VALERIE ELLIS LAVIN

Founder & CEO, Luminary Global | Co-Founder, Action Zone | U.S. Army First Sergeant (Retired)

Valerie Lavin is a retired U.S. Army First Sergeant and the visionary Founder and CEO of Luminary Global, a company dedicated to bridging the gap between life and medical care through high-quality emergency preparedness and trauma response solutions. Luminary equips both professional and citizen responders to lead in moments of crisis—helping save lives at home and abroad. The company serves a diverse clientele ranging from individual citizens to organizations like the Pinellas and Pasco County Sheriff’s Departments, Prince William County Virginia Fire and Rescue, Port Tampa Bay, military units including the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation at Ft. Benning, GA, and corporate clients such as DoorDash and Cirque du Soleil. Luminary also supports international humanitarian efforts by supplying trauma kits to non-governmental organizations operating in crisis zones.

Valerie’s passion for service didn’t end with her military career. Upon retiring from the Army in 2014, she embedded herself in entrepreneurial ecosystems across the country, supporting fellow Veterans, First Responders, and their Spouses in launching and growing their own businesses. She co-founded Action Zone, a nonprofit organization that nurtures the entrepreneurial aspirations of members in the military and first responder communities. As Executive Director and a certified facilitator of both Ice House Entrepreneurial Mindset and CO.STARTERS, Valerie frequently leads Action Zone’s curriculum, empowering founders to turn their ideas into sustainable ventures.

Her influence extends nationally through her past role with Bunker Labs, where she served as a Director of Ecosystem Development and helped launch and scale their Ambassador Program—supporting 150 volunteer leaders across the country. Valerie is also a facilitator for the Breaking Barriers in Entrepreneurship program with Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF).

She currently serves on the Disabled American Veterans Veteran Entrepreneurship Council, the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs Women Veteran Advisory Council, and the Board of Directors for the Institute for Strategic Policy Solutions (ISPS) at St. Petersburg College. She’s also an active contributor to the Synapse Impact Board and a member of the Tampa Bay Defense Alliance.

She is also leading a major regional initiative, a collaboration between TBDA and University of South Florida to create a comprehensive database and mapping tool for all defense-related organizations. This includes military units, veteran service and support organizations, government agencies, philanthropies, and defense industry partners. This will serve the military and veteran community by improving collaboration, reducing redundancy, and increasing access to critical support services across the eight-county region of Tampa Bay.