A third-generation Sikh American born and raised in Clovis, California, Valarie is a writer, filmmaker, and lecturer in religion and ethics. As a Harvard Presidential Scholar, she recently received her masters in theological studies at Harvard Divinity School. For more than five years, she created, wrote, produced, and developed the first feature-length documentary film on hate violence in post-9/11 America – Divided We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath.

The world premiere of Divided We Fall in September 2006 sent Valarie on a packed international speaking and screening tour which continues today. She has been invited as an authority on the subject at more than one hundred universities, colleges, and religious centers across the country. She has been featured in print, radio and television media including CNN, NPR, the BBC, and Frances Moore Lappe’s book You Have the Power: Choosing Courage in a Culture of Fear. The State of California recently presented Valarie with an official commendation recognizing her work as a scholar, activist, and storyteller.

Valarie presently serves as founding director of the Discrimination and National Security Initiative at the Harvard Pluralism Project. She presently studies civil rights law in post 9/11 America at Yale Law School.