Liz Valade - Owner, MLBPA Certified Agent, Draft Advisor

I grew up 30 minutes from Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame so I have been a lifelong baseball fan. I started my journey as a two-sport college athlete with a double major in Athletic Training and Allied Health Science at Bridgewater College a Division III school in Virginia. As a New Yorker who was living in Virginia when 9/11 occurred, I took the attack personally. I enlisted in the Army in October 2001. I worked as an Intelligence Analyst for 6 years before receiving a Direct Commission and becoming an officer. I spent the last 13 years as an Information Operations and Special Programs Planner for multiple Special Operations Units. I was medically retired after completing 13 combat deployments. During my career, I managed teams of up to 50 people and contracts of up to $2 billion.

After retiring from the Army, I attended Southern New Hampshire University and earned a Master of Sports Management. I also worked as a Department of Defense civilian for 3 years while earning my degree. In this role, I specialized in Countering Improvised Explosive Devices and Drones. My final job before retiring was instructing students on how to fly commercial drones.

I completed Master of Business Administration and Master of Science in Entrepreneurship at Syracuse University. To hear about my journey in my own words, you can listen to the Athletes to Entrepreneurs podcast episode where I discuss how I went from a small-town kid to an agent. I also have been featured on the Get Authentic with Marques Ogden podcast where I discuss my journey from the Department of Defense to the fulfilling world of representing baseball players is a testament to her determination and love for the game.

I have been a panelist at the VETS Indexes Employing U.S. Vets Spring 2024 Conference speaking on the topic of Leveraging Military Leaders: How Veterans on Your Board and in Your C-Suite Can Improve Corporate Governance.

I also volunteer as the Command Officer in Charge and as a Board Member of K9 Kavalry, a non-profit organization that provides free service dog training to service-connected veterans specific to their needs.