About

Hi, I'm Valary. I am one part artist, one part geek, and 100% committed to finding ways to help people develop and deliver more engaging and effective learning experiences.

Little did I know growing up that one of my super powers was hidden in plain sight, right in my name. Once I realized that I was Valary with a WHY at the end rather than just Valary with a Y at the end, it all became clear. I found that curiosity can be contagious and that I can use my passion for learning and ability to translate complex ideas to grow others' curiosity and get them to say WHY NOT try things a new way. 

I am a sought-after keynote speaker, workshop facilitator, and strategist who focuses on using gameful experiences, deliberate creativity, and technology to help learners wherever they are physically and in their learning journey. I have been called the maven of new thinking and MacGyver of training because of my quirky and innovative approaches that help translate and distill complex information into simple, digestible nuggets.

In order to stay connected with the needs and challenges of various learning constituencies and serve the learning professionals community at large, I volunteer my time to serve on the board of the USDLA (United States Distance Learning Association) where I am currently the Chair of the Advisory Board.

Throughout all of these endeavors, I am assisted by my cat and bunny who are lousy typists but great at shredding papers.

Past Appearances

A MAP to the Next Normal, Keynote for TxDLA 2021 Virtual Conference - April 2021
Virtual Space Hero podcast - March 2021
GamiCon21 Virtual - February 2021 
Engagement Escalation - Deepening Your ID Skills, Learning Guild - February 2021
Hack Your BOX for Creative Confidence - January 2021
IFWE, an event sponsored by USDLA - December 2 and 3 
Start with a GAME Plan End with Results, an event sponsored by The Learning Gym - November 23
What is Your GAME Plan, an event sponsored by Koru Consulting - November 18
NDLA -  November 12
Global eLearning Conference =  November 10
AECT Conference -  November 3
Delaware County Community College -  October 28
FunConf -  October 17
GamiCon -  October 12
USDLA - July 21-24 - Syllabus Resuscitation: Revive Your Course Using Gamification
ATDCFL - July 14 - MacGyver Your Training & Create Raving Fans
Serious Play - June 23-25 - Gamification Cheat Codes: Strategies That Achieved Winning Results
The Catalyst (Online) - What Is Your GAME Plan for Gamification?
Learning with Belvista Studios (Online) - Gamification and Learning
Training 2020 (Orlando) - Start with the GAME Plan and End with Results
WELLFITANDFED (Online) - How to use gamification to get to your wellness goals
PLTG 2020 (New York) - MacGyver Your Training and Create Raving Fans
AECT 2019 (Las Vegas)
TechLearn 2019 (New Orleans)
GamiCon 2019 (New Orleans)
Serious Play 2019 (Montreal and Orlando)
TLDCasts 2019 (Online)
USDLA National Conference 2019 (Nashville)
IFWE - International Forum for Women in E-learning 2018 (San Antonio)
NDLW - National Distance Learning Week 2018 (Online)
GamiCon 2018 (Chicago)
eLearning Chatter's Dialogues Series 2018 (Online)
OLC Innovate 2018 (Nashville)
PLTG - Professional Legal Trainers Group 2018 (New York)

Video and Podcasts

I chatted with Monica Cornetti on Gamification Talk Radio. Hear a little about the project that inspired 4 Cs to an A+ Learning Experience that I presented at GamiCon.

Many giggles and ideas were shared between host Rob Alvarez and I during this episode of Professor Game where we talked about wins, failures, favorite games and resources, and more.

While you can catch videos of my across social media, I did a special challenge to share dozens of gameful ideas in what became the 40 Gameful Days of Summer.