Separate from my work in the field of technology, I connect to my community through history-related projects. I am a trained public historian and archivist who is a firm believer in the power of history as a tool for innovation on an individual and societal level.
I am forever grateful when someone decides to feature me in their article, podcast, blog, conference, or other platform. Below is a condensed list of some of my favorite speaking engagements and presentations.
Featured Videos

Watch me discuss my work with climate change, historic preservation, and Black American cemeteries with Fox Weather.

Learn about my life-changing journey to West Africa to connect with my ancestors. (I come in at 4:22.)
News Outlets
- Fox Weather. “Preserving Black History from Extreme Weather.” February 2022.
- Accuweather. “How Saving Cemeteries from Weather Impacts Preserves Black History.” February 2022.
- France 24. “West Africa: Meet the African-Americans Returning to the Continent.” (Feature story on birthright trip to West Africa.) February 2020.
- Valerie in Voyage Houston Magazine, February 2018.
- Valerie on Deborah Duncan’s “Great Day Houston” segment, December 2017. “Genealogy 101.”
- Valerie on Melanie Lawson’s “Crossroads” segment, November 2017. “A Look Inside the African American Oral History Project.”
- HCC TV Interview on Dialogue Houston, hosted by Larry Payne, September 2015.
- KCOH 92.9 Radio Interview on Interchange, hosted by Larry Payne, September 2015.
Podcasts
- Valerie on Dr. Lindsay Gary’s Decolonizing Real Estate Podcast, May 2023.
- Valerie on Schetauna Powell’s Afrofuturism in the AM Podcast, March 2022.
- Valerie on Dr. Lindsay Gary’s Gumbo Podcast, December 2020.
- Valerie on Michelle Ngome’s Networking with Michelle Podcast, July 2020.
- Valerie on Love No Limit Podcast, June 2018.
- Valerie on Geeks Without God Podcast, May 2018.
- Valerie on Mindshift Podcast, April 2018.
Digital & In-Person Events
- Rachel Cargle’s The Great Unlearn, August 2022. “Historical Black Enterprise.” Guest Expert.
- Rachel Cargle’s The Great Unlearn, May 2020. “America’s Birth Story.” Guest Expert.
- The AfroCommuniversity’s Planner Party, February 2020. Featured Speaker.
- NISD Girls’ Empowerment Banquet, May 2019. “Finding Power in the Past.” Keynote Speaker.
- PGAAMCC Sunday Scholar Brunch, February 2019. “Justice, Memory, & Sacred Grounds: Preservation & the Sugar Land 95.”
Workshops & Conferences
- Bishop-Grosseteste University (BGU), October 2021. Speaker, “Black Women as Educators & Social Activists.”
- Mid-America Arts Alliance (MAAA), September 2021. Speaker, “Stretch Your Operational Wings: Tools for Assertive Engagement.”
- Texas Historical Commission (THC), March 2021. Speaker, “Putting It On Paper: Incorporating MOUs into Your Community Engagement Plans.”
- Texas Historical Commission (THC), January 2021. Speaker, “Let’s Meet Halfway: Authentic Community Engagement for Local Museums.”
- American Association for the Study of State & Local History (AASLH), September 2020. Panelist, “Do the Right Thing: Community Engagement in Challenging Times.”
- United States Intellectual History Conference, October 2017. Opening Plenary Panelist.
- HISD Social Studies Teachers’ Staff Development Day, October 2017. “Azellia White and the Legacy of Black Women Aviators in Texas.”
- Texas Oral History Association Conference, April 2016. “From the Bottom Up: Discovering Community Activism Through Oral Histories”
- Texas Library Association Conference, March 2016. “Basics of Oral History” (Adrienne Cain, co-presenter)
- Duke University Graduate Student History Conference, 2012. “The Least of These: Courts, Delinquency, and the Virginia Industrial School for Colored Girls”
- Triangle African American History Colloquium Conference, 2012. “Autonomy, Black Girls, and Juvenile Justice in the Jim Crow South”
- North Carolina State University Graduate Student History Conference, 2012. “Citizenship and Gender at the Virginia Industrial School for Colored Girls”
- SSRC-Mellon Mays Summer Conference, 2011. “A Keen Sense of Responsibility: The NACW and Reform for Orphan Girls”
- Mellon Mays Regional Conference, 2007. “Building Their Own Pulpits: Women & Black Spiritualist Churches”
