Dr. Valera is a social work scientist who focuses on research related to cancer-health disparities with criminal justice populations and men who have sex with men (MSM). She is also the co-chair/co-founder of the Bronx Reentry Working Group (bronxreentry.org), a coalition of agencies, health providers and individuals that provide a broad range of support to returning citizens coming home from state prison and Rikers Island. Dr. Valera uses rigorous community-based participatory approaches to answer complex research questions.
Dr. Valera completed a bachelor's degree at University of San Francisco, an MSW at University of Michigan, and a PhD at University of South Carolina.