Member Bio

With an MS in Agriculture, Valarie Morris became a research chemist at Sunkist Growers in California, where she raised her daughter. Enjoying lab report writing more than working around toxic chemicals, she happily discovered the new field of technical writing. Valarie began that career as an independent contractor, mainly in the tech industry, 40+ years ago. A Holocaust survivor from Paris, her mother started Valarie on the accordion at age 5. After playing 4 other instruments, Valarie decided to become a composer and got her MA in Music Composition at Mills College in her late 30s. An older student, she made the most of opportunities in Mills’ contemporary music and creative writing programs. Sandscape Publications, her music publishing company, sells Valarie’s compositions at SandscapeShop.com. Music stores in all states and in Canada have sold her music, and many festivals have selected her music for performances. Sometimes she combines words with music and during the pandemic wrote lots of poetry. Valarie has over 370 music titles, from solos to orchestral works. In Santa Fe, she opened her current technical writing company arroyowriting.com. Valarie enjoys learning Spanish and teaches ESL as a Literacy Volunteer. Her activism stems from the 70s when she and others in a consciousness-raising group restored Project Sister, a rape crisis center. Her focus now is to help make the world a better place for her granddaughter, 2 step-granddaughters, and future generations. Last November, Valarie produced ¡Time for Affirmative Consent! with 30 performers (music, theatre, dance, poetry, videos) to raise money for 4 nonprofits providing services related to violence against girls and women. In January 2024, she completed the Firearm Violence Language Project to bridge gaps in understandings and help reduce firearm injuries and deaths. Valarie looks forward to upcoming performances of Voices of Shekhinah: Four Illuminations and her other works.