THE VALENCE TEAM
Valence Mission Critical Technologies is your full-service communications equipment provider with nearly 100 years of combined industry experience.
MICHAEL J. DEAKINS
PRESIDENT / FOUNDER
Michael Deakins brings more than three decades of communications-industry experience to Valence, beginning his technical career in 1989 and later serving as an Electronics Technician in the U.S. Navy, where he graduated in the top three of his class. While stationed at NAS Lemoore, Michael was first introduced to land mobile radio systems and Motorola communications equipment, experience that helped shape the technical foundation for his career. After leaving the military, he worked for two Motorola Service Shops before founding Valence with the goal of improving regional technical support, responsiveness, and communications expertise throughout the Pacific Northwest. Today, Michael is responsible for overall company operations, technical leadership, service oversight, complex project management, and final review of major estimates, proposals, and RFP responses. He remains heavily involved in mission-critical communications projects, including 9-1-1 telephony, radio dispatch consoles, radio systems, microwave backhaul, and cloud telecom services. Michael also serves as a technical escalation point for customers, vendors, and internal staff, while overseeing service operations, technician support, documentation, process development, and continued improvement of Valence’s Zoho business systems. In addition, he is directly involved in cloud telecom provisioning, number porting, domain setup, technical support, billing integration, and coordination between Datagate and Zoho Books. Michael is a Certified Electronics Technician through ETA International, a certified tower climber, and continues to bring a hands-on, highly responsive approach to both client support and internal team development.
SARAH DEAKINS
HR, PAYROLL, AP / OWNER
Sarah Deakins joined Valence in 2005 and brings more than 21 years of administrative, financial, and operational experience to the company. She is responsible for many of Valence’s core business functions, including Zoho Payroll, accounts payable, vendor payments and remittances, billing support, and coordination of employee healthcare benefits. Sarah works closely with Valence’s accounting firm and bookkeeping team to help keep financial records accurate, current, and properly reconciled. Her prior experience includes human resources work with Spokane Teachers Credit Union and administrative work at Sacred Heart Medical Center, giving her a strong background in both personnel support and office administration. At Valence, Sarah works closely with the office manager, sales team, technical staff, vendors, benefits providers, and customers to help ensure the company’s daily operations run smoothly. Her attention to detail, reliability, and willingness to assist make her an important part of Valence’s administrative foundation and customer-support process.
RORY BOWMAN
INSIDE SALES AND SUPPORT SPECIALIST
Rory Bowman joined Valence in 2010 and has become an integral part of the company’s inside sales, customer support, and project-coordination efforts. With more than 15 years of experience in the communications industry, Rory brings exceptional attention to detail, strong organizational skills, and a highly responsive approach to supporting both customers and internal teams. She is responsible for preparing routine and complex sales quotes, working closely with Valence’s technical services team to ensure proposals are accurate, complete, and aligned with each customer’s operational needs. Rory also serves as a key point of contact for vendors, gathering pricing, product information, and technical details needed to develop effective solutions. In addition, she manages many of Valence’s FCC licensing tasks, coordinating with clients and frequency coordinators to help ensure licensing requirements are handled thoroughly and accurately. Rory regularly supports complex sales opportunities, participates in stakeholder meetings, and works closely with company leadership to move proposals from initial request through final delivery. Her professionalism, work ethic, positive attitude, and commitment to clear customer communication make her a trusted resource for Valence clients and an essential part of the company’s mission-critical support team.
JACOB DEAKINS
COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS TECHNICIAN
Jacob “Jake” Deakins joined Valence in 2018 and serves as one of the company’s lead Communications Systems Technicians, with primary responsibility for tower work, vehicle upfitting, technical field execution, and complex system integration. Since joining Valence, Jake has completed electronics training through the Cleveland Institute of Electronics, along with a Communications Technician course through Phase 4 Design, which provides training for organizations such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Forest Service. He is also a certified tower trainer and has served as the primary on-tower lead for dozens of tower projects. In addition to his field responsibilities, Jake plays an important role in reviewing quotes and proposals for technical accuracy, helping ensure that customer solutions are properly designed before they move into deployment. He has participated in numerous large-scale projects, including turnkey radio systems, county radio command-and-control projects, dispatch-related integrations, vehicle installations, and custom technical solutions that require non-standard engineering and troubleshooting. Jake has a strong ability to dig deeply into equipment behavior, documentation, wiring, signaling, and system logic to make disparate technologies work together, even when the solution is not immediately obvious. His combination of hands-on field experience, technical curiosity, documentation skills, and practical problem-solving makes him a key contributor to Valence’s mission-critical communications work.
PRESTON OLSEN
OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR
Preston Olsen joined Valence in 2019 and has become an essential part of the company’s daily operations and customer-support process. With strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and a broad understanding of Valence’s products, services, and internal systems, Preston helps keep projects, service work, equipment, and customer communications moving smoothly. He manages service scheduling, front-line communication with service customers, equipment shipping and logistics, rental and demo fleet coordination, product ordering, maintenance-contract tracking, and coordination with vendors to help develop effective technical solutions for clients. Preston also works closely with the sales and technical teams to ensure technicians are properly prepared before heading to job sites and that customers receive timely, accurate support. Since joining Valence, he has completed electronics coursework through CIE and has continued to adapt quickly to the company’s rapidly evolving technologies, platforms, and service offerings. Often one of the first to arrive and one of the last to leave, Preston brings consistency, reliability, and a strong work ethic to Valence every day.
DERRICK SORENSEN
TELECOM SALES SPECIALIST
Derrick Sorensen joined Valence in 2026 as a Telecom Sales Specialist, bringing with him a unique background built on adaptability, independence, and a strong willingness to engage with new people and unfamiliar environments. Prior to entering the telecommunications industry, Derrick spent approximately five years working in mineral and oil exploration, traveling throughout the country as a contractor for multiple petroleum and mining companies, often in remote and demanding locations. His professional experience required resourcefulness, self-motivation, clear communication, and the ability to quickly build rapport with a wide range of people—traits that translate well into customer-facing sales. Outside of work, Derrick’s personal travels to places such as Vietnam, Central America, Thailand, and other international destinations further reflect his adventurous, outgoing nature and comfort stepping into new situations. While new to both telecom and sales, Derrick brings the curiosity, confidence, and people-oriented mindset that make him well suited to grow into his role supporting Valence customers and developing new business relationships.
DAVID STRATTON
COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS TECHNICIAN
David Stratton joined Valence in 2021 and serves as a Communications Systems Technician, bringing a strong background in telecommunications, networking, electrical work, and military service to the team. Prior to joining Valence, Dave worked as a phone and network technician for a company specializing in DSL and fiber-optic services, and previously worked as a commercial electrician with the IBEW. He also served for eight years in the Army National Guard as a chemical soldier and electrician, including one tour of duty in Iraq, and graduated with honors from both the Army Chemical School and the National Guard’s Engineer School. At Valence, Dave supports a wide range of mission-critical communications work, including tower projects, field installations, phone system deployments, cloud telecom provisioning, number porting, domain setup and management, phone configuration, call routing, troubleshooting, and customer support. He is also a certified tower climber and one of Valence’s primary field technicians for tower-related work. Dave is known for his exceptional attention to installation quality, aesthetics, and small details, often completing work to a level that exceeds typical industry standards. His thorough documentation, practical field experience, strong work ethic, and enthusiasm for hands-on technical work make him a valuable part of Valence’s technical services team.
BRIAN ROMERO
COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS TECHNICIAN
Brian Romero joined Valence after building experience in adjacent technical communications fields, including multimedia, computer programming, broadcast operations, and electronics repair. With formal education in multimedia and PC programming from Eastern Washington University, along with years of experience as a Master Control Operator for local television networks, Brian brings a strong working knowledge of computers, networking, IP-based systems, signal flow, and technical troubleshooting to the Valence team. At Valence, Brian supports a wide range of field and technical-service activities, including customer support, vendor support coordination, equipment preparation, cabling, installation assistance, and tower-crew ground support. He plays an important role in supporting tower technicians from the ground by handling ropes, preparing equipment and cabling for hoisting, and ensuring the tower crew has the tools and materials needed to work safely and efficiently. Brian is known for his calm, customer-focused approach, clear communication, and willingness to take on new tasks, even when they require learning unfamiliar systems or procedures. His positive attitude, technical adaptability, and steady support in both field and customer-facing environments make him a valuable contributor to Valence’s mission-critical communications work.