Val was raised and did all her schooling in Maine, then became a traveling physical therapist right out of graduate school. She has lived and worked in Maine, Texas, New Mexico, California, and Alaska, but now calls Alaska her forever home. She has experience in acute care hospitals, long-term acute care hospitals, outpatient clinics, skilled nursing facilities, and home health care. She lives in Anchorage with her husband and their lab-akita mix, Ida. Being outside on the trails and in the mountains makes her the most happy.