story starts, how it grows is yet to be. But we know one thing for certain, it will be better than where we found it.

 

Sara Ross, CEO

Sara's short story here ...

 

T. Craig Hilton, SVP Research

Born in the Bay Area of California, Craig graduated from Oxy and Caltech. Forming Central Data Corporaton (Florida) and shortly therafter Technologies B Systèmes (Paris, France), the two companies shared projects world-wide. On a 3-year sabbatical, Craig was a professor at Gateway State College, where he was Chair of the Information Technology Department and wrote a textbook. On a later 5-year sabbatical, Craig served as Principal Investigator for various US government projects, and formed a 501(c)(3) foundation (active today). After returing to Central Data, the company focused on education systems and built one of the largest online learning systems in the world. Craig lives in the foothills of the Blue Ridge.

 

Joseph + Susan Vollmer, joint-CFO

Joseph and Susan Vollmer have participated in several projects with Craig over the years. These have included real-estate, economic development and international outreach programs.

Better Together© is a collaboration that began with their shared interest in creating a fully multi-lingual next-generation learning system to assist with education and outreach programs in Central and South America. These efforts resulted in an international collaboration with a multi-national Australian company which helped refine the technology leading to Better Together©.

 

Ranjit Donas, CTO

Born in Kolkuta, India, Ranjit graduated with emphasis in Computer Science and Database Systems from Jadavpur Univeristy and the Institute of Engineering and Management. He worked for 12 years in senior technical roles for several large research firms in India before joining the staff at the TCH Foundation in 2020. Ranjit is an world-class full-stack developer, an expert at data security and integrity, runs an international team of developers, and has invented several communication protocols and peer-to-peer blockchain interfaces.