Barry Schuler, Internet Entrepreneur and former CEO of AOL, in Conversation with Rabbi Lee Bycel at Congregation Beth Shalom, Napa, on May 2, 2015 at 4 p.m.

The next event (no charge) at Congregation Beth Shalom, 1455 Elm St., Napa, on Saturday, May 2, at 4 p.m., features Barry Schuler, Internet Entrepreneur and former CEO of America Online Inc. He is best known for leading the AOL team that simplified the online service provider’s user interface, making it possible for millions of consumers to gain easy access to the Internet.

Barry grew up in West New York, New Jersey. After graduating from Rutgers University in 1976 with a B.A. in psychology he started directing commercials and industrial films. He also befriended a group of fellow computer hobbyists/enthusiasts who were developing software applications for home computers.

Barry relocated to California with his wife, Tracy. In 1990, the couple teamed up with David Goldman and founded user interface design company Medior Inc. In 1994, Medior launched one of the first online shopping services, 2Market, in a joint venture with Apple Computer Inc. and AOL. In 1995, Medior was acquired by AOL. Barry then worked for AOL from 1995 to 2003.

In 2003, Barry was among a group of American entrepreneurs recruited by the U.S. government’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to help commercialize new technologies of national interest, among them ultrashort pulse lasers.

Barry lives in Napa, California, where he co-founded The Blue Oak School and is a national advisory member for the New Technology Foundation, a non-profit organization established in 1999 with the objective of achieving national education reform. He is Managing Director of a venture capital firm and is on the Board of Directors of several companies. He and Tracy co-own Meteor Vineyard. Barry is a member of Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni.