The Woman Behind It All
Valerie Overton Howard is a life coach, motivational speaker, community leader, poet, producer, author and entrepreneur who has been featured in newspaper articles and other media outlets including Cleveland Magazine and channel 5 news for her book entitled, “It All Came Tumbling Down, Considerations on How to Deal with Grief, Trauma and Loss”. She was nominated as one of the most influential women in the Lorain County for her superb service to the community and her exceptional experience to advance youth from a place of disparity to an avenue of HOPE.
She is embellished with a passion to lead individuals to their purpose and destiny by teaching and by example. Mrs. Howard invests her time and energy into facilitating educational workshops and forums. She actively participated in initiatives such as “Drop the Guns,” “Bring Back Our Girls,” “Love on the Block,” other community rallies and joined community leaders in Washington, D.C. Her service to the community is enlightened by former and present supervisory roles she has held with several nonprofit organizations.
As one who understands how struggle can break the human spirit, Valerie Howard is keenly attuned to the most vulnerable members of urban communities. She is committed to equipping the economically and socially disadvantaged with the tools needed to persist beyond barriers imposed by poverty, addiction, family dysfunction, politics, suicide, and so much more. Out of everything that she accomplished to date, Mrs. Howard counts her greatest achievements as having her children call her blessed, knowing her name is reputable and being a reliable pillar in the community.
She is a recipient of the Trailblazer award from Black River Career Prep, the Lula Garrett First Lady Award, which was awarded by the Lorain Negro Business & Professional Women's Club Inc. and recipient of the Phi Rho Pi award for outstanding oratorical ability and poetic performance. At a young age, her undeniable potential made her opportunities limitless as she exemplified extreme leadership accomplishments in sports, academics and starting movements.
Mrs. Howard has been able to assist people by providing survival tools to overcome challenges related to mental health, poverty, unplanned pregnancy, family crisis, political barriers, drug/alcohol addictions, low self-esteem, and much more. She has designed many classes and workshops to inform the public of these challenges. Valerie Overton Howard started her own business and her mission is to empower and bring “information for consideration” along with starting her show called “Just Keeping It Real”. She is the CEO of a Non-profit business and has spearheaded a taskforce called, “Joining Forces to Save Lives,” through which she engages political leaders, police officials, mental health professionals, drug abuse counselors, faith leaders, and others to meet the overwhelming demands that mental illness, opioid dependency, suicide, and other life-altering issues have placed on systems of support since the emergence of the coronavirus.