More about the 2011 STAR Honoree Valerie Saraf:


Valerie Saraf is the founder of Valerie’s List and a San Diego native. She began her career in retail banking and moved to Los Angeles with her husband Ali Reza in the early 1980s. Their son Tony was born in 1984 and was diagnosed with global delays and autistic-like characteristics when he was two-years-old.
In 1988, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles confirmed the autism diagnosis. Parents were encouraged in those days to find a suitable institution for their child and to “get on with their lives.” That wasn’t an option for Valerie. She knew there was another way. She just had to find it.

After the death of her husband in 1987, she returned to San Diego. At that time, there was little information available about autism and the internet was in its earliest days. When Valerie found information about helpful books or treatments and therapies, she would email the information to her friends and they passed it on to other concerned parents. The newsletter was born.

Eleven years and over 2,100 subscribers later, Valerie is still sharing information through her free e-newsletter Valerie’s List. Recently Valerie has added sponsorship opportunities to her newsletter, which gives local businesses the opportunity to reach the autism community.

In 2010, Valerie won the 10News Leadership Award for her outstanding work serving families.

Meanwhile, Tony has grown into a young man of 27. He lives with Valerie and is still, as she says, a work in progress. As Valerie reminds us through her newsletter each month, even adults can continue to learn and grow.

Click here to visit Valerie's List!