Katie Blot is the Chief Operating Officer and SVP of Strategy for Vemo Education. In this role, Katie collaborates with the the Vemo team, clients, and the education industry to drive positive change in educational access and affordability. She believes strongly in the potential for income-share agreement programs to reduce the difficult trade-offs schools face in balancing serving students and hitting their other institutional objectives.

Katie is the founding principal at Strategy-Ed – a small consultancy focused on helping schools and companies achieve their objectives of supporting learners by increasing access to education and improving learner success. 

Katie Blot has spent over 25 years working in the education industry. With experience in both the private and public sector, Katie has been working to advance the mission of education institutions throughout her career. 

Katie started her career consulting with colleges and universities in the areas of financial aid and student support services – where she fell in love with the vision of continuously advancing how we support students along their educational pathways. 

She spent 5 years at the US Department of Education – first as Deputy General Manager and then as the CIO at Federal Student Aid, spearheading modernization initiatives to increase the reach of the financial aid programs and reduce barriers to postsecondary education.  

Katie then entered the private sector of EdTech serving in several different roles at Blackboard, including Chief Strategy & Portfolio Officer. During her tenure there she led corporate strategy, industry management, portfolio strategy & product management, global services and business development. 

Katie is passionate about education and the impact it has on both the individual and society. Across her career the common thread has been helping organizations and schools increase their impact by developing and deploying new capabilities in a thoughtful and purposeful way.  

Katie has more than 25 years of experience in the education industry, providing leadership in the business and technology realms and understands how to realize the benefits of effectively aligning human capital, business processes and technology to achieve business objectives at educational institutions. Katie has also served as a national speaker presenting on topics such as: “Learner-centric Education”, “STEM Education and the Power of Technology”, “Achieving Learning Outcomes in a Changing Education Landscape” and “What’s Next for Education: The New Course Ecosystem.”

As mother of three boys, Katie is both professionally and personally dedicated to advancements in education. She eagerly follows research and trends in student persistence and success and the links between education and employment. She participates in discussions on innovation in education and serves in several capacities with her local school.