Areas of expertise: Diversity, equity, inclusion, hate crimes, strategic planning, anti-racism/anti-oppression, implicit bias
Current role: Principal Consultant – Intercultural Interactions Inc.
The Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion named Dr. Pruegger the 2019 Western Diversity and Inclusion Practitioner of the Year. She spearheaded signing on to the Canadian Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism and Discrimination (CCMARD) for The City of Calgary and led its development of a Welcoming Community Policy and Framework. She was the Director of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Protected Disclosure at the University of Calgary (2014-2019) and has served as: Past President of the Alberta Association for Multicultural Education; a member of the Alberta Hate Crimes Committee; a member of the Calgary Diversity and Inclusion Network; and Vice Chair of the Inclusion Network for Canadian Research Universities. In 2017 the Black community in Calgary recognized her work on anti-racism with an Obsidian Award, and in 2018 the Faculty of Arts at the University of Calgary awarded her with the Celebrated Alumni award in honor of her career achievements. As a consultant, Valerie works with government, academic, voluntary and private sector organizations on developing diversity, equity and inclusion strategic plans and facilitating DEI and anti-racism/anti-oppression training.