“I have had the pleasure of working with Valerie multiple times since 2007. Enthusiastic, adaptable and kind, Valerie thrives as a manager in collaborative team settings. She is able to work with many different personalities while simultaneously managing multiple complex projects, external artists and vendors. She is a strong mentor, always creating an inspiring, fun and professional work environment.
As a highly conceptual thinker, Valerie brings innovation as well as best practices to the design process. From the initial concept through the production stage, she ensures that her designs are on-brand while working within logistical constraints. Valerie would be an incredible asset to any organization.”
— Susanna Ko, Creative Director at Galison/Mudpuppy
“Valerie is an immensely talented designer and art director who I’ve had the privilege of working with twice in my professional career. Knowing her as a manager and as a peer, her intuitive approach to design has never ceased to amaze me. She brings a high level of creativity and curiosity to every project, team, and/or challenge. Her energy and positive attitude makes her a very effective and inspiring team leader. She is highly organized, versatile, and would be an amazing asset to any creative team!”
— Chelsey Culmann, Art Director at Galison
“Valerie has spunk for days, and (to the delight of all who know her) said spunk cannot be contained. Whether it’s a project to solve, skill to master, inspiration to to track down, office birthday party to plan, or design to perfect — she is unstoppable in her enthusiasm and ever-expanding skillset to make it happen, and have a ball in the process. I count myself very lucky to have worked alongside her at 3 different companies over the past 7 years. The joy she exudes, and the unstoppable team spirit she embodies make her the ultimate in my book!”
“Valerie is an incredibly talented designer and an absolute pleasure to work with. Her contagious creativity and curiosity make her an inspiring contributor to any group, a great mentor for younger designers, and a very effective team leader. She is very organized, and tackles even the most challenging projects with a positive attitude and great enthusiasm. She knows how to manage her (and other’s) time, and her many years of design experience and knowledge of production as well as a keen understanding of her customers consistently result in great design. She is very versatile, and always bursting with ideas. She is also one of the kindest people I know, and I consider myself very lucky I got to work with her twice!”
— Stefanie Lynen, Founder & CEO at Winter Water Factory
“Valerie is a highly skilled designer. She is extremely creative and very organized. As my manager she taught me a plethora of design skills. I appreciated her positive attitude and incredible work ethic. She would be an asset to any company seeking outstanding design work!”
— Pilar Diehl, Graphic Designer at Galison
“Valerie is a design superstar. Always positive and up to the challenge, she brings a strong level of creativity to every project, and isn’t fazed by tight deadlines.”
— Carly Blake, Art Director
“Working with Valerie Courtney is like working with a whirlwind - but in a great wonderful way. She brought so much energy, talent and experience to her job. She made a great design partner here at Bloom and gave much imagination and ideas on on how to form this new workflow. She worked extremely well with my production staff and was great to work with, all while on-boarding new designers to our specific workflow. I hope our paths cross again and I look forward to future collaborations.”
— Kathy Molinaro, Production Director
“Valerie is a wonderfully talented designer and such a joy to work with. She is highly imaginative and is able to execute her ideas beautifully. Valerie’s approach to design is insightful and energetic. She is also a very talented writer. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Valerie on the Crafts team at Martha Stewart Living, and at Bloom Stationers.”
— Amy Gorrek, Designer/ Creative Strategist
“Working with Valerie is not only a pleasure but she is a great designer who uses her knowledge of production to only enhance her designs. She works well as a team player but also brings her own contributions to a project. We worked on a challenging project where she had to design cards that were interactive on the web and the colors and font choices could be changed by the customer. The cards were not only designed beautifully as one design but they worked using several color themes and fonts. Valerie is extremely knowledgeable, articulate and personable. I highly recommend her.”
— Karen Williams, Production Design
“Valerie is a great designer to work with. She gives clear and intuitive direction and produces beautiful and unique designs.”
— Jeanine Colgan, Production Artist
“I first worked with Valerie when she was recently out of school. Unlike most recent graduates who think they know everything, Valerie had an intense inquisitiveness that pushes her to learn everything. I was amazed at how quickly she picked up new knowledge and applied them to her craft. She is a natural designer and it shows in everything she does. I’ve worked with a lot of highly talented designers in my years; but Valerie’s design sense is a defining attribute of the new generation of design professionals. She ranges from delightfully whimsical to regally formal. Above all, Valerie is one of the sweetest individual I’ve ever worked with. Working with her has been a true privilege.”
— John Shum, Design Technologist
“Having worked with Valerie from the time she graduated, through her tenure as Associate Crafts Designer, I have always been impressed by Valerie’s fearless approach to design. Valerie shares her thoughts and concepts without hesitation and is equally open to feedback and working towards the best solution to any design assignment. It has truly been a pleasure working with Valerie, and I hope that we will work together again soon.”
— Susanna Ko, Creative Director
“In her two and a half years with 826NYC, Valerie has volunteered more than 100 hours of her time across a wide variety of programs. From weekly tutoring in Park Slope, to leading workshops, to designing student publications, Valerie has impacted the lives of countless students and made a huge difference in the work we do here at 826NYC. Most recently, Valerie has worked alongside 826 staff and students to design a poster detailing our commitment to openness and inclusion which will soon hang in all of our permanent sites, and has successfully guided eight-year-old Noah towards completing many hours of writing and math-based games – no small feat! We are as lucky as ever to have Valerie, so thank you and congratulations on becoming our first two-time Volunteer of the Month winner!”
— Liz Levine, Volunteer & Programs Coordinator
“I love love love your work that you did for my company. I get excited every day when I look at my logo design. It is super inspiring!”
