# Gideon Stein

> Gideon Stein is a New York-based entrepreneur and philanthropist who co-founded LightSail Education and served as its founding CEO. Previously the founder, chairman, and CEO of enterprise messaging company Omnipod, he later led Write Label. He is president of the Moriah Fund, chairman of Write Label, and board chair of Civic News Company.

- **Role:** President at The Moriah Fund; Chairman at Write Label; Board Chair at Civic News Company
- **Organizations:** LightSail Education, The Moriah Fund, Write Label, Civic News Company, Omnipod, Future Is Now Schools, Success Academy Charter Schools, Black Voices for Black Justice Fund, New Classrooms, University Prep Charter High School
- **Education:** BA in economics and history, Wesleyan University
- **Known for:** Co-founded the adaptive reading platform LightSail Education., Led Omnipod before its sale to MessageLabs., Participated in Project Literacy Lab 2016 as an Unreasonable Fellow.

## Career timeline

- **1999** — Co-founded Omnipod, serving as chairman and CEO.
- **2005** — Omnipod acquired by MessageLabs.
- **2011** — Serving as president of Future Is Now Schools, working with Steve Barr.
- **2012** — Co-founded LightSail Education and served as founding CEO.
- **2013** — LightSail announced a $500,000 Gates Foundation Literacy Courseware Challenge grant.
- **2016** — LightSail announced an $11 million Series B; Stein participated in Project Literacy Lab.
- **2019** — Became president of The Moriah Fund; led Write Label during its enterprise rebranding.
- **2023** — MindPlay acquired LightSail; its announcement identified Steven Gittleson as co-founder and CEO.

## Achievements

- Co-founded the adaptive reading platform LightSail Education.
- Led Omnipod before its sale to MessageLabs.
- Participated in Project Literacy Lab 2016 as an Unreasonable Fellow.
- Named as an inventor with Steven Gittleson and Jessica Reid Sliwerski on an educational e-reader patent application.
- Co-founded Black Voices for Black Justice Fund.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Current Moriah Fund and Civic News Company biographies list Stein as Moriah president and Civic News Company board chair; Civic News Company also identifies him as chairman of Write Label. These are roles verified in October 2026, not appointment dates.
- **2023-03** — MindPlay announced its acquisition of LightSail Education, the company Stein co-founded.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gistein
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/gideonstein

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/gideon-stein
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-26