John C. Blakley
Chairman, co-CEO, and Founder
Since 1993
John C. Blakley, known as Blake, leads the senior executive team and oversees all aspects of corporate operations. He is also responsible for developing business strategies, which include maintaining client, partner, and vendor relationships, in addition to making recommendations to the BOD on the strategic direction of the Company. During his career at Unicon, Blake developed the Cisco Networking Academy® Management System and was the product manager for the Unicon Academus® product suite. Prior to his career at Unicon, Blake was a Systems Engineer with Arizona State University (ASU). Additionally, Blake served on the Industrial Advisory Board of the Department of Electronics and Computer Engineering Technology at ASU East.
Kate Valenti
co-CEO
Since 2003
Kate Valenti co-leads the senior executive team and all aspects of corporate operations, alongside founder and co-CEO John Blakley. Kate is responsible for the profitable execution of market strategies as well as internal operational efficiency towards Unicon’s goal to deliver outstanding service to clients and significant impact to learners. Throughout her career at Unicon, Kate has previously held key leadership roles including Chief Operating Officer and Senior Director of Integrations and Analytics. Previously, Kate worked at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young as a management consultant with a focus on enterprise application integration.
Kate is passionate about the impact that well-designed and well-integrated technology can have on the learning experience. During her career in education, Kate has designed and developed integration strategies, programs, and technical services teams, and has delivered dozens of integrated solutions to the market. Kate has both participated in and facilitated industry panel conversations and holds the EDUCAUSE Review Author microcredential.
Dan McCallum
Vice President Technology
Since 2006
Dan is VP Technology at Unicon, with over 21 years of professional software development and design experience focusing on systems integration and Web-based educational and student success/advising applications. Dan’s leadership helps equip Unicon technical delivery teams with the skills and cultural support that make Unicon both a great place to work and a uniquely capable and satisfying partner to our customers. Prior to joining Unicon, Dan developed software for the hospitality industry, including online transaction processing integrations with Internet-scale and legacy mainframe distribution systems. Dan is an ISC2 Certified Secure Software Lifecycle Professional (CSSLP).
Patience Breinholt
Vice President Human Resources
Since 2000
Patience is SPHR certified and responsible for managing Human Resources at Unicon. As Vice President of HR, she oversees policy and procedure, recruiting and hiring practices, personnel development, retention approaches, benefits administration, conflict resolution, legal compliance issues, and managerial support. In her more than 20 years at Unicon, her achievements include developing a high caliber, peak performing HR department from the ground up that supports business strategy, productivity, and profitability, fostering a company culture in which employees enjoy working in a friendly and collaborative atmosphere, while the company maintains a stellar reputation among clients for superior quality, service, and professionalism.
Jim Layne
Vice President Marketing
Since 2002
In his role at Unicon, Jim is responsible for developing, implementing, and executing corporate positioning and branding while driving an integrated communication strategy. On a daily basis, he oversees the company's marketing functions, including advertising, direct marketing, market research, public relations, and web presence. Jim joined Unicon in September 2002 with more than 20 years’ experience in both technical and marketing positions at leading edge, high-technology companies. Before joining Unicon, Jim was President of an online life-skills content development company for the K-12 marketplace. He was also founder and marketing vice president of one of the first free fantasy sports sites on the Web.
Kenna Ose
Vice President Market Development
Since 2020
Kenna has over 25 years experience in the education technology market, with a focus on teaching, learning, and workforce readiness. Kenna recently joined Unicon's leadership team and oversees the strategic planning and implementation of all business development and marketing strategies. Prior to joining Unicon, Kenna played a strategic leadership role at several education technology companies focused on K12, higher education, and workforce readiness.
Patty Wolfe
Senior Director, Applications, Integration, & Data
Since 2001
Patty has over 20 years of project management and consulting experience, managing all aspects of client relationships including strategic planning and implementation, project delivery, client satisfaction, and P&L. Since joining Unicon in 2001, she has worked with companies such as Scholastic, John Wiley and Sons, and Pearson Education to deliver a diverse portfolio of projects including sophisticated online learning applications, simulations, and progressive assessments that deliver an individualized learning experience. She holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) and Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP) certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI), and a ScrumMaster® certification from the Scrum Alliance organization.
Flora Ketley
Senior Director, Strategy & Critical Infrastructure,
Since 2018
Flora has over 20 years of international experience focused on Strategic Planning, Portfolio & PMO Management, Financial Budgeting and Forecasting. She has delivered complex global programs across multiple industries to yield successful business results. Ms. Ketley manages the Identity, Strategy & Critical Infrastructure Practice at Unicon, overseeing strategic client evaluations, technical due diligence engagements and cloud operations. Flora started at Unicon in 2018, and her responsibilities include supporting customer engagements from sales to service offerings, building client-facing relationships and developing strategic partnerships with Venture Capital firms, Higher Education institutions and EdTEch companies.