Valerie Won Lee

Valerie Won Lee is a global strategist, author, and keynote speaker, helping organizations and leaders turn obstacles into bridges.

She is the creator of the Social-Impact-Global (SIG) Framework and author of Social-Impact-Global: Turning Obstacles Into Bridges — a #1 new release on Amazon in Nonprofit Marketing & Communications.

Drawing on two decades of international experience, Valerie helps businesses, universities, and nonprofits align social purpose, impact measurement, and global communication. Her approach combines actionable strategy with empathy, guiding businesses and organizations to build trust and collaboration across cultures.

Before creating the SIG Framework, Valerie’s career bridged corporate, humanitarian, and creative worlds. She began in the luxury and technology sectors with LVMH, Issey Miyake, Alberta Ferretti, SAP, and HPE, then founded World Citizen Artists (WCA) from her 38 m² Paris apartment — a global movement connecting artists and changemakers for peace and human rights.

Valerie blazed a trail in the art world by launching the first global online award giving artists a platform to champion humanitarian causes through creativity.
Her visionary approach inspired a worldwide community of socially engaged artists and ushered in a new era of art for social change.

Through prestigious partnerships with institutions such as the Bob Marley Foundation, the Gandhi Foundation, Belgravia Gallery (London) — which has exhibited works by Nelson Mandela, His Majesty King Charles III, and Andy Warhol — WCA attracted both emerging and established artists from over 100 countries.
Her work empowered university students, and communities across the globe to use art as a catalyst for peace, inclusion, and resilience.

Valerie’s commitment to global impact is rooted in her upbringing and extensive travel across continents. She has lived and worked with more than 100 nationalities, fundraising for Amnesty International, Pasteur Institute, and the Marie Curie Institute.

Her humanitarian experiences in Asia, Guatemala, and Europe shaped her lifelong belief that resilience and empathy are the true foundations of leadership — values that remain central to her consulting, workshops, and keynote engagements worldwide.

Valerie has led communications for the UN Big Data, and spoken at leading institutions and summits, including the QS Higher Education Summit APAC, South Summit Korea, WomenTech Network, Falmouth University, and the Johns Hopkins Symposium.
She was recently received recognition by New In Asia (2025) as one of the Top 10 Voices to Follow in South Korea for her work bridging global impact and communication.

As a global communicator, creative and strategist, Valerie continues to inspire and empower the next generation of humanitarians, creatives, and global leaders, proving that every obstacle can become a bridge toward meaningful transformation.

Fluent in English, French, and Spanish, and currently learning Korean, she brings a multicultural fluency that enables her to connect across borders and sectors, with clarity, purpose, and humanity.

valeriewonlee.com