Elizabeth Valente: Communication is the Key to Identifying Issues

To help engage Samuel Merritt College (SMC) and the broader community in the latest news about curriculum, clinics, faculty research and innovative teaching practices, the college has hired Elizabeth Valente as the Associate Director of Publications and Media Relations, Office of the President.

For the past ten years Valente, an award-winning broadcast journalist, reported in and around the Central Coast and Bay Area, most recently in Sacramento County. She worked for local CBS and FOX affiliates covering news topics including gang violence in Monterey County, wildfires in the Santa Cruz mountains, high waves along the coastline of Pacifica and medical lawsuits in Sacramento. Prior to that, Valente worked in San Francisco for CNN and Ziff Davis Television as a field producer.

As a print journalist, Valente has worked with local newspaper media such as Monterey County Herald, San Francisco Chronicle and Sacramento Bee. Valente has garnered several broadcast journalism awards including an Emmy in 2006 recognized by The National Academy Of Television Arts & Sciences, Northern California and an Associated Press Television-Radio Association of California and Nevada Award in 2004.

Valente’s portfolio as an independent media consultant also includes giving to the broader community. She has provided media training for various organizations including the Presidio of Monterey, South Bay colleges, and Sacramento County Meals on Wheels Program, to name a few.

Born in Vicenza, Italy, raised on military bases in Germany, England, Belgium and France, Valente says her upbringing has helped her become a more effective communicator to inform others about people, places and world issues. Valente is a graduate of San Francisco State University with a degree in Broadcast Journalism, including a year in international relations from the University of London.

Welcome, Elizabeth, to your new ‘assignment.’

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