Valerie Li

Accounting Professor
Board Secretary for the Carmel Valley Middle School Boosters

Valerie Li

The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on local schools is the catalyst that prompted Valerie Li to get involved with a non-profit organization. 

With students unable to go into the classroom, parent participation in many school programs declined in the first year of the pandemic. This included programs dedicated to art and music education. 

“The music program at the Carmel Valley Middle School (CVMS) is sponsored by the non-profit CVMS Music Boosters and it had been running well up until the 2020 - 21 school year,” said Li, a professor at the Charles W. Lamden School of Accountancy at the Fowler College of Business. “My daughter was in the school’s music program while she was in middle school, and in the spring of 2020, the Music Boosters were seeking new board members for the 2021 – 22 term. I was always looking for opportunities to serve the community, so I volunteered to serve on the board as their secretary to help rebuild the program.” 

Li, who ended her term as a board officer on August 10, has relinquished her seat to a current parent since her daughter graduated from the school this past spring. “Through the work of devoted instructors and dedicated parents, the CVMS Music Boosters is back up and running at full strength again,” she said. “It’s the continued support of the music boosters that makes it possible for the school to have a thriving musical education program. As I leave the board, I’m happy to see this legacy continue.”