Valerie Alexander

Valerie Alexander is a renowned expert on workplace happiness and a leading voice on equity and inclusion. As a globally-recognized speaker on the topics of happiness, the advancement of women, and unconscious bias, her keynotes and workshops have entertained, trained and inspired lawyers, artists, truck drivers, doctors, investment bankers, software developers, homemakers, CEOs and countless others around the world. She has spoken at hundreds companies, conferences and colleges on the topics of Happiness in the Workplace, the Advancement of Women, and Outsmarting Unconscious Bias, she has appeared on more than 100 talk shows, radio programs, podcasts and web summits as an expert in these areas, and she has spoken to rave reviews on advancement of women, happiness, and eliminating bias at some of the largest and most prestigious Real Estate conferences in America. Her books include: Happiness as a Second Language, Success as a Second Language, and How Women Can Succeed in the Workplace (Despite Having "Female Brains"), and she is the trademark holder of the phrase, "...as a Second Language" for all self-help and personal growth titles, under which she has published books on Parenting, Creativity, Grief and Mindfulness with several more in the pipeline. As a screenwriter, Valerie has worked with Joel Schumacher, Catherine Zeta Jones, Barry Sonnenfeld, Ice Cube, and others. She made her directing debut with the film Making the Cut, and has written, produced and directed more than 50 short films, commercials and PSAs, most notably the anti-bullying short, Ballpark Bullies, and the groundbreaking ad, Say I Do, in support of marriage equality. Prior to screenwriting, Valerie was a corporate securities lawyer with Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison LLP, where she was one of the lead attorneys on some of the largest IPOs of the Internet era, including E*TRADE. She was an investment banker with SG Cowen and the VP of Business Development for PixelWorld Networks and The CLIC. Valerie taught at U.C., Berkeley and the Berkeley Law School, and has her BA from Trinity University, her MS from U.C., Berkeley, and her JD from Berkeley Law. She also holds an Honors Certificate in the Science of Happiness from U.C., Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center. Valerie makes her home in Los Angeles, where she and her husband, writer/producer Rick Alexander, live with their ill-mannered German Shepherd, Vegas, Baby! You can reach Valerie at www.SpeakHappiness.com. There you can join her mailing list to get the weekly Happiness Newsletter, full of exciting news and videos guaranteed to make you feel happy.