Valentine Makhouleen

Valentine Makhouleen has extensive work experience in various design roles. In 2006, they founded New Media Studio, a design partner for science and technology companies. They worked with organizations such as Plume, Little Otter, and Medtronic, helping them achieve their objectives through design. They also founded, operated, and instructed at Freija, a company focused on personal growth and development.

Valentine joined Plume in 2020 as a Senior Product Designer and Design Lead, where they led a team in building a transgender and nonbinary telehealth practice. They spent two years developing the patient experience, brand, and scaling the practice. Additionally, they worked as a Product Designer on a contract basis at Plume from 2020 to 2021.

Prior to Plume, Valentine worked at ImpactMapper as the Design Lead and Product Designer. They conducted field research, developed business requirements, created interactive prototypes, visualized data, and built a comprehensive design system for the organization.

Valentine also worked at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and its subsidiary, Meta, as a Design Lead and Product Designer. They played a role in advancing human potential and promoting equality through these organizations, using artificial intelligence to unlock scientific knowledge and create powerful views of science and technology.

Earlier in their career, Valentine worked as a Senior Interactive Art Director at Mirum Agency and Ogilvy & Mather. They focused on ideation, art direction, and design for campaigns spanning various touchpoints, including websites, mobile interfaces, and outdoor interactive experiences. They collaborated with clients such as Huffington Post, Just for Laughs, and TD Canada Trust.

Valentine's work experience also includes collaborating with the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies on developing a certificate course on brand journalism and multimedia storytelling.

In 2022, Valentine joined Prelude, a technology company, as a Product Designer. Prelude helps organizations ask proactive questions of their security systems to improve defenses and provides internal intelligence for seamless action.

Overall, Valentine Makhouleen has a diverse background in design roles, demonstrating expertise in product design, art direction, and developing comprehensive design systems.

Valentine Makhouleen completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business and Society with a focus on Economics and Political Science at York University from 2002 to 2005. Following that, they pursued a Graduate Certificate in New Media Design at Sheridan College from 2005 to 2006. Additionally, Valentine obtained several certifications, including AdWords Certification, Analytics Certification, and Video Advertising Certification from Google in May 2015. Valentine also holds certifications in Advanced Open Water Diver and Dry Suit Diver from PADI, although the specific dates of obtaining these certifications are not provided.