Meet the Newest Faces of Upper Hand

We’re well into summer, but, we wanted to take a moment to share some new faces here at Upper Hand! We’re excited to extend a warm welcome to the latest additions to the team: Meet Hannah Ismail, Tara Holder, Mary Claire Timberlake, and Rajesh Sharma.

At Upper Hand, we believe in the power of bringing in fresh perspectives that continue to improve our product and our brand, and we’re excited to see what each of these individuals can bring to our team.

Let’s get to know Hannah, Tara, Mary Claire, and Rajesh!

Meet the Newest Faces at Upper Hand

Hannah Ismail, Customer Education & Success

Hannah Ismail is a rising junior at Indiana University, where she is majoring in Secondary Education with a concentration in History and minoring in Psychology.

In her time at Upper Hand, she is working on a very exciting project that will help Upper Hand customers efficiently onboard onto our software (stay tuned for more coming soon!). In addition, she also works diligently in the Upper Hand Knowledge Base to expand its usefulness for Upper Hand customers and their clients.

Q: How will your presence at Upper Hand allow the company to grow?

A: My presence will encourage the Upper Hand team to analyze from a fresh perspective. As someone that had no prior experience in the sports tech industry, my perspective encourages the team to remember our not so tech-savvy customers. Through bringing a more comprehensive perspective, the company will grow.

Q: What excites you about working at Upper Hand?

A: I am most excited about the team-oriented office and the other dedicated individuals that compose the Upper Hand team. Each person has inspired or motivated me in a different way, and I am left not only learning tons about the professional world but also the type of employee I want to grow to be.

Q: What’s a fun fact people may not know about you?

A: I was on a Little 500 Bike Team! Then, I got into a pretty bad crash and now I have a fear of bike riding…

Q: What are your hobbies or interests outside of work?

A: I absolutely love reading and running! Reading has always been a great love of mine, and I just recently started running and it has quickly become the perfect outlet.

Tara Holder, Marketing

Tara Holder is a rising Junior at DePauw University where she is pursuing a degree in Communications and Economics. She is also a member of the Women’s Swim & Dive team at DePauw.

This summer, she is excited to expand on her creative side and expand Upper Hand’s digital marketing, SEO, and other marketing strategies. If you notice a boost in our social media presence, you have Tara to thank for that! (P.S. Do you follow us on Tiktok yet?)

Q: What excites you about marketing?

A: Marketing is exciting because it is constantly evolving and changing with technology. It allows for creativity to create an impact on business to maximize revenue. This is exciting because, especially with digital marketing, there is a lot of room for growth within many companies and I would love the opportunity to explore these opportunities within Upper Hand. I also enjoy that within marketing you are able to see the direct impact your marketing strategies have through data-driven insights.

Q: How will your presence at Upper Hand allow the company to grow?

A: “My presence will allow for Upper Hand to receive a new perspective on areas that are very important to understand when making marketing decisions. I have received education on digital marketing and SEO and would love to be able to take what I have learned and apply it to Upper Hand. You might have the best product on the market, but if you are not able to properly advertise it you are losing money everyday.”

Q: How do you define success?

A: “I define success through personal growth and development. My main aim is to be able to grow and develop as a young professional throughout my time at Upper Hand. As I grow as a young employee I hope that I can also make an impact on the development of new products and marketing strategies that can help the company grow.”

Q: What’s a fun fact people may not know about you?

A: “I have double jointed fingers that cause them to bend forward rather than straight when they are flexed. They are always a crowd pleaser.”

Mary Claire Timberlake, Marketing

Mary Claire Timberlake is a recent graduate of Purdue University who majored in Public Relations. She is looking forward to leveraging that knowledge to expand in other areas within marketing.

She’s excited to join the Upper Hand team and begin working on tangible activities that will help our company grow, and also showcase our wonderful Upper Hand customers and their businesses.

Q: What is unique about the skills you bring to the Upper Hand team?

A: I bring unique skills such as creativity and positivity, being able to work well with a team, and clear communication. I have previous experience working on PR campaigns, and enjoy creating graphics for social media. I also have lots of writing experience and look forward to improving that skill.

Q: How will your presence at Upper Hand allow the company to grow?

A: I am always ready to learn and improve. I value constructive feedback and am a hard worker. These skills will help grow Upper Hand because I am willing and ready to work hard in this position, and I am very excited for it.

Q: What’s a fun fact people may not know about you?

A: I have been thinking about fostering dogs or getting a dog once I feel financially stable enough! I am looking at pit bulls and other big dogs.

Q: What are your hobbies or interests outside of work?

A: I enjoy spending time with my friends and family, doing crafts/painting, going for walks on the trails by my place, going out to eat, and scrolling through Facebook Marketplace. I also watch TV, and have been watching Severance recently. I go to Goodwill a lot, and bought my TV last night from there!

Rajesh Sharma, Data Science

Rajesh Sharma recently graduated with a Masters in Computer Science from Indiana University Bloomington. He joins our growing data team to help break down intricate problems into more manageable parts.

Driven by data, Rajesh is committed to using AI to create a meaningful difference. His background spans from Natural Language Processing (NLP), graph networks, and predictive analytics, giving him a diverse range of experience to bring to the Upper Hand team.

Q: What excites you about data?

A: What excites me about data is the art of data storytelling. If you explore and analyze the data thoroughly, it can reveal a wealth of insights and narratives. As Ronald Coase once said, “If you torture the data enough, it can confess to anything.”

Q: What is unique about the skills you bring to the Upper Hand team?

A: My experience in working with diverse datasets across multiple domains (like material physics dataset, crypto currency, textual data and etc.), as well as collaborating effectively with teams from various domains.

Q: What excites you about working at Upper Hand?

A: What excites me about working at Upper Hand is the opportunity to delve into the field of sports analytics and big data. I am eager to gain real-world experience and contribute to the development of data-driven insights in the world of sports. The prospect of working with large datasets and leveraging analytics to uncover valuable information is both thrilling and rewarding.

Q: What are your hobbies or interests outside of work?

A: Outside of work, I enjoy hiking, going on bike rides, and playing badminton or squash.

Learn more about the Upper Hand team

As a team of competitive and ambitious individuals, including many former athletes, we’re committed to developing an all-star product and experience for our customers and their clients. To hear more about our story, and how Upper Hand has grown into the product it is today, we invite you to read more about our story!