In March 2004, Valerie competed in the International Society of Poets Convention and Symposium in Orlando, Florida. Th ere she met poets from around the worldAfrica, Canada, South America, London, and India.

Valerie Miles Washington-Johnson was born in Friars Point, Mississippi, on August 6, 1953. She attended Coahoma Junior College in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and graduated in 1973. After junior college, Valerie attended Alcorn State University in Lorman, Mississippi, where she earned a BS degree in special education in 1975. Presently, Ms. Washington teaches students with special needs in El Paso, Texas, for EPISD. In 1993, Ms. Washington was awarded as the EPISD elementary teacher of the year. Teaching is her profession, but writing poetry is her passion! She has been writing poetry ever since she was a teenager. She has published some of her poetry in anthologies since 1982.