Valerie is a recovering attorney, Yale grad, pug lover, Springsteen fanatic, and Florida native living in New Orleans, Louisiana. Calm, cool, and collected is her mantra, and she is a natural-born leader that takes pride in motivating people, creating memorable milestones, and maintaining poise under pressure.

As a thought leader and industry expert in the event space, Valerie has made waves with her national speaking tour, the Sapphire Sessions, a specialized program for event planners and designers aimed at elevating event industry best practices for the beneFit of the greater good. As the CEO and creative director of Sapphire Events, she leads her team of producers and designers through her streamlined, consistent, and efFicient design and planning process to execute highly complex and multi-layered events around the country. She also founded and manages a sister company to Sapphire Events, known as Ruby and Pearl Events, to serve those clients in need of planning, design, and event management on a more approachable scale. As a mother, she balances running her business alongside raising her three young daughters, Ramona, Veronica, and Francesca, and she continually supports her husband in his pursuit of running a successful law practice at home.

Valerie is on a mission to improve the proFitability of creatives working in the event world. Talk to her about pricing, contracts, perfecting the design process, strategic relationship building and leading a team. She is an open book happy to share what efforts continue to bring Sapphire Events great success.