About / Team

Different expertise. One coordinated support team.

Our team model brings teaching, coaching, advocacy, and operations experience together around each student’s goals.

Leadership

Gavin Filmer
Chief Executive Officer
Gavin has spent his whole life beating the odds. Born deaf, he couldn't speak until age five, and he grew up with auditory and language processing disorders and ADHD. He was often pulled out of class and knows how isolating school can feel.
Gavin went on to earn a degree in Marketing and Business Management, with a minor in Finance, from Eckerd College. He is now pursuing a Master's in Nonprofit Management. He founded Exceed the Odds to give struggling learners the support he wished he'd had.
"The way you learn isn't a weakness. It's part of what makes you strong. With the right support, there's no limit to where you can go."
Laura Rich
Chief Operating Officer
Laura has spent the last few years as a dyslexia therapist. Between her own kids and her students, she has seen how many different ways learning can happen. She knows how isolating school can feel when nobody believes you are trying.
Laura is a Certified Structured Literacy Dyslexia Specialist and is pursuing a Master of Education in Education Technology and Instructional Design. She co-founded Exceed the Odds so that every struggling learner has somebody in their corner who believes in them.
“I have never met a student who could not learn. I have met plenty who stopped believing they could. My job is to give that back.”
Rendell Rich
Chief Technology Officer
Rendell is a father of five, and he knows how much the behind the scenes work matters to a family. A parent should be able to log in, find what they need, and trust that their child’s information is safe. That takes a backend built with care.
Rendell brings more than eight years in data and operations and is completing a Master of Science in Data Science at Purdue University. As Chief Technology Officer he built the website, the portals, and the secure systems behind Exceed the Odds.
“Families are trusting us with their kids. The systems holding that information should be simple to use and built to protect it.”