Valerie Uccellani is Senior Partner and Co-Owner of Global Learning Partners (GLP). She is also a shareholder and an original member of the Board of Directors. For over 35 years, Val has brought her expertise in learning assessment, design, and facilitation to organizations around the U.S. and in 19 countries of Latin America, Africa and Asia. She is highly skilled at fostering collaboration within and across organizations. She has had many opportunities to mentor others. Val has co-authored a number of GLP’s core offerings including Foundations of Dialogue Education (Learning-Centered Design), Evaluation by Design, Meetings Re-Imagined and Communicating through Difference. Val is adept at helping others stay true to the core principles of a learning-centered approach, while encouraging creativity to fit each unique context.
Val’s experiences, by region, include: Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Egypt, Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa; Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras; Bangladesh, India; Portugal, Spain, Italy; Urban and rural U.S.A.
Val is highly conversant in Spanish.
A Small Sample of Val’s Recent Experience, by Sector
Animal Welfare
Access to Vet Care (AVC) is an ubiquitous challenge that deeply affects the well-being of pets and the people who love them. Over many years, Val has worked with AVC leaders in urban and rural communities to exchange insights and maximize the impact of their collective efforts.
ASPCA Right Horse is a collective of equine professionals and advocates working together to improve the lives of horses in transition. Val has teamed with Right Horse staff, adoption partners and industry partners to design and facilitate collaboration across their growing national network..
Race and Equity
National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) has built a number of equity initiatives for their members. Val has teamed with NRPA in a number of ways, including the development of an unprecedented Certificate program to build equity into agencies’ policies, programs and practices.
Village of Wisdom (VOW) does unprecedented work to close the academic opportunity gap by protecting the intellectual curiosity and positive racial self-concept of Black children through the love and wisdom of their families and communities. Val has led an ongoing collaboration with VOW to design a range of creative offerings for parents and educators.
Economic and Family Well-Being
US Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) hosts an innovative initiative to unify and strengthen Family Self-Sufficiency and Stability research efforts across the U.S. Over many years, Val has designed and facilitated networks of scholars dedicated to sharing and leveraging their research efforts.
El Pajaro Community Development Corp (EPCDC) is becoming a national model in their work to support and elevate Latinx entrepreneurs. Val has teamed with GLP/ EPCDC in a deep assessment of their current programming, and the creation/field testing/ refinement of a brand new program devoted to the success of Latinx business owners and community members.
Teamwork and Strategy
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Global team recognizes the impact that meetings have on culture and productivity. With Val’s leadership, GLP conducted a thorough discovery process that yielded a host of concrete recommendations and tools to strengthen the teams’ internal and external meetings.
Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners (NTFP) is a financial services innovator creating financial security for low wage workers. Over many years, GLP has been an advocate of NTFPs work. For example, Val has supported their leadership to reflect on their accomplishments, and set new, groundbreaking, strategic priorities.
Education
Val completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Virginia, as well as a study-abroad program in Madrid, Spain. Following a UNICEF Fellowship in Brazil, Val completed her Masters of Science in International Public Health.
Other Interests
Val is a member and dance performer in New Orleans’ Social Aid and Pleasure Club: The Disco Amigos. She is also celebrating nearly 25 years as a member of Shades of Praise, New Orleans’ inter-racial community gospel choir. Every summer, Val has been on staff at the Augusta Heritage Center – a welcoming space to celebrate and learn traditional arts and music of the United States.
What Clients Say
Val’s Work
Renovating an Entrepreneurial Readiness Program
El Pájaro Community Development Corporation (EPCDC) is a Community Development Financial Institution and a trusted resource in the Central California community. Their mission is to promote equal access to economic opportunity and transform people’s lives through entrepreneurship.
Documenting Stories of the Daily Struggles of Vulnerable Families
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) has been a leader in the fight for TANF reform. Their leaders have presented at national congressional hearings related to the necessity to reform the welfare system, with emphasis on the TANF Program.
Translating a Two-Day In-Person Event to a Series of Virtual Gatherings
Administration for Children & Families, Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation (ACF/OPRE) has worked with GLP over the last 5 years, allowing us to facilitate bi-annual gatherings of a national network of scholars who focus on research related to poverty and family stability in the U.S.
VAL’s Resources
That’s Just Good Teaching
Village of Wisdom (VOW) in Durham, NC has been a champion of social-emotional learning (SEL) of Black students in the K-12 system since 2014. They leverage the cultural strengths of Black families and parents to collaboratively design and create culturally affirming learning environments (CALES), so that children of color are successful in the classroom.
10 Tips for Making Decisions in the Workplace
Increasingly, organizations and companies see the value of having a thoughtful approach to making decisions.
6 Core Principles, Virtually!
Respect. Safety. Engagement. Inclusion. Relevance. Immediacy. These six core principles drive our work at Global Learning Partners (GLP).