Valerie Saxton Sharpe

Valerie Saxton Sharpe currently works as an educational consultant in the areas of cognitive disabilities, executive functioning, and teacher preparation. Val and Roberta Strosnider co-founded Project Boost, a program to help students use metacognitive strategies to boost their executive function skills. They wrote and co-taught a curriculum that provides executive function skill training for students K-12 by building skills through a 7-Step Model. The pair has trained teachers (preservice and in service) and administrators throughout the world to use the program. They currently co-direct the Institute on Executive Functioning to provide teachers methods, including the use of metacognitive strategies, to improve their students’ executive function growth.

An advocate for students with disabilities, Val has served as a national and state officer for the Council for Exceptional Children and its Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities (DADD). For her work with DADD, she received the Special Recognition Award. Additionally, she has served on the Board of Trustees for Service Coordination of Frederick County that assists individuals with developmental disabilities to obtain services. As a member of this Board, Val supported the implementation of transition and employment services for individuals with disabilities in Maryland.