Valerie Keyes was appointed Executive Director of the Canadian Forces Liaison Council in May 2008. She had previously served as General Manager, Policy Co-ordination and Communications at the Canadian Forces Housing Agency, and Deputy Director, Western Hemisphere Policy (Latin America and Caribbean Relations), Department of National Defence. Earlier positions included Team Leader for the Policy Group Resource Review, Special Advisor (Defence) to the Associate Deputy Minister of National Defence, and Deputy Director, Mineral and Metal Policy Branch at Natural Resources Canada. Born in Toronto and educated at St Clement's School, Toronto, and the Königin Luisen Stiftung in Berlin, Germany, she received her Honours Bachelor of Arts degree from Trinity College, University of Toronto before graduating from the War Studies programme at the Royal Military College of Canada with a Master of Arts in 1980, being both the first woman and the first Reservist to do so. Valerie joined the Canadian Forces Communications Reserves in 1975, and was commissioned as a Communications and Electrical Engineering Officer in 1976. She served in both part- and full-time positions, including Deputy Commanding Officer of the Communication Squadrons in Baden-Soellingen, Germany and in Edmonton, Alberta, and as Staff Officer Operations and Training at Command Headquarters in Ottawa. Upon leaving full-time military service in 1987, Valerie joined the Public Service as an Emergency Planning Officer at Public Works Canada, transferring to the Department of National Defence in 1990, as a Cabinet Liaison Officer. She then served as the Defence Policy Advisor in the Foreign and Defence Policy Secretariat of the Privy Council Office, from 1993 to 1995. From 1995 to 1997, she was the Special Adviser to the Adjutant General of the British Army on matters relating to peacekeeping policies and doctrine, as well as ethos and leadership. She rejoined the Policy Group of the Department of National Defence, responsible for humanitarian assistance operations and United Nations peacekeeping in the Middle East and Europe. Valerie was elected as the first woman President of the Royal Military Colleges Club of Canada in September, 1998 and later served as Treasurer of the RMC Foundation. She is a member of the Atlantic Council of Canada, the National Trust, English Heritage and the Prayer Book Society of Canada, and is a past President of the Canadian Centennial Choir in Ottawa.Operational Stress and Retention.
