Meet Valerie

Founder, CEO, Talent Strategist, Award Winning Author and Inspirational Speaker

Valerie Irick Rainford is more than an accomplished executive; she's a symbol of resilience and leadership. With over 30 years in financial services, Valerie has broken barriers and inspired countless professionals.

Trailblazer at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York: Valerie's remarkable career began at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where she became the youngest officer and the first African-American female Senior Vice President in Fed history.

Pioneer at JPMorgan Chase: During her 12-year tenure at JPMorgan Chase, particularly through the financial crisis, Valerie led transformative initiatives. Notably, her Advancing Black Leaders strategy boosted global black executive representation by over 50% in just three years.

Founder of Elloree Talent Strategies: Valerie now leverages her expertise at Elloree Talent Strategies, a consultancy firm dedicated to advancing equity and diverse talent.

Bestselling Author and Inspirational Speaker: Beyond consultancy, Valerie is a bestselling author and sought-after speaker on Success, Resilient Leadership, and Advancing Equity. Her personal blog, "In Search of Brighter Tomorrows", and her boutique publishing company, Elloree Press, further her mission and passion to inspire and empower emerging authors.

Valerie Irick Rainford's career is a testament to what can be achieved with vision and determination, making her an inspiring figure for aspiring leaders and advocates for inclusive and equitable leadership.

Profiled in Best-Selling Leadership Book

PROVOKE: How Leaders Shape the Future By Overcoming Fatal Human Flaws

Valerie Irick Rainford is one of three provocateurs profiled in this BESTSELLING leadership book by Geoff Tuff & Steven Goldbach.

The best leaders have conviction to act–even in the face of uncertainty–in order to “provoke” the future they desire. They are able to identify important inflection points earlier than others and then use actions to shape trends to their advantage rather wait for the change to arrive.

From the national bestselling authors who brought you Detonate: Why- and how- corporations must blow up best practices (and bring a beginner’s mind) to survive authors Geoff Tuff and Steven Goldbach explain why we act the way we do when faced with uncertainty and provide tools to do things differently. Rooted at the intersection between business and behavioral economics, Provoke is applicable to decisions in business, but also across many different aspects of the human experience, teaching people how to provoke as a mechanism to create a better future.