Valerie is excited to join the TASOK community this fall with her husband and two children in grades 4 and 6. She is the daughter of two public school educators and a strong supporter of the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum at all grade levels, having seen the impact of an early IB education on her own two children. 

Valerie is a long-time workforce development professional and advisor to innovative start-ups in the field. She has built career pathway programs for underserved communities in New York City, established life-long learning initiatives for essential workers in the healthcare industry, and scaled job-quality partnerships with employers ranging from Starbucks to small businesses.  She is the former Chief Innovation Officer at WorkLife Partnership and a current advisor.

For the past two years, Valerie’s family has been living in Baku, Azerbaijan where her husband, Jonathan Manto, serves as the Medical Provider for the U.S. Embassy. Shee will assume this position in Kinshasa after Dr. Barker’s departure.

Valerie is looking forward to her family’s time in Kinshasa and at TASOK – a school once described to her as “legendary” by a long-time U.S. State Department employee.  She hopes to share her love of dance, music, outdoor adventure and cultural exchange with the community.