Valerie Black, Esq., General Counsel and Legal Policy Researcher has experience in the private and public sector along with a background in Marine Sciences. Born and raised in Southern California, Valerie received her bachelor's degree from the University of California, Los Angeles where she studied agricultural run-off in Moorea, French Polynesia. Valerie also conducted field research in Bamfield, British Columbia, Catalina Island, and along the coast of California and Oregon.

Valerie received her juris doctorate at the Southern University Law Center. As a student she was awarded a fellowship at the Ocean Conservancy, was a Mickey Leland Fellowship at the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality and interned with the Department of Natural Resources. Valerie went on to be the Director of Child Care Background Checks at the Louisiana Department of Education, eventually taking on the role of Chief of Staff for the Office of Early Childhood. She is also experienced in private practice law, with over six years of experience handling complex matters of law including property law, drainage issues, and environmental law.