Gabe Mangiante
Product Lead
Gabe Mangiante
Product Lead
Gabe Mangiante serves as Product Lead at JCA, coordinating technical support for JCA’s existing products and providing architectural and technical expertise for new product development. A highly versatile data and technology professional, Gabe has over 15 years of experience across the for-profit, nonprofit, and government sectors. He has extensive expertise in creating, maintaining, and interpreting systems and providing business-critical data to decision makers, with particular emphasis on CRM, HRMS, and financial domains. His technical proficiencies span the diverse areas of application development, business intelligence, data engineering, and data science. He enjoys working with diverse stakeholders to articulate, analyze, and solve complex problems by encouraging curiosity, creativity, and inclusion.
Prior to joining JCA, Gabe’s nonprofit experience included serving as Director of Information Services at Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA; CRM Administrator at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC; and Director of Business Intelligence and Applications at The Shed in New York, NY. In other sectors, his experience includes various technical roles in the publishing, nuclear, defense, and retail industries. He has also served as a professional pianist, music director, arranger, synthesizer programmer, and university-level music educator. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of South Carolina.
MORE ABOUT GABE
Where do you work? Where are you from?
I live and work in Kirkland, WA, just across Lake Washington from Seattle. (Yes, Kirkland as in Costco!) I’ve been here since the end of 2021; prior to that, I was in DC and New York. I always felt like the Pacific Northwest might be a good home for me, and I’m finding that I really do love it here. Originally, I’m from Laramie, WY, but most of my growing up happened in Ledyard, CT, Chattanooga, TN, and Aiken, SC. I’ve been really lucky to experience so many diverse and exciting parts of the United States.
What do you do at JCA?
I’m a Product Lead within the Engineering team, which means my time is divided between understanding and supporting the products JCA currently offers its clients, and working with the JCA team to imagine and design what’s coming next. It’s a great spot to be in, because while it certainly relies on having a solid technical background and voracious curiosity regarding new platforms and technologies, it’s just as important for me to understand the people and organizations we work with, or want to work with! I love to find the ways that products can surprise clients with unexpected capabilities, or to engage with clients about what it is they’re missing or want to achieve—and then envision what the right solution can be, and make it happen.
What is your background? What brought you to JCA?
I’ve always been two things simultaneously, in varying proportion—a technology professional and a musician. I was lucky enough to grow up in a family that really encouraged that exploration—my mother, father, and sister are all musically talented people who also happened to work in technical/administrative areas. After spending a while working in the government sector, I was able to take a break and just go play the piano for a while, eventually joining the musical theatre faculty at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, and then becoming Associate Music Director at Signature Theatre in Arlington. Then, when I saw the need for it, and felt like it was time, Signature graciously let me duck back behind the curtain and become Director of Information Services. I don’t actually see the jobs as that different—I think that the collaborative, listening, and improvisational skills I gained as an accompanist and music director continually inform how I work in the (home) office. And, taking the new role at Signature meant that I became aware of Tessitura, and of course, JCA’s Arts Marketing team—it makes me so happy to have come full circle and landed here!
What do you do outside of JCA?
Obviously, I play a lot of piano! Although, it might not be the kind of repertoire people would expect—on any given day, it could be Stephen Sondheim, or Tori Amos, or Billy Joel, or Olivier Messiaen—just depends on the mood. I’m also extremely interested in live music synthesis, and have a few hobby projects going on in that area. I read incessantly; I’m ferociously devoted to my Peloton; and as always, I serve at the whim of my rightful owner, Cosmo the Russian Blue cat, who’s well aware of which of us is actually in charge.
