Ray Blakney

Born in Cebu City, Philippines to an American father and a Filipina mother, Ray grew up in Istanbul, Turkey. He received his B.S. in Computer Engineering from Case Western Reserve University in 2001.

Ray started his professional career as a computer geek writing software for a range of companies including Silicon Valley startups, Fortune 500 companies, the U.S. Government, and NGOs. In 2006 he decided he wanted a career change, joined the U.S. Peace Corps, and was assigned to Mexico where he worked in the largely indigenous area of Chiapas, Mexico. After completing his 2 years of service, he married his Spanish teacher - Laura - and stayed in Mexico to start with her a chain of successful brick-and-mortar language schools.

In 2008, he launched Live Lingua to complement the in-person classes offered at the expanding chain of brick and mortar schools. Then in 2010, by which time it had become clear that the online language school would require his full-time attention, he sold the brick and mortar part of the business to focus on growing Live Lingua.