Valerie Donaldson

Valerie Donaldson is a vocational and substance abuse counselor whose combined experience in theater and mental health have informed her professional expertise in human behavior and community building. She earned her Master’s Degree in Adult Education at Fordham University, Lincoln Center, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology with a Minor in Theatre and Black Studies from Lehman College. She also currently serves as the Creative Director on the Board of TGD Theatre Productions, Inc.

Valerie began her career in mental health at the Fordham-Tremont Community Mental Health Center, where she participated in the Family Therapy Training Program while working toward her Associate’s Degree from Bronx Community College.  There, she learned the importance of engaging family systems through the four types of learning: visual, auditory, kinesthetic and reading/writing(doing).  

Throughout her career, Valerie has combined her two great passions: helping others and theater arts. While at Lehman college she fell onto the stage and “caught the acting bug,” which led to winning acting competitions and moving into a leadership position as a director. She has since been fortunate enough to have worked with many talented individuals in the world of theatre and performing arts. 

Valerie believes in living life in gratitude, and believes that everyone deserves to be heard and to be seen. She brings a positive, inspiring, creative, resourceful and dependable outlook to her work with everyone at The Dorm. 

On a personal note, Valerie was born and raised in New York, hailing from the Bronx and currently residing in Lower Manhattan. (Fun fact: the only borough she hasn’t lived in is Staten Island!)  She is an ardent fan of travel, clean eating and all movie genres.