Valerie Yvette Peterson
Executive Producer of
MLK “Keep Alive the Dream” Tribute
Valerie Yvette Peterson is an award-winning poet, playwright, author, nationally recognized inspirational speaker, and cultural storyteller with a career spanning more than four decades. A proud Portland native, Valerie has dedicated her life's work to celebrating Black history, preserving culture, amplifying voices, and empowering others through storytelling.
Valerie is the founder of PROJECT C.O.C.O.A. — Cultivating Our Courage, Overcoming Adversity- a public speaking, leadership development, and creative consulting company that helps individuals discover, develop, and confidently use the power of their own voice.
Her literary and creative work has been featured in the Los Angeles Poets Society, Moonstone Press, Sims Library of Poetry, AuthorHouse, and TBN/Trilogy Publishing, with national recognition from publications including the Atlanta Wire, Nashville Herald, New York Weekly, San Francisco Post, and Speakers Magazine.
Valerie has collaborated with the Poetry Society of New York's Advisory Council and served on the Fertile Ground Festival of New Work's GROW Award Panel, advocating for greater inclusion and visibility of BIPOC artists and storytellers. Her spoken-word work has also been featured on Portland's The Numberz 96.7 FM and streaming platforms.
In 2023, Valerie received the President Joseph R. Biden Lifetime Achievement Award for Community Service through the Shawn Fairs Leadership Experience Tour Academy.
Through storytelling, leadership, and creative expression, Valerie inspires people to speak their narrative with clarity, courage, authenticity, and purpose—transforming their stories into powerful tools for connection, growth, and change.