Hi, I'm Valerie—
I help people and organizations figure out their next move when things get complicated.
After fourteen years working at the intersection of brand, strategic foresight, culture, and systems design, I've learned that durability needs two things— coherent systems at work, and personal well-being. I help with both, via:
Durable Projects - A systems and organizational design consultancy. Our work centers the human and structural systems inside organizations — how teams work, make decisions, communicate, and adapt.
Lazuli - A practice devoted to cultivating resilience, deepening self-awareness, and integrating transformative experiences.
A bit about how I got here
Over the years, I've applied my approach across diverse sectors: public health, tech, finance, social innovation, design, conservation, philanthropy, and creative strategy. Most of that work happened in moments when things were shifting faster than people could keep up. I began as a graphic designer, and that foundation is still one of my greatest strengths. Design taught me how to see the real problem, map the relationships around it, structure information so it makes sense, iterate until it does, and shape stories people resonate with. That discipline translates directly into organizational clarity. It helps me bridge worlds and communicate in ways that resonate with very different audiences.
Over time, I learned that systems collapse when they lack coherence, and people burn out when they lack internal stability. That realization drives my work today. I help leaders, teams, and individuals build the clarity and steadiness that make meaningful transformation possible, both within themselves and across their organizations.
“In the past, changing the self and changing the world were often regarded as separate endeavors and viewed in either-or terms. But in the story of the Great Turning, they are recognized as mutually reinforcing and essential to one another.”
-Joanna Macy & Chris Johnstone, Active Hope