LEADERSHIP TEAM
Sarita James
CEO
Sarita James is Embark’s Chief Executive Officer. Prior to Embark, Sarita held executive roles at Citigroup, including Chief Operating Officer of Citi Ventures. She has experience building software at Microsoft Corporation where she received two patents and advising technology companies as a consultant at McKinsey & Company.
Sarita has a passion for education and the public sector. Under the Obama administration, she served as a White House Fellow and Acting Branch Chief of the Small Business Administration’s Microloan program. During Mayor Bloomberg’s second term, she ran the Strategy and Policy division for New York City Economic Development Corporation.
Sarita received a B.A. in Computer Science from Harvard College and her M.B.A. from Oxford University’s Said Business School.
Yusef Syed
VP, Admissions Solutions
Yusef is the Vice President of Admissions Solutions at Embark, where he leads Embark’s admissions software product line. During his time at Embark, Yusef has built deep relationships within our client community and helped oversee the onboarding process for new clients in coordination with our implementation team.
Prior to Embark, Yusef spent six years at Apple in customer experience roles, with his final role exclusively focused on educational clients. At Apple, he held training sessions for classrooms, professors, and educational leadership.
Outside of work, Yusef enjoys automating his life - starting with smart devices at his home, and displaying his board game and anime statue collectibles .
Yusef received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Business Analytics from the Pace University Lubin School of Business.
Michael Turbé
Director of Engineering
Michael is Embark’s Director of Engineering, responsible for day to day leadership of the development team. He focuses on architecture, performance, code quality, and scalability.
Over the last 17 years, Michael has led teams of developers through the full software development cycle in the legal, financial services, energy, and educational technology fields. Michael was a Vice President of Equities at fintech firm Markit in the years prior to its 2014 IPO. Michael has spent the last several years as a consultant, learning the value of continuous learning.
In his spare time, Michael is also an accomplished music blogger; his writing was published in Best Music Writing 2011.
Michael has a BA in Digital Media from Fordham University and a MS in Computer Science from Pace University.
FEATURED STAFF ACROSS DEPARTMENTS
Forzana Rime
Software Engineer
Forzana is a Software Engineer at Embark. She is responsible for building, maintaining, and upgrading various features across our entire application.
Prior to Embark, Forzana served as an AmeriCorps member, working alongside pre-school educators in underprivileged NYC neighborhoods to foster language development and a desire for learning in young children. While studying at NYU, Forzana participated in both psychology and computer science research, and has published an article in NYU’s Undergraduate Research Journal related to her work in Natural Language Processing.
Outside of work, Forzana enjoys painting, baking, and crocheting.
Forzana received a B.A. in Computer Science and Psychology from New York University
Vibhor Thakral
Project Manager
Vibhor is a Project Manager at Embark. He helps clients build and configure their online applications and is part of Embark’s global client support team.
Before Embark, Vibhor worked as a software engineer developing websites and mobile apps for various brands in the field of media and entertainment.
Outside of work, Vibhor has a passion for travelling and food. He loves exploring a variety of cuisines from different places and cultures.
Vibhor holds a Bachelors and Masters in Computer Applications from Indraprastha University.
Bardhi Aedmi
Fall 2025 Intern
Bardhi is an Educational Intern at Embark, where he is shadowing team members across different departments to gain exposure to the company’s admissions solutions platform. He is an eager learner who contributes to client implementations, product management and quality assurance.
Bardhi is currently a senior at St. Joseph’s University in Brooklyn, NY, pursuing a degree in Mathematics and Computer Science. He has experience in software development projects through his coursework and is particularly interested in artificial intelligence, algorithms, and how technology can improve real-world processes. Outside of school and work, Bardhi enjoys fitness, motorcycles, and spending time with family.
Sumathi Kamalahasan
Implementation Associate
Sumathi is an Implementation Associate at Embark. Her responsibilities include working closely with clients to understand their needs and implementing their online admissions solutions. She also provides support during the implementation process as well as support to applicants across all of our clients.
In her time prior to Embark, Sumathi interned for a software company, Transoft Solutions, performing manual testing as a QA Analyst.
During her free time, she enjoys gardening, playing badminton, and teaching her nieces. She also has a passion for reading books.
Sumathi received a Bachelor of Computer Applications from Jyoti Nivas College.