Presenter Bio - Valerie Nettleton

Valerie Nettleton currently serves as the Executive Director for Student Engagement at Middlebury College where her work centers on helping student organizations operate effectively while balancing institutional priorities, risk management considerations, and student development outcomes.

With nearly two decades of experience in higher education, student engagement, and leadership development, Valerie has dedicated her career to creating meaningful co-curricular experiences that empower students, strengthen campus communities, and advance institutional goals. Currently serving as the Executive Director for Student Engagement at Middlebury College, she provides strategic leadership for student involvement initiatives, student organizations, club sports, new student orientation, leadership development, and engagement opportunities that foster student success and belonging.

Valerie has held progressively responsible leadership roles at Middlebury since 2019. In these positions, she has led efforts to enhance student organization support structures, improve policy and procedure practices, develop leadership education programs, and strengthen partnerships across institutional stakeholders. Her work centers on helping student organizations operate effectively while balancing institutional priorities, risk management considerations, and student development outcomes.

Before joining Middlebury, Valerie served as a Student Affairs Advisor at West Coast University in Los Angeles and spent more than three years at Indiana University, where she worked directly with student organizations as Senior Assistant Director for Student Organizations. These experiences provided her with extensive expertise in student organization advising, governance, leadership training, recognition processes, event planning, policy implementation, and student engagement strategy at large and small institutions alike.

Valerie's professional foundation is grounded in counseling and student development. Earlier in her career, she worked as a school counselor for Lebanon Public Schools and as an Event and Program Manager for Seabury, experiences that continue to inform her student-centered approach to leadership and engagement. She earned a Master of Science in Counseling from Central Connecticut State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Developmental Psychology from Keene State College.

A former student leader herself, Valerie relies on this firsthand experience, combined with her extensive professional background, to give her a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing student organizations today. As a presenter, Valerie shares practical insights and actionable strategies for building sustainable student organization systems that support both student leadership and institutional effectiveness.