ParentSquare Appoints Senior Product and Operations Leaders To Support Nationwide District Communications at Scale

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—March 23, 2026—ParentSquare, the trusted leader in school-home engagement for K-12 districts, today announced the appointment of Joel Hames as Senior Vice President of Product and Anni Baghdasarian as Vice President of Strategic Operations, as the platform plays an increasingly central role in district communications. 

Hames will lead ParentSquare’s product organization, overseeing product strategy, innovation, and delivery across the platform. He brings more than 30 years of experience in education, including 15 years leading product teams at edtech companies such as Subject, Paper, Schoology, and PowerSchool. His background as a district instructional technology director informs a product philosophy grounded in real-world district needs and outcomes. 

“At ParentSquare, product excellence starts with a deep understanding of how schools and families actually work,” said Hames. “I’m excited to join a company that’s setting the standard for meaningful, inclusive engagement and to help continue raising the bar for the experience we deliver to districts, schools, and families.” 

Baghdasarian will lead ParentSquare’s strategic operations, with responsibility for cross-functional alignment and operational execution. She brings more than 17 years of edtech leadership experience and deep expertise across content management systems, payments, and district communications. Prior to ParentSquare, Baghdasarian served as President and Chief Operating Officer at Edlio. 

“Trust is foundational in district partnerships, and ParentSquare has earned it,” said Baghdasarian. “I’m looking forward to supporting districts’ long-term needs as the platform continues to evolve.”

“These leadership additions reflect the scale and complexity of the work districts rely on ParentSquare to deliver,” said Sohit Wadhwa, CEO and co-founder of ParentSquare. “Joel’s product leadership and Anni’s operational experience support delivery at scale for a platform serving millions of students.” 

Hames and Baghdasarian start their respective roles this month. 

About ParentSquare

ParentSquare is rooted in the belief that when families are involved, students thrive. Our all-in-one family engagement platform for K-12 schools brings together communications, attendance, forms, payments, and websites to simplify how schools and families connect and take action. ParentSquare Intelligence, the AI and data layer built into ParentSquare, turns engagement and attendance data into insights that guide proactive outreach, so districts can offer families the right support at the right time. We help schools reach the parents and guardians of more than 22 million students in 190+ languages through the channels families prefer, including app, text, email, and phone. Over 42,000 schools in all 50 states use ParentSquare to build trust with families and save staff time, and it consistently ranks among the top five free apps in the U.S. Learn more at ParentSquare.com.