Valerie earned an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Applied Social Psychology at Colorado State University. During her graduate studies, she focused on positive youth development and delinquency prevention, community psychology, personality psychology, and conflict resolution. After earning her doctorate, she worked for the Vermont Department for Children and Families’ Family Services Division and the Vermont Department of Mental Health. Both positions were focused on program evaluation, quality improvement, data analysis, and reporting.
Most recently, Valerie held a non-tenure track position as a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Vermont’s Center on Disability and Community Inclusion. There, Valerie worked on a number of interdisciplinary research and evaluation projects, primarily focused on using research and evaluation methods to improve the child welfare and public education systems in Vermont. Valerie’s applied expertise in interdisciplinary program evaluation and research methods, as well as her experience working in Vermont state government systems, makes her a great fit for her role at Building Bright Futures.
Valerie lives in Colchester with her husband, James, their two children, Jessica and Justin, and a variety of four-legged family members. When she isn’t working on improving Vermont’s early childhood system, Valerie enjoys spending time with friends playing board games with friends, curling up with a good book, watching a good movie, trying new recipes, and enjoying Vermont’s hiking and biking trails.
