“It is with great pleasure that I share with you my support for Sunshine Avenue and for the leadership and heartfelt dedication that Valerie Strong Knight lends in support of the field of corporate foundation and corporate social responsibility work.

When times call for strengthening and elevating the work of corporate foundations, Valerie offers broad experience with national level programs and promotions in the areas of CSR and marketing.

We have found her to be strongly competent in delivering well-defined and measurable results, which have proven to positively impact our stakeholders, including associates, nonprofit partner organizations, and our Board of Directors. In addition, she employs an innovative approach to structuring programs and partnerships that deliver ROI for both investor and recipient organizations.

We have found that Sunshine Avenue thrives on identifying and overcoming complex issues, and is likely to feel more like an inside peer than an
external advocate.”

-Lance Chrisman, Executive Director, WellPoint Foundation and Social
Responsibility

“Valerie Strong Knight is one of the most clever and energetic people I know. She spreads enthusiasm and belief for all she undertakes. We’ve worked together for more than a decade. In each project, she’s contributed creativity and intellect. She thinks with the right and left brain simultaneously and adds passion to the mix. Valerie would be one of the first people I’d call to generate new ideas and among an extremely short list of people I’d trust to execute any project.”

- Emily Kirkpatrick, Vice President, National Center for Family Literacy

“Valerie has a rare combination of a keen business sense and unbridled creativity. She has quick, deep insight into business and community issues; and then connects the dots between a variety of strategic approaches to create truly sustainable solutions. She doesn’t just solve for today; she creates for tomorrow. Her commitment to “doing good” is refreshing. You’ll work with Valerie because she is dedicated to achieving your goals. But you’ll also just want to be around her.”

- Bobbi Henson, Public Relations Director, Verizon Communications

“We could not have asked for, nor found, anyone better than Sunshine Avenue for our first social media venture. As the leader of a nonprofit that has great successes and intentions but relies on the hard work of a very small staff, I knew we had to find someone who could quickly grasp our needs and make moving mountains a breeze. From the outset, we have had the confidence to entrust our mission with Valerie Strong Knight and Sunshine Avenue, knowing that their work will bring the right kind of attention to our organization and help move us well into the 21st century. Thank you, Sunshine, for making us all look so good as we also advance our vision for women!”

- Candace O’Keefe-Mathis, CEO, the Foundation for Women’s Resources, helping advance women in leadership for more than 35 years.