Valerie Castellana has been on the Board of FELIDAE since 2005 and is devoted to the cause of the large cat species. She is a 30-year resident of Marin County, California and has served on numerous non-profit Boards, though, FELIDAE is where her passion resides. She has been appointed to positions on the Tiburon Arts and Heritage Commission, the Mill Valley Arts Commission, and the Marin County Private Industry Council. She currently is a member of the Golden Gate Opera Guild.

Valerie is a REALTORŪ in Marin County, working as a luxury-market specialist with GMACPacific Union, and in 2007 served as President of the Marin Association of REALTORSŪ. Prior to real estate, she worked in the telecommunications industry in numerous capacities, and has lived abroad in Asia on several occasions. She was Managing Director for the Asia/Pacific Division of Global Crossing, was the Chief Operating Officer for Cable Television Hong Kong and served many years as the General Manager for Viacom Cable (predecessor company to Comcast) in Marin County. She also serves as Vice President for the Marin Chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals. She studied for her BA in Political Science at Hunter College in New York City and has completed graduate work at Mills College in Oakland, California.