Hello from LSA’s new Manager of Operations, Valerie Sipp

Hello! My name is Valerie Sipp and I am the new Manager of Operations here at Living Streets Alliance. I am a Tucsonan born and raised, having attended the University of Arizona before attending graduate school at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in New York City. It was there that I became interested in the way public and private spaces were designed to engage with people and how those interactions influenced the way a person moves throughout space, continuously or not. I have been a part of Tucson’s nonprofit community for more than five years, having previously worked at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson (MOCA Tucson) and the Rialto Theater.

I enjoy cooking for my friends and family, watching old movies, and collecting limited edition vinyl records. I also have a passion for inclusion, diversity, equity, and access (IDEA) work and social justice. It is my mission in life to uplift and speak up for communities that are underrepresented and overlooked. I believe that we all have a responsibility to actively combat, speak out, and act against the forces that are designed to keep certain populations of people oppressed and voiceless.

As a person who has spent most of her life living on Tucson’s east side, I have lived in an area where the streets are not designed with pedestrians in mind, and moving around safely in anything but a vehicle is difficult. Living Streets Alliance has been advocating to make the streets safe for all people for more than 10 years and I consider myself lucky to be a part of this organization and its mission!