Founding The Data Lodge in 2019, Valerie is as committed to data literacy as it gets. With advisory services, train-the-trainer bootcamps, and a peer community, she is certifying the world’s first Data Literacy Program Leads. Previously, Valerie was a Gartner Research VP in the Chief Data Officer research team where she pioneered the Data Literacy research- including her innovative approach of developing “Information as a Second Language® (ISL)”. For this research, Valerie was awarded Gartner’s Top Thought Leadership Award in 2018. Valerie has more than 28 years of experience, including two decades in consulting and five years in telecommunications. Valerie holds a B.S. in Math from SUNY College at Buffalo and an M.S. in Applied Math and Operations Research from New Mexico State. She is based in the Sarasota, FL area with her husband Brian, and spends summers at the lodge in the Adirondacks Mountains in Brant Lake, New York.