As the Director of Strategic Programing, Val leads all program planning and execution at Grace Farms, bringing dozens of programs to the public each year.
Prior to joining Grace Farms in 2025, Val was the Director of Programs for the National Archives Foundation, the official nonprofit partner of the National Archives and Records Administration. While at the Archives Foundation, Val worked across foundation and agency teams to manage civics education outreach, virtual and in-person public programs, as well as the annual Cokie Roberts Fellowship for Women’s History.
Prior to leading programs and engagement at the Archives Foundation, Val was the interim Associate Director for Budget and Program Planning and the Director of Curriculum at the Lou Frey Institute of Politics and Government at the University of Central Florida. For nearly 14 years, Val supported the Institute’s mission of promoting the development of enlightened, responsible, and actively engaged citizens through civic education professional development programming, K-12 curriculum development, strategic partnerships, grants management and budget oversight. Prior to joining the Lou Frey Institute, Val worked for a secondary school in Orlando, FL as an English Language Arts teacher and academic advisor.
Val earned her BA from Principia College and her MA in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Saint Joseph. Val is currently on the Board of Directors of the Bethel, CT Education Foundation and on the Advisory Committee for the Kid Governor program at Connecticut’s Old State House. She was also a board member of the CT Council for the Social Studies, on the executive committee of the Civics Renewal Network, as well as a member of the Teaching for Democracy Alliance and the iCivics Educator Network.
