Valerie has a passion for nutrition in both health and disease, supporting her clients recovering from an eating disorder or disordered eating, and recreational and competitive sports. 

Her clinical experience is wide and includes critical care, specifically of the cardiac, neurology and general surgery units. She has worked in endocrinology, metabolic, as well as sports consulting for several running teams. 

Valerie enjoys teaching her clients about nutrition as it applies to their lives in search of optimal health and wellbeing.  She will simplify the science for you so that you are well informed, empowered, and confident in knowing that your nutrition is the best for you. As an individual with daily demands your needs are unique and should therefore be reflected in your daily diet and self-care and not dictated by a trending diet of the day.  

Valerie grew up in Dublin, Ireland.  As an avid runner she enjoyed success at the local and regional level until she was offered a running scholarship to the University of Kentucky.

Her training grounds were Dublin’s Phoenix Park which provided over 17000 acres of trails and the home of United States Embassy which was a regular sight along her 10 mile runs. During her mid-teens she joined Donore Harriers, where she was the first in a group of girls to join the last of a male-only running club in Ireland. Moving up through the ranks both in cross country and track, soon after high school she was offered a full athletic scholarship to the University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY where she went on to pursue her degrees and experienced great success at the collegiate and post-collegiate levels.

Phoenix Park in Dublin

Phoenix Park in Dublin

Valerie won three NCAA individual championships in the 5,000-meter run and was a member of the 1988 cross country NCAA national championship team. She is an eight-time All-American in cross country and track, won eight individual SEC championships, including 3,000m indoor, 5,000m indoor (twice), 3,000m outdoor (twice), 5,000m outdoor (twice) and cross-country.

Valerie was inducted into the University of Kentucky’s Hall of Fame (2010) and inducted into the SEC All-Time Women's Legends (2012). The SEC published an interview entitled "Born to Run" that you can read here.

Post-Collegiate Valerie continued to run professionally under the sponsorships of Nike International, Asics and Mizuno. She represented Ireland in the World Championships 1991, European Championships and Goodwill Games 1990. She ran her first marathon in 2002 (2:38) which qualified her for the US Olympic Trials in 2004.

While at the University of Kentucky, Valerie earned three degrees, BS in Nutrition and Dietetics, MS in Nutritional Biochemistry and a PhD in Nutritional Sciences followed by training as a Registered Dietitian and completion of an internship at Emory University Hospital, Atlanta.

Throughout her running career Valerie attributes much of her success not only to great coaching but to the ability to have trained injury-free. This was made possible, she believes, by appropriate nutrition.

Valerie uses her experience as an athlete to coach her patients through the difficult process to overcome eating disorders. Her professional life has included work at various hospitals, mainly in intensive care, putting her nutritional and athletic knowledge to use with cardiology, endocrinology and renal patients and athletes.