Speaking & Consulting

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

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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”