Valerie has been at the University of Montana for 17 years where she serves as Program Director of the Masters in Athletic Training Program and as Director of the Montana Youth Sports Safety Institute. She has been a certified athletic trainer for 26 years and assists with providing athletic training services to youth hockey athletes in the Missoula community. She has served as Vice President, President and Governmental Affairs Chair of the Montana Athletic Trainers’ Association and currently serves as Secretary. She serves on numerous committees at the local, regional and national level and is active in researching interdisciplinary care models in concussion management, emergency preparedness and sports safety in high school and youth athletics in Montana, as well as injury prevention strategies in Wild Land Fire Fighters. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two children playing ice hockey, running, hiking, and fly-fishing.