The Northwest Chocolate Festival 2026

Valerie Beck is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Harvard College; a chocolate services entrepreneur who founded the world's first chocolate tours and grew the business to 5 cities with 50 employees; a consultant through her business Chocolate Uplift to small-batch chocolate makers and growers in ethical cacao supply channels she collaborated in developing; a speaker and educator at colleges and corporations; and a mentor of students who seek to follow their own paths. Valerie is celebrating her 20th anniversary in business and was concurrently awarded the Fine Chocolate Industry Association Award for Industry Impact, and she believes that we are creating a Golden Age of empathy and equality, courage and common sense, justice and joy, liberty and love.