We want to introduce you to Valerie, who has changed roles at Practus. She is trading her V.P. of Marketing hat for a newly created position: Chief Innovation & Strategy Officer. Having been a major force in Practus’ dramatic growth, Valerie’s operational expertise and strategic perspective are needed in this new role to ensure we stay focused on innovation, technology, and engaging systems that support and strengthen how we work and scale. Now take Six Minutes and get to know her!
1. Tell us about your career journey. How did you land at Practus?
I’ve always been drawn to complex environments where nothing quite fits together… yet. Over time, I realized my superpower is connecting dots between people, systems and strategy, and turning chaos into something scalable and elegant (at work, not at home – ask me about my animals sometime, haha). Practus was a natural landing spot because it’s not afraid to question the traditional model or rebuild it in a smarter way. Plus, they support me as a human.
(We won’t ask about home because we have seen that cat flying around in the background during Teams meetings)
Note from interviewee: For the record, said feline belongs to my daughter. I’m a devout dog person.
2. What about the Practus model serves you as a legal professional, and as a person?
Professionally, I get to innovate without being boxed in by “this is how we’ve always done it.” Personally, I get flexibility, autonomy, and the ability to do meaningful work without pretending that having a life outside of work is a myth. Practus understands that great ideas don’t happen when people are exhausted and constrained. As a full-time working mom of two small kids, I have a lot of chaos to manage and couldn’t imagine a more supportive work family.
3. What is your definition of professional success?
Success is building things that actually work and still work a year from now. It’s solving real problems, creating momentum, and making life easier for the people around you. Extra credit if it’s efficient, well-designed, and doesn’t require a 30-page manual. I get a lot of personal joy out of solving those puzzles. And real ones too, actually — I’m a bit of a puzzle nerd!
4. Sometimes our best quality is also the one that get us in tough situations. Tell us about your best quality and how it has mostly worked for you, except that one time …
I see patterns fast. Like, “three steps ahead while everyone’s still on step one” fast. Usually that’s a huge advantage. Occasionally, it means I forget to pause while others catch up, or I’ve already redesigned the system in my head before the meeting is over. It also means I often forget what I said because my brain is already onto the next idea or process. We often joke on calls that we should have been recording.
I’m learning to slow the rollout without slowing the vision. January is great for that – new year new you!
And the cat pouncing the in the background does nothing to slow your roll – just sayin’
5. When you’re not working at Practus, what’s keeping you busy? Any cool hobbies or hidden talents we don’t know about?
I’m usually running a small creative empire at home – interior design projects (I went to grad school for interior architecture and design), gardening experiments, themed dinner parties, family logistics, and managing my habit of collecting semi-wild (domestic) animals. I enjoy building systems in all forms, especially when they involve good food, good design, or both.
6. What would your colleagues be totally shocked (or mildly surprised) to find out about you? Do you kill at karaoke? Write political thrillers? Watch Star Trek (original) reruns?
I’m both extremely strategic and extremely aesthetic. I can map a tech roadmap and then argue passionately about lamp placement in the same conversation. Also, I’m far more organized than my calendar and inbox suggest. I do kill it at karaoke, but my husband wouldn’t agree…
And your go-to song? Also – with your aesthetic obsession – are you into feng shui?
Ella Langley’s “Weren’t for the Wind”, or I sing Lainey Wilson’s “Wildflowers and Wildhorses” as a duet with my daughter.
Honestly, I’m not much of a feng shui person… That’s a level of commitment I don’t have. Lets’ say I’m a ‘vibes’ person.
7. Picture yourself walking down the street. The world is your oyster and your theme song is …?
99 Red Balloons, hands down. It’s upbeat, a little quirky, and deceptively smart – exactly the kind of energy I like to bring. It reminds me that small ideas can have outsized impact, systems matter, and life (and work) is better when you don’t take yourself too seriously.
Hmm… it might be time to update my favorite song on my bio page!
No comment. But now that song is stuck in our heads.
8. If you had a bumper sticker that defines your basic philosophy for how you live your life, what would it say. And please don’t tell us, “If you can read this your too close.”
JUST GET THE PUPPY.
9. What would you do if you weren’t in legal technology?
I’d still be building—but probably spaces or products. Something at the intersection of design, strategy, and innovation. Different arena, same playbook. Although, I often joke about opening a children’s process-based art studio. Teaching kids to focus on (and enjoy) the process, rather than the outcome, is something I feel very passionate about.
Maybe my theme song should be something about ‘enjoying the ride’… but, man, I love 99 Red Balloons…
Have you ever sung that song at Karaoke (please say no)?
Plead the fifth.
