Valerie is Southeast Texas born and raised and is a proud alumni of All Saints Episcopal School (c/o 2000), West Brook High School (c/o 2004), Rice University (c/o 2008), and Tulane University Law School School (c/o 2014). Before law school, she spent one year teaching English in rural France. She subsequently served two years as a Teach For America Corps Member in Northern California, where she taught seventh grade English as part of Teach For America’s mission to make excellent education equitable for all children and fought for an uncompromising belief in every child. Valerie’s advocacy skills also carry into her volunteer efforts in the Southeast Texas community, where she has served on the Boards of Directors of the Junior League of Beaumont, the Michelle M. Mehaffy Inn of Court, the Jefferson County Young Lawyers Association, and the Foundation for Southeast Texas.

Valerie’s experience as an attorney, a Teach For America Corps Member, and as a leader on various nonprofit boards has taught her that everyone’s time is valuable, words need to have the biggest impact with the fewest words possible, progress must be measurable, and innovation is important. Her innovative wins for the firm’s clients include: Valerie is also a fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation, the largest charitably founded bar foundation in the nation. Only 1/3 of 1% of Texas attorneys are invited, based on the attorney’s administration of justice and high professional standing among their peers. Valerie has been recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer Rising Star, a Thompson Reuters publication, in 2023-2024.