Center for Applied Technology Current Members

A Westmont alumnus (‘08) and the Director of CRM and Data Services, Zak Landrum is the Center for Applied Technology's founding director. His primary role at Westmont is to empower the Westmont Salesforce team to create digital business solutions for Westmont. Through the CATLab, he has made a practice of inviting students into the work of digital transformation, and he derives great joy from partnering with students to leave Westmont better than the year before. When not at work, he spends time with his family on the beach, reads sci-fi novels from the public library, and cooks with whatever ingredients he can find in the pantry.

Charles Ryu is a passionate programmer from North Korea. Charles escaped North Korea twice in all in his teen years, resettled in America when he was seventeen, and now works at Westmont College as a Mobile, Web-application, and CMS Developer. He is also running a non-proft organization, Freedom Bridge, which he founded to assist North Korean refugees. Charles has a big heart for refugees and wants to create a coding boot camp for refugees alongside CATLab.

As a Salesforce Administrator for the Westmont Office of Admissions, Adae Rehmke strives to provide a great experience for fellow users. Collaborating with the CATLab team to improve data flow and Salesforce integration is a fun and edifying experience for her. She relishes in seeing the CATLab team’s outstanding innovation and hard work come to fruition. Outside of work, Adae enjoys cultivating an edible permaculture landscape around her home, but she especially loves spending time will her family on outdoor adventures or playing games.

Neil Di Maggio is the Director of Research and Prospect Management in the Office of College Advancement at Westmont. Although he also loves dogs, he is happy to be working at CATLab. Together with the Data Analyst team, he is working to make sure Salesforce data is actionable and accurate according to the college’s business processes.

Xander Hagen graduated from Westmont in 2023, majoring in Physics. Xander has leveraged his strong mathematical and problem-solving mindset in the fields of manufacturing and business analytics. He excels in improving logistics and systems efficiency, and aims to bring this to an area of research. In 2026, he joins the CATLab team in a staff role, after previously working with the 2025 CAtLab Analyst team. In his free time, he pursues creative work, video game development, long walks, bike rides, and gardening.

Kate Whitney '27 is a Sociology major and Psychology minor heading into her senior year. During her 2025 CATLab tenure, Kate transitioned from form-building and event registration to lead logistics for the 2025 Impact Conference. In 2026, she will return as the primary logistics coordinator for the Impact Conference while providing administrative support for the CATLab 2026 summer program. When she isn’t masterminding event schedules and pouring over spreadsheets, Kate is likely catching up on much-needed sleep or searching for her next cup of coffee (yes, these two activities seem to contradict each other...). Occasionally, she might have enough free time to read a book.