Valerie has over 40 years of real estate and planning experience as a consultant, real estate analyst and city planner. She has particular expertise in real estate market analysis for affordable housing, senior housing, retail, office and industrial developments.
Prior to forming Kretchmer Associates in 1985, she was an Assistant Vice President at VMS Realty Partners, a real estate syndication company, where she was responsible for acquisitions and due diligence market analysis for shopping centers, office buildings, apartment buildings and hotels across the country.
In addition, Valerie is active in numerous professional and civic organizations, including the Urban Land Institute, American Planning Association, Lambda Alpha International Land Economics Society, Illinois Housing Council, National Council of Housing Market Analysts, Affordable Assisted Living Coalition and the Metropolitan Planning Council of Chicago.
She served as a member of the Evanston Plan Commission for seven years and as a public member of the city’s Joint Review Board for a tax increment finance district.
Valerie graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Washington University in St. Louis with a B.A. in urban studies and the New York University Graduate School of Public Administration with a master’s degree in public administration (MPA) in urban policy analysis.