Valerie McCloud - Founder, Foxfire Consulting

Valerie McCloud is the founder of Foxfire Consulting — and at her core, she is a guide for people and organizations learning to navigate change with clarity, resilience, and compassion. With over 25 years of experience across government, nonprofits, and the private sector, she believes that successful transformation isn’t just about shifting processes or structures; it’s about strengthening the people who make those systems come alive.

Valerie's work blends organizational change management with the deeper human skills of emotional intelligence, mindfulness, resilience-building, and well-being. She helps leaders and teams move from overwhelmed to anchored, from resistant to engaged, from “just surviving” to finding new ways to thrive — even in uncertainty.

Valerie has worked in just about every type of organizational environment — hierarchical, matrixed, fast-paced, slow-moving, structured, chaotic — and she meets people exactly where they are. She’s known for her warm presence, her ability to make complex change feel doable, and her gift for creating spaces where people feel safe to speak, explore, and collaborate. Whether she’s working with executive leadership, frontline employees, elected officials, or cross-functional teams, her goal is the same: build trust, spark connection, and help people work toward something meaningful together. 

Her professional background is both broad and deep. In the private sector, she’s led change management initiatives, facilitated strategic shifts, supported Agile and Waterfall project teams, and coached leaders through high-stakes transitions. In the public sector, her work has spanned strategic planning, facilitation, legislative analysis, budget and performance improvement, organizational development, and strengthening systems that serve communities.  She has also partnered with nonprofits to support mission-driven teams as they evolve and grow.

Valerie brings a rich blend of credentials to her work — she holds a Business Management degree with a minor in Spanish and is certified in Prosci® Change Management, Emotional Intelligence, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Project Management (PMP), Agile (ACP), and is a JTM Certified Coach. She’s also a graduate of leadership programs including the Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute for Women, the MBE Executive Management Program, and the MBE Leadership Academy.

But what truly shapes her approach is who she is as a person. Valerie is a certified yoga instructor (RYT200), lifelong mindfulness practitioner, and someone who believes deeply in the power of everyday resilience. She blends evidence-based practices with soulful wisdom, helping people reconnect to their calm, their clarity, and their inner steadiness — especially during times of change.

She’s a lifelong learner, spiritual explorer, and joyful adventurer who finds beauty in community, good conversation, and purpose-driven work. And when she’s not coaching leaders or facilitating transformation, you can probably find her hunting treasures in a consignment shop, laughing with friends, or dreaming up new ways to bring people together.