Valerie Kibler

Valerie J. Kibler, MJE, teaches at Harrisonburg (Va.) H.S., where she advises the print and online newspaper and the yearbook. She taught 10 years at Marion Senior High School where she began advising. She earned her B.A. from Virginia Tech in 1988 and her Master’s in Journalism Education from Kent State University in 2014. Kibler currently teaches the Advising Student Media course for Kent State’s online master’s program.

She was local chair for the 2009 and 2014 JEA/NSPA conventions in Washington, D.C. She currently serves as the JEA President and has been the State Director for Virginia as well as President and Treasurer of the Virginia Association of Journalism Teachers and Advisers. She was a NSPA board member for three years. Kibler helped begin jCamp and jDay in Virginia and helped found the JEA Partner Project to reach underserved regions. She was named the 2010 Dow Jones News Fund’s National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year and has received NSPA’s Pioneer Award, JEA’s Medal of Merit and Carl Towley Award, CSPA’s Gold Key Award, and SIPA’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Kibler was the initial writer of the leadership module for the JEA curriculum.