Stephen Brown, D.Phil., Chief Executive Officer
Stephen Brown joined KCDL in January 2006. Passionate about the online environment, Steve has experience running a Seattle-based Internet software company.
Steve also served as the Senior V.P. of Merchandising and Strategic Planning at Hollywood Entertainment and was with McKinsey & Company for over five years consulting on major strategic questions for large corporations.
He earned his Bachelor's degree from Dartmouth before continuing on to complete Master's and Doctorate degrees as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University.
Steve comes from a family of educators including both his mother (high school teacher) and father (university administrator). He is currently a board member for the Portland Children's Museum and lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife and two children.
Michael Axtman, Vice-President
Michael Axtman joined KCDL in January 2007 when Aventa Learning, a company he co-founded with Jim Benitez, was acquired by KCDL.
Michael has been working in Online High School Education since 2001, and has been the President of Aventa Learning since 2002. During this time, Michael was a driving force behind the growth of Aventa Learning's online course offerings to more than 100 subjects.
Prior to Aventa Learning and KCDL, Michael was a Vice President in charge of Content Development, Technology and Sales at Apex Learning.
Jim Benitez, Vice-President
Jim Benitez joined KCDL in January 2007 through the acquisition of Aventa Learning, a company he co-founded with Michael Axtman.
Jim has worked in online education since 2000. Prior to co-founding Aventa Learning in 2002, Jim oversaw the development of business in the eastern United States for Apex Learning.
Jim earned his B.A. in Political Science and International Relations from Yale University in 1994. Jim currently lives in Jupiter, Florida with his wife and three daughters.
Pamela Kislak, Vice President of Marketing and Instruction
Pamela Kislak joined KCDL in April 2006. Pamela has over nine years of experience in product management and marketing for educational technology products. Prior to joining KCDL, Pamela was the Director of Marketing for Northwest Evaluation Association and the V.P. of Consumer Services for Englishtown.com.
Pamela received her B.A. from Dartmouth College and her M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business at U.C. Berkeley.
Anton Leof, Vice President of Corporate Development
Anton Leof joined KCDL in April 2006.
For the past several years, Anton has held senior executive positions in several education-related technology companies. Anton started his career at Latham & Watkins, where his practice focused on international corporate transactions.
Anton received his JD from Stanford Law School, and his BA from Yale College. He also studied comparative law in Paris at La Sorbonne.
Robert Solis, CFO and Vice President of Operations
In January 2006, Bob Solis joined KCDL as V.P. of Operations and Technology after partnering with KCDL in a technical consulting capacity during 2005. Bob brings 17 years of experience applying information technology to large-scale business operations to KCDL.
Bob oversees KCDL's distributed national operations and technology groups in Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. KCDL is experiencing rapid growth and will support operations in several other states next year.
Prior to joining KCDL, Bob was a Partner with CSC Consulting where he managed development and implementation of e-business and information technology systems. Bob led the successful development and deployment of new technology solutions in the Financial Services, High-Tech Manufacturing, Telecommunications, and Oil & Gas industries.
Bob earned his Bachelor's degree in Geology from the University of Iowa and also holds a Master's Degree in Geophysics and an M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University.