Valerie Martínez is an arts and humanities administrator, educator, consultant, writer, and collaborative artist. After a 23 year career in college/university teaching, Valerie has spent over 11 years directing large-scale community arts projects, first as Executive Director of Littleglobe and subsequently as Founding Director of Artful Life. She is currently the History and Literary Arts Program Director at the National Hispanic Cultural Center.  Valerie is also a consultant promoting best practices for community engagement by municipal agencies and non-profit organizations.  She is also a professional poet and collaborative artist.