Some
might say Valerie Venters has led a charmed life. She believes she
has never been treated as if she was stupid nor has she felt
discriminated against. In the late seventies, during a time when the
gender gap was making headlines, the engineers she worked for in the
pulp and paper division of Brown and Root in Houston took her under
their collective wing and mentored her. Valerie started there as a
project secretary, but her technical potential was already evident.
She had taken all the math courses offered at her high school and
still managed to graduate early. She has always been a go-getter and
she took to heart her father’s early advice to learn something from
every job. The generosity of the people she works for motivates her
to give her all, and that has been her modus operandi ever since.
One definition of luck is, “being ready when opportunity knocks.” If
you think Valerie is lucky, read on to see how she was ready.
After
working for several years, Valerie moved from administration into
project controls. She wanted to complete her education and enrolled
at LeTourneau University, where she earned her Bachelor of Science
degree in business management. It was a program geared toward
working adults, and Valerie learned a lot from her classmates in
addition to the formal curriculum. After graduating, Valerie worked
for several firms, honing her skills and continuing her education.
She earned a Masters of Business Administration from her alma mater,
LeTourneau, and earned her Certified Cost Consultant (CCC)
certification from AACE International right after that. Last year
she became a Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project
Management Institute.
But let us rewind a little bit, to learn about
her evolution within AACE International. Valerie joined the Houston
Gulf Coast Section during the 1997-1998 program year, and was
elected to the local board the very next year. It was a time of
upheaval in the Houston Gulf Coast section, when all but three board
members resigned and left the board. Valerie was elected Vice
President, then President, using her leadership opportunity and
skills to unify, motivate, and guide the new board in the
revitalization of the Houston Gulf Coast Section. With Jennifer
Bates, CCE, (who was entering office as President of AACE
International) as a role model, Valerie was confident that she could
make a positive contribution to the Section. AACE International and
the local Houston Gulf Coast Section are recognized and respected as
a resource for project controls professionals in the Houston area,
because of the teamwork of the strong local board and Valerie’s
ever-present enthusiasm and energy. She is justifiably proud of the
leadership she has provided the Houston Gulf Coast Section. Six
years ago, the section was struggling. Today it is flourishing.
Valerie first attended an AACE International Annual Meeting in
Calgary in 2000. In 2001, she joined the Certification Board, was
appointed Certification Board Chair in 2004 and was elected to AACE
International’s Board of Directors as Region 5 Director in 2005.
During her first year, she visited four of the sections in her
region, plans to visit another four during the coming year and has
helped form AACE International’s newest section, (Palo Duro Canyon,
located in the Texas panhandle). She has continued to assist the
Certification Board in paper grading and other special projects as
needed, and hopes to one day return as a member of the Certification
Board.
Valerie was recognized at the 50th Annual Meeting as the
Outstanding Regional Director, an honor bestowed at the conclusion
of her first year on the Board of Directors. Her spirit of
initiative is unflagging and has served her well. The higher office
one achieves, the less one receives a definitive job description or
specific goals. For some, this can be intimidating, but for
others—those who are ready to meet a challenge head-on—it can be
liberating. The way Valerie puts it, “You have to make it what you
want it to be.” She is doing just that.
Another contribution Valerie
has made to AACE International and the Houston Gulf Coast Section
was initiating and spearheading a local certification review and
training workshop series. She also teaches the workshop course on
cost and project management. The workshops have evolved into project
controls training for all those interested, regardless of their
certification goals. When in session, they meet once a week for
eight weeks, two hours at a time. This training is offered once a
year, and one year had as many as 65 people enroll, with 25
following through to the finish. The latest class had 30 people—18
of whom had fewer than eight years of experience in project
controls. The Houston Gulf Coast Section Board of Directors has
turned the social hour before the dinner meeting into a proactive
networking session, and offers local recruiters and employers the
chance to present current job opportunities to meeting attendees.
Using this networking opportunity, members are encouraged to attend
the training workshops and are directly exposed to the value of the
various AACE International certifications.
Despite the demands of
holding international office, Valerie has never stopped developing
either her home section or herself. When she was presented with a
business-to-business opportunity, she formed Venters Consulting,
LLC, in record time. She was looking to move from her old job when
she was extended an offer from a firm that requested her EIN
(Employer Identification Number) and her W-9 (IRS Request for
Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification). Valerie’s
response was, “Oh, okay. I’ll get that.” She had been contemplating
the idea of going into business for herself and had filed a DBA in
anticipation of that. But she wanted more. She determined that a
limited liability corporation (LLC) was the right path forward and
contacted her attorney. Three days later, LLC in hand and CPA on
call, Valerie was ready for business.
Venters Consulting, LLC is
focused on fulfilling its current contract, but Valerie would like
to eventually branch out into placing good qualified project
controls professionals in client offices. I can’t think of anyone
better suited to such a task. Valerie sits at the crossroads of many
opportunities and engages with each individual she comes into
contact with. She has a first-hand understanding of the kind of work
and caliber of staff needed in project controls. Just as the best
project managers have worked their way up the ladder through project
controls, Valerie will likely be a better recruiter of project
controls professionals for having done the same.
Has Valerie led a
charmed life? You may still think so. I’m sure you would agree that
she has worked hard, but many people who work hard don’t achieve
recognition. What sets Valerie apart is her accomplishments in
addition to working hard. She has continually improved her
abilities, she has earned credentials that demonstrate those
abilities, and she routinely helps those in her circle of influence
to do the same, all the while maintaining her down-to-earth
approachable style.
Lucky? I'll go ten rounds with the first
person who dismisses Valerie as just lucky, unless they first
stipulate that she was ready when opportunity knocked.
Some
might say Valerie Venters has led a charmed life. She believes she
has never been treated as if she was stupid nor has she felt
discriminated against. In the late seventies, during a time when the
gender gap was making headlines, the engineers she worked for in the
pulp and paper division of Brown and Root in Houston took her under
their collective wing and mentored her. Valerie started there as a
project secretary, but her technical potential was already evident.
She had taken all the math courses offered at her high school and
still managed to graduate early. She has always been a go-getter and
she took to heart her father’s early advice to learn something from
every job. The generosity of the people she works for motivates her
to give her all, and that has been her modus operandi ever since.
