Valerie Hannon is a Board Director of the Innovation Unit, London UK, which works internationally to promote innovation in the public services. She has been an adviser to the UK government on education and creativity. Valerie was a member of the National Advisory Committee on Creativity and Cultural Education (NACCCE) which produced the influential All Our Futures report. Previously, Valerie was Director of Education for Derbyshire County Council. She has worked in a broad range of UK local authorities, and was an advisor to the Local Government Association. Before joining local government, she was a Senior Research Fellow in the University of Sheffield and led on education policy for the UK Equal Opportunities Commission. She began her career teaching in secondary schools in London.

Valerie is a founding member of the Global Education Leaders Program, within which she is the supporting consultant to Finland. She also works on the Learning Futures program focused on innovation in learning designs. She is a regular contributor to events and in programs across the world, working in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the US and Europe. She is a consultant adviser to the OECD. In the UK she is also a Trustee of two organizations working in the field of creativity and learning.