VJH Regulatory Consulting is led by Valerie Heard, MSW, RSW, an experienced regulatory investigator, social worker, and trauma-informed practice consultant specializing in communication, ethical decision-making, and safer service delivery in high-pressure environments.

Valerie brings a rare combination of front-line service experience, senior leadership, and regulatory expertise. Her career has spanned community practice, shelter work, youth support, professional regulation, and now sector-specific training across Nova Scotia.

In her senior role with a provincial regulatory body, Valerie leads the full complaints and discipline process, from intake to investigation to resolution. She supports committees with policy interpretation, investigative oversight, and training on ethical standards, procedural fairness, trauma-informed practice, and public protection.

Her regulatory work focuses on high-risk, sensitive matters, including sexual misconduct, boundary violations, ethical breaches, misuse of power, documentation concerns, and other complex professional issues. Her approach is principled, trauma-informed, and grounded in fairness, clarity, and accountability.

Alongside her regulatory work, Valerie has developed a growing portfolio of training programs for shelters, supportive housing, youth services, outreach teams, and community-based organizations. Her trainings integrate nervous system literacy, communication skills, ethical use of self, conflict navigation, moral distress, boundaries, reflective supervision, and trauma-responsive practice.

She understands deeply the emotional labour and ethical strain inherent in service roles—and creates training spaces that are supportive, relational, judgment-free, and immediately applicable on shift.

With academic grounding in Psychology (BA) and Social Work (BSW, MSW), and extensive experience navigating complex systems, Valerie blends evidence-informed frameworks with real-world understanding. Her facilitation is warm, clear, and grounded in the realities of service work and the impacts of trauma on practitioners.

Through VJH Regulatory Consulting, Valerie offers:

·       Trauma-informed trainings for community and shelter organizations

·       Leadership development for supervisors and team leads

·       Communication & conflict-reduction workshops

·       Reflective supervision & ethical use-of-self coaching

·       Independent regulatory investigations

·       Complaint process support for employers and associations

·       Remedial supervision and performance improvement plans

·       Professional ethics consulting

Her goal is simple: to strengthen communication, reduce harm, and build safer, more ethical environments for both clients and the people who support them.