Meet the Team - AppliedVR

Matthew Stoudt

COFOUNDER & CEO

Josh Sackman

COFOUNDER & PRESIDENT

Meet Our Founders

In 2015, when CEO Matthew Stoudt and President Josh Sackman founded AppliedVR with Chairman David Sackman, they knew virtual reality had the power to change behavior. At that point, VR had shown promise in academic lab settings, but its hardware presented limitations in form factor, price and usability. Since those start-up days, AppliedVR has become a respected leader in virtual reality-based therapeutics.

Before establishing the company, Matthew and Josh had built their own separate careers launching many successful businesses—Matthew in digital media and Josh at the intersection of healthcare and technology. With AppliedVR, they shared a mission: to change the pain treatment paradigm with human-centered technology. It was Josh’s own experience as a pediatric patient that inspired him to make chronic pain more manageable for others. Together, Matthew and Josh have built a team of respected healthcare veterans and digital tech professionals who are part of the pioneering effort that sets AppliedVR apart as an innovator.

WATCH INTERVIEWS WITH OUR FOUNDERS

LEADERSHIP

Proven Entrepreneurs
and Healthcare Veterans

Matthew Stoudt

Co-Founder and CEO

Pioneering immersive therapeutics, a new category of therapeutics with the promise to transform millions of lives

Josh Sackman

Co-Founder and President

Advancing patient treatment options to empower the individual and improve the industry

David Sackman

Co-Founder and Chairman

Steering annual objectives as well as short- and long-term strategic priorities

Oliver Koechli

Chief Operating Officer

Optimizing the efficiency of day-to-day operations and administrative procedures

Charisse Sparks, M.D., FAAOS

Chief Medical Officer

Accelerating innovation and ensuring patient safety by contributing extensive medical and clinical insight.

Beth Darnall, PhD

Chief Science Advisor

Advocating pain treatment methodologies that center on empowering patients

Deitzah Raby

General Counsel

Directing the legal and compliance strategies in line with business priorities

Brent Paul

Chief of Commercial

Spearheading the implementation of commercial strategies and performance standards

Cris Barrett

Head of People

Cultivating culture and expressing core values to attract the best talent and help them flourish

Brenda "Bella" Spivack

VP of Brand and Communications

Guiding brand messaging and marketing executions—from the granular to the global

Todd Maddox, PhD

VP Research & Development

Creating VRx solutions based on a background in brain science, data and psychology

Liesl Oldstone, PhD

VP Health Economics & Market Access

Navigating all aspects of the product lifecycle, from governmental and multiple-payer logistics to patient access

John Stanzi

VP/GM, Workers Compensation

Shaping applications for the workers' compensation industry and operational execution

Michael Chibbaro

VP Regulatory Affairs & Quality

Ensuring compliance with government regulations while providing patients with state of the art quality.

Nish Parekh

VP Product Management

Product visionary with experience creating and launching several products from ideation to worldwide adoption

Emily Judge

VP, Market Access & Strategic Partnerships

Core Expert
Advisors

Brennan Spiegel, MD

Clinical Research Advisor

Facilitating clinical trials and documenting the real-world efficacy of VRx

Andrey Ostrovsky, MD

Commercial Advisor

Translating research into practice while applying human-centered design principles

Mark Vrahas, MD

Medical Advisor

Advising on patient pain and recovery with renowned orthopedic trauma expertise

Allison Komiyama, PhD, RAC

Regulatory Advisor

Consulting on FDA regulatory submissions and quality systems reviews

Everett Crosland, JD, MSC

Market Access Advisor

Advising on patient pain and recovery with renowned orthopedic trauma expertise

Partha Krishnamurthy, PhD, MBA

Decision Sciences Advisor

Generating new insights on well-being and behavioral change

Stephen Peroutka, MD, PhD

Pain Research Advisor

Advising on the neuroscience aspects of virtual reality-based therapeutics

Who We Are

Everyone on the AppliedVR team is an entrepreneur—whether they’re working on R&D, coding, marketing or regulatory affairs. Each team member is a visionary in their own way. Each person represents a valued voice. As a work-from-home company, we may not be under the same roof at any given moment, but we‘re connected in our shared mission every step of the way.

How We Work

APART YET UNITED

Innovation is not just what we do—it‘s how we work. While our corporate headquarters is in Los Angeles, California, we‘re a work-from-home company. That allows us to be nimble while staying collaborative and connected. Whether it‘s sharing status updates in our weekly company-wide online meetings or checking in on day-to-day project details in one-on-one Zoom calls, the AppliedVR team is constantly cultivating connections. Off-site meetings, workshops and quarterly “all company” events bring us together in person for enrichment opportunities. Virtual hang-outs like “Coffee Roulette” and monthly happy hours energize our personal connections.

REMOTE WORK

A remote-first culture is not something we expected to be building at this phase of our growth, but we believe there are silver linings to everything. We’ve adapted surprisingly quickly and discovered new ways to work collaboratively across time zones and geography. The work/life benefits have outweighed the challenges. Not only has our potential pool of talent widened, our team tells us they are genuinely happy to spend less time commuting and more time with family and friends.