Valerie is an interior designer with a background in workplace and healthcare design. She uses mainly qualitative and ethnographic methods to explore the transactional nature of relationships between environments (built, natural and socially constructed) and behaviour. With a particular interest in how design can promote and enhance health, wellbeing and community cohesion her research also explores how design methods and tools can help engage local communities and facilitate creative knowledge exchange.

Over the past few years Valerie has been working closely with health services, local councils and third sector groups to explore the challenges associated with engaging patients and citizens in co-creating accessible and appropriate public services. She has also facilitated workshops with small businesses, local communities and schools focusing on redesign of specific environments to enhance health and wellbeing.