About BBB

As the Owner and CEO of BBB Educational Enterprises, Brent partners with K-12 education institutions across the Southeast to help them meet their curriculum, instruction and technology goals. Brent believes in truly listening and understanding each partner’s current successes and challenges before developing a plan/solution.

Brent has a unique perspective on education, sales and technology, having worked for two giants in educational publishing, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Pearson as well as for AT&T. Brent has years of experience working with multiple school districts in all areas of curriculum. He has been a part of multiple successful new product launches within K-12. It is his passion to improve learning for children of all ages. Brent is a graduate of Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business with a BS in Management.

As President and Owner of BBB Educational Enterprises, Brian has to be equally adept at working with both companies and educational institutions. Fortunately, his background has given him extensive experience in both.

Having began his career in higher education within an academic unit, Brian developed skills in student advisement, business operations, funding and grants, which, combined with the satisfaction of helping students learn, drove him to pursue a career in educational sales. Mr. Rhodes worked for several large educational organizations, including Pearson and Scholastic, where he moved sales teams to great success. He demonstrated a particular talent for building teams from the ground up while keeping them focused on aligning solutions to the needs of customers. Brian is a graduate of Georgia State’s Robinson College of Business with a Bachelor of Business Administration. Brian resides in Birmingham, Alabama with his wife of 17 years Sarah and his four children, Nate, Emily, Michael, and Erin.

Jan earned her Bachelors in Marketing from George Mason University and began her career in finance with KPMG in Virginia. Through the years she has forged her way into a successful work/life balance by serving different support rolls for companies by working as a bookkeeper and project manager, while raising her two daughters with her husband in Cumming, GA. She joined BBB in 2019 with hopes of bringing her previous experience to help support the education industry.

As a sales representative for BBB, Sabrina has over 28 years’ experience in the field of education.

She obtained her Master’s degree from the University of Alabama and her undergrad from the University of Montevallo in Elementary Education.

As a former 1st and 3rd grade teacher, school-based literacy coach and state department literacy coach, Sabrina concluded her career in public education as an ELA supervisor for K-5 in one of the largest school systems in Alabama.

Sabrina enjoys her continued work in education with the BBB team.

Pat Finkelstein is Director of Professional Learning for BBB Educational Enterprises.  She received her advanced educational degrees from the University of Alabama in Birmingham. She also earned Reading Recovery Teacher Leader certification from Clemson University.

As an employee with Birmingham City Schools, she held various positions including elementary and resource teacher, Reading Recovery program specialist, assistant principal, and central office administrator. Pat knows that strong reading skills form the basis for learning in all subjects, therefore, she is a strong advocate of early literacy. She is dedicated to developing life-long learners. Pat is the proud mom of one son, Alex, and new daughter-in-law. She serves as a board member of the Animal League of Birmingham.

Lisa Russian received her undergraduate degree from Auburn University.  She continued her education at the University of West Georgia.  Lisa is a retired educator with 32 years of experience.  She has served as a classroom teacher and in both school and district leadership roles.

Jodie Jacobs has 26 years of experience in public education, serving in various roles including reading teacher, social studies teacher, guidance counselor, school improvement coach, and K-12 curriculum coordinator. After retiring, she currently works as a sales and professional development consultant for BBB.

Tyrome was born in Greensboro, GA to Camiel Grant, Sr. and Annie Grant; he is the middle child of three. Both of his parents were life-long educators; therefore, it is no surprise that he and his siblings followed suit. From 2019-2023, he served as Principal of an elementary school in Henry County, GA and is currently a consultant with BBB Educational Enterprises, Inc. team in Georgia.

He and his wife, Graciela, of 26 years are the proud parents of Tyrome Jr, Caleb, and Rocket (the family’s spoiled, I meant well-loved Maltese). Recently, they became proud “grandparents” to Simba, a beautiful pitbull.

With a career spanning 30+ years in the field of education, Mary Jo’s educational philosophy is centered on collaborative learning, and directly contributes this to her sales and consulting practice. She champions lifelong learning and actively seeks innovative solutions to empower educators and students with the resources they require.

Carolyn brings nearly 25 years of experience in education. From Peace Corps to park ranger, classroom teacher to RFP specialist, product development director to professional learning director, she brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to the educational space. Carolyn’s breadth of involvement in varying areas of education and publishing give her a unique lens into the needs of the classroom. She loves a good read-aloud on the fly, so don’t be surprised if you see her in a classroom near you!