"Seeing the difficulties and related anguish of elderly caregivers in my life, I wanted to create an offering that would allow caregivers to "be there" regardless of a physical distance. It was long overdue, after “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” Independa was born."
Kian Saneii brings more than 25 years of leadership experience to Independa as our CEO.
Prior to Independa, Saneii was GM of Websense Wireless from 2005-2008. From 2001-2005 Saneii held roles as VP Marketing and VP Business Development at Websense, responsible for all aspects of global marketing, strategy, mergers and acquisitions, OEM sales, and business development through new strategic channels.
Before joining Websense, Saneii served as Senior Vice President, Worldwide Marketing and Business Development for IMA, Inc and IPNet Solutions, 1997-2001. From 1985 – 1997, Saneii served in management positions at AT&T Bell Laboratories, DIS Research and FileNet Corporation (acquired by IBM).
Saneii earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with Honors, from New York University, Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, NYU President’s Award; also a Master of Computer Science from Rutgers University.
"I spent the entirety of my career in the elder care segment of the healthcare system. When I learned about Independa, I could not pass up an opportunity to help them succeed. The need is so great in the marketplace today and Independa is the only company I have found that is truly solving the critical issues facing caregivers and their loved ones."
Richard Della Penna, MD, brings more than 32 years of medical experience to Independa as our Chief Medical Officer. He was a physician with Kaiser Permanente from 1977 until November 2009. From 1999 until 2009 he was on the staff of the Permanente Federation and the Care Management Institute in Oakland, California. During that time he held the positions of Medical Director of the Kaiser Permanente Aging Network and the National Clinical Lead for Elder and Palliative Care. In these roles, Dr. Della Penna collaborated with Kaiser’s regional elder clinical care leaders and Kaiser Health Plan’s Medicare leadership in strategic efforts to improve the care of Kaiser’s nearly one million older adult members. His clinical and care improvement activities have focused on depression, dementia, interdisciplinary team training, long term care, transitional care, and palliative care.
He is a member of the Veteran Administration’s National Geriatrics and Gerontology Advisory Commission and was on the Board of Directors of the National Alzheimer's Association from 2005 thru 2013. He is a member of the advisory board of the Practice Change Fellow Program, which provides leadership training to early and mid career physicians, social workers and nurses specializing in geriatrics and gerontology. He is the 2010 recipient of UCLA’s David H. Solomon Award, which recognizes influential leaders in the field of Geriatrics.
Della Penna earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of the Holy Cross, M.D. from Tufts University School of Medicine and was an Intern and Resident at Harvard Medical Service, Boston City Hospital.
"To me, Independa is the embodiment of applying technological innovation to serve the public good. I'm excited to further develop and promote a product that can truly make a difference for today's elderly community and future generations. Working with Independa gives me the opportunity to support the dedicated men and women who devote their lives to caring for others."
Jonathan Goodwin brings more than 15 years of technology leadership experience to Independa as our Vice President of Engineering, with a proven track record of delivering innovative technologies for new ventures.
Before joining Independa Prior, Goodwin served as VP of Engineering for UberMedia, Inc, an Idealab company, where from 2011-2013 he delivered new product offerings in the areas of Social Networking and Mobile Advertising. From 2006 - 2012, he served as VP of Product Strategy and Development at CoreObjects, Inc - which was acquired by Symphony Services in 2010. In 2006, Goodwin also served as Senior Director of Product Development for Questerra, 2002-2006, a company specializing in geospatial and location based services. From 1999-2001 at Stamps.com, Inc, he led the Engineering organization in the intiial launch and subsequent product evolution of Stamps.com's Internet Postage Service, the Internet's first online service to serve value-bearing instruments over the Internet.
Goodwin earned his Bachelor of Sciences degree from the University of California in Los Angeles, Cum Laude and he is the author and co-author of several patents.
