Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Dave Smith

Dave is a serial entrepreneur with two previous successful exits, but he’ll tell you without hesitation, that SAFE Steps is his most dynamic, disruptive, and meaningful venture ever. Dave founded SAFE Steps in 2010 to help parents of high school students develop effective communication and decision making skills through an eLearning system. Since then, Dave and his team have successfully worked with 2,000+ families, taught them about Human Skills, reduced stress levels in students AND families, helped mitigate the costs of higher education, and documented the entire process. 

Dave’s mission is to save lives and create lifelong learning opportunities of skills essential for personal and professional success. Validation of our training programs along with new marketing efforts is propelling exponential client acquisition and expansion of operations rapidly planned for in 2021 and beyond. 

Chief Content Officer

Mark Pintar

Mark is a communication expert and eLearning pioneer. He has created award winning content for students from Kindergarten through college, with organizations like Turner Learning, Georgia Public Broadcasting, and the Georgia GLOBE project. Additionally, he has produced marketing and corporate training videos for Fortune 500 companies like Coca-Cola and The Home Depot, and crafted television programming for networks such as ABC, E! Entertainment, The History Channel, TLC, CNN/Turner Learning, Discovery’s Planet Green, HGTV, Animal Planet and PBS.

Mark is grateful to combine his talents, experience, and passion for communication, technology, and education to provide students with the tools they need to improve their Human Skills and live a life of success on their own terms, and wishes he had The SAFE Steps when he was in high school.

Chief Technology Officer (Advisory)

Anjani Nandan

Anjani Nandan is a Silicon Valley technologist with 25+ years of industry experience. He has led large technology transformations of multiple organizations and is very passionate about cutting edge technologies and what it can do to improve our lives. He is an evangelist to encourage usage of AI/ML technologies to not only gain competitive advantage, but also drive efficiencies leveraging these technologies.

Anjani is very passionate about changing the education model that has been part of our lives since long, the SAFE Steps platform allows him to execute on that vision, and help people right from high school and well into their successful careers by focusing on Human skills that he has seen lack of during his experience working in  the industry. He is very excited that SAFE Steps has the ability to create possibilities that can trigger massive skill enhancements with its innovative methods and content, building a good recipe for not only becoming a compelling continuing education platform but also acting as a life coach.

Chief Product Officer (Advisory)

Anant Mishra

Anant is a passionate technologist with a track record of success within many global, blue chip companies like Dell, UBS and Credit Suisse. He brings in more than 25+ years of industry experience with his quest for quality in all his deliverables coupled with a great focus on customer needs.

Anant was struck by the very idea of SAFE Steps to build human skills starting at an early age as a family event. The opportunity to be in the team and bring his expertise to architect the product and take it to the next level is his mission.

Northeast Director of Operations

Richard Dieffenbach

Over 40 years experience developing business and marketing plans for small to medium-sized businesses locally, regionally, and nationally.

Designing sales Teams to improve sales results, recapturing lost accounts, and keeping accounts fully serviced regularly.

Developed company culture and new training program to improve company revenues and profitability.

Worked with the design team to add new products that would increase sales and repeat customers

Renegotiated national account contracts to increase are margins and profitability.

Researched new markets with major national accounts that established significant profits

The most valued experience was volunteer teaching in middle and senior high schools for 8 years. The first was in a middle school. The school had ten 8th graders who wanted to drop out of school- the home life was abusive and mentally difficult

The program was the economics of staying in school. First class, seeing those students coming in and seeing their empty-looking eyes was a tragedy, but helping them change their minds was my passion and goal. 

Project One- creating a live alone budget- apartment, electric, etc..So, the next class, everyone said they could not do it except one boy- Anthony, so I reviewed his budget, but he forgot food costs

Project Two – start a company, invent a product- The MAGIC PEN -they were having fun, they smiled and were happy. They elected officers and created the company budget. Next week’s review they did good, but they forgot to pay themselves a salary. So the pen retail went up to $500 per pen.

They asked for my opinion – they decided they had to stay in school, but also high school, and at least an associate’s degree to have a better life and future.

Seeing the “ten” young minds understand better the right decision was tough, but better than leaving school- reality before tragedy. made sense and they agreed.

This 8th graders dilemma that we “cured” is my reason I see The Safe Steps Program and weekly 15-minute lessons will help schools, Teachers, Students, and Parents all win. The parent with their teen will learn and communicate together, and work together to resolve any issues before they become more difficult.

Safe Steps can be a valuable ally in our schools for the future of our students, our community, and our country.