Valerie Smith Boyd served as Assistant Secretary for International Affairs for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from October 2019 to November 2020. In this role, she was the chief diplomat for DHS international engagements and oversaw policy development for U.S. homeland security partnerships worldwide. Boyd previously served as acting Deputy Chief of Staff for DHS, where she was an advisor to Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan and managed policies related to international security and partnerships. Prior to that position, she worked on humanitarian and security efforts as the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Commissioner at U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

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From 2008 to 2016, Valerie served on the National Security Council staff, organizing the interagency policy process and managing briefing and decision materials for the President and the Cabinet. Earlier in her career, she was part of the small team that stood up DHS headquarters upon the signing of the Homeland Security Act of 2002. She represented the new department as a spokesperson from 2003 to 2005. Between public service, she has worked in corporate social responsibility.

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Currently, Valerie is Director of Partnership for Public Service's Center for Presidential Transition. She most recently worked at Zenith Global Partners, LLC.

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Valerie is from Southern California and resides in Washington, DC with her family. She holds a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and an M.A, in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.