Meet Valerie Wilson, our Regional Director for the Pacific Northwest! She works with districts to evaluate their specific communication needs to understand how ParentSquare can enhance parent engagement and communication in their school communities.
Where did you grow up?
On a lake in New Hampshire. Life was about waterskiing, tubing, jumping in the water, and hanging out on Oliver Island with friends and guitars. In the winters, we’d ski in the White Mountains quite a bit and go sledding on the Dartmouth College Golf Course. I love that a lot of kids in the area still do exactly those same activities.
Favorite family tradition?
Each year, to this day, I send my sons Valentine’s Day cards that list “Top 10 reasons why I love you THIS year!” They’ve kind of turned into little time capsules and mark big events in their lives (ie: “So proud of you for getting your brand new job at Tesla, Charlie!”) I love that they actually have held on to them and look forward to them. One year I wrote them out a few weeks later — and I really heard about it!
If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be?
My late dad. Best father on the planet. I was the youngest and the only daughter, and he was my best pal.
If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
I’d still love to travel to the Great Barrier Reef. I love, love, love snorkeling.
If you could be one fictional character, who would you be?
Amelia Bedelia. Does anyone even know who that is, in 2019? She was the one who introduced me into a world of hard, hard belly laughter — merely from reading a few pages of a book. She absolutely cracked me up, and I just wanted to BE her. Pippi Longstockings was a close runner up, but I thought sleeping with that hair and those braids would be a bit of a drag.
If you could dedicate your life to solving one problem, what would it be?
Solving school shootings. I believe it is the single worst issue of our generation, and I am stunned that the shootings have become so routine and tacitly accepted. The shock and awe factor is gone, and it drives me a little nuts.
What do you like about working at ParentSquare?
The spirit of ParentSquare employees is so strong; it’s my favorite part of the entire organization. As a lifelong educator and parent of 25 years, I feel entirely proud during my presentations to my clients. Our solution is authentic and game changing for schools and districts. The live-time language translation tool is a game changer when it comes to equity, and the pain points that we solve for districts? It’s rewarding to be a part of it. I presented to a team two weeks ago; they had listened to four other vendors that day. One Assistant Superintendent declared, at the end, “ParentSquare is the only one today who has quite literally checked off every single box on this list of must-haves and would-like-to-haves.”
Valerie has been at ParentSquare since May 20th, 2019.
