Who is Tech Trek Academy?

Joseph Hearington has spent his career at the intersection of education and technology. Before founding Tech Trek Academy, he taught high school math and went on to serve as both assistant principal and principal, leading schools with a focus on innovation and student growth.

Joseph's journey with programming began early — back in 1999, when, at just 12 years old, he began teaching himself HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. That spark never faded. Years later, after a successful career in education, he returned to his first love: web development. He worked his way up from software developer to development manager at a leading telecommunications company, where he now oversees a team building complex systems that power real-world products.

Drawing on his deep technical background, leadership experience, and a Master's in Education, Joseph saw a clear gap between what most coding programs teach and what hiring managers actually need. Tech Trek Academy was born from his mission to bridge that gap—to give students practical, industry-aligned skills through high-quality instruction grounded in real development experience.

Bryan Rhodes is a lifelong technologist and innovator with a passion for building systems that scale. He began programming as a teenager and entered the IT industry at just 16. By age 20, he joined a fast-growing startup, and at 23, he developed patented mobile technology that fueled the launch of his own company.

Bryan later served as Chief Technology Officer for a medical startup, where he led initiatives that dramatically improved turnaround times and patient care through automation and data-driven systems. At 25, he joined a small telecom company as Director of Software Development and Support, where he built and led a high-performing development team, launched multiple new products, and helped grow the company's annual revenue from $17 million to over $50 million.

Today, Bryan continues to innovate at the intersection of technology, automation, and business growth—creating tools and platforms that help companies scale smarter and faster. His deep understanding of both the technical and business sides of software development makes him uniquely qualified to prepare students for real-world development challenges.