MK

Mark Knittel

Founder of ARES NGO

Bellingham, Washington

Overview 

Mark Knittel is a Board Member and Founder at ARES NGO (African Ruggedized Education Systems) in Bellingham, Washington, with a strong background in strategic planning, SaaS, and enterprise software. With experience as President of Bellingham Angel Investors and MJK Services Inc., Knittel has demonstrated expertise in leadership, networking, and business development, while also serving as Board Chairman for the Technology Alliance Group (TAG) for Northwest Washington State. Knittel's career highlights include founding ARES NGO, a significant initiative in the education sector, and serving in leadership roles at reputable organizations like Bellingham Angel Investors and Technology Alliance Group, showcasing his strategic planning and program management skills.

Work Experience 

Bellingham Angel Investors

  • President

    2017 - Current

MJK Services Inc.

  • President

    2015

    IT consulting for small/medium businesses.

ARES NGO (African Ruggedized Education Systems)

  • Board Member, Founder

    2014

    ARES is an NGO headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, with a focus on Eastern Africa. ARES provides pre-loaded education servers and access devices that allow rural schools to provide world class education content and teaching tools in areas that typically have limited/no internet, unreliable electrical supply, limited local text books/libraries, etc. The ARES NGO servers and access devices are very affordable and often supplemented with grants from Rotary International and other philanthropic groups. The servers contain a massive amount of open source education content., and are battery powered, along with all of the access devices (low cost Windows/Chrome notebooks, tablets, smart phones, etc.) ARES partners with Afretech (Vancouver BC), Tembo Trading (Bellingham, Washington), and Computers for Schools Kenya (CFSK - Nairobi, Kenya). We have successfully installed ARES systems in dozens of schools across Eastern Africa, with a goal of expanding to a broad swath of public/private schools in the near future. Website: https://ARES.education

Technology Alliance Group (TAG) for Northwest Washington State

  • Board Chairman

    2009 - 2015

Ovation Technical Services

  • Owner

    2006 - 2015

    Provider of computer services for small/medium business customers in Whatcom and Skagit Counties - including hardware/software repairs, proactive maintenance services, networking, backup/recovery, computer sales, etc. We are located at 510 Carolina Street. We also provide on-site and remote managed services for small/medium businesses in Whatcom and Skagit Counties.

CNT

  • Group VP, Operations

    1997 - 2005

I

IBM

  • Director, Networking Products

    1977 - 1997

IBM is an IT technology and consulting firm providing computer hardware, software, infrastructure, and hosting services.

ibm.com

Education 

Articles About Mark

Relevant Websites