Darlene Blackburn
Darlene (Valentina) B. is a logistics and operations leader with more than 15 years of experience driving growth, efficiency, and strategic partnerships within the transportation and supply chain industry. She currently serves as Executive Director of National Accounts at Unified Logistix Group, where she oversees more than 70 delivery partners across the United States. In her role, she manages relationships with clients and delivery teams, leads hiring initiatives, and develops standard operating procedures and onboarding strategies that support the company’s expanding network and service offerings.
Darlene has been a key part of Unified Logistix Group’s growth journey, joining the organization when it was a small team of just a few employees and helping guide it through significant expansion. Her work focuses on operational excellence, client satisfaction, and building strong partnerships across the logistics ecosystem. Prior to joining Unified Logistix Group, she held leadership roles in operations and logistics, including Director of Logistics at The Saatva Company, where she strengthened supply chain operations for a fast-growing brand.
Earlier in her career, Darlene gained experience in finance, retail management, and executive administration, which helped shape her well-rounded leadership style. She attended Long Island University with a focus on business management and has built her career on a foundation of hard work, adaptability, and respect for others. Passionate about leadership and mentorship, she is especially committed to empowering women in the logistics industry and believes strongly in creating opportunities for others to grow and succeed.
• Long Island University
What do you attribute your success to?
I would say that what was really instilled with me as a kid was with my mom. Being a single mom, she was always so independent, so I wanted to show that in my work as well. But I would really say that my success is attributed to my boss, the CEO here, Scott. I would definitely say without him, I definitely wouldn't be in the position I am right now, not even because of it being his company, but just the respect, the motivation, and he gave me all the tools to become the person I am today with what he taught me, the knowledge that he instilled with me. He really changed my work ethic. I would definitely say I can give a lot of credit to him.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Follow your dream, follow your heart. If someone tells you you can't do it, you do it over again until you succeed. I've been kicked down more times than I could even tell you, but I would definitely say just pick yourself back up. You fall 10 times, you pick yourself back up 11.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Be strong, be confident. It's all about having confidence in yourself. There's no reason to not have confidence in yourself, and I think for women mostly, the one downfall of some women is they don't have confidence in themselves because they're so used to hearing someone knock them down, or whatever it may be. We're softer people than men, let's just be honest. So I think it's confidence and believe in yourself.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
It being a predominantly male industry, I would say that sometimes communication can be hard, but as far as that goes, the field's definitely got a lot better. More or less, it's just not being able to get something quick enough. You're never quick enough. I wish that there are opportunities where we can be faster. As far as logistics go, obviously we want to make sure that customers are happy 100% of the time, and sometimes you can't always please someone, and that becomes very defeating in a sense. I strive to make sure that all of the customers are happy, all of our clients are happy, everyone gets good feedback, so I would say the biggest struggle is not being able to satisfy the customers 100% of the time.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I would really just say being respectful. My biggest value is respect. I really can say that as far as much in personal life or in my work life, being respectful is the best way, because I feel like nowadays, a lot of people lack that, especially in professional environments.