Valerie Newell: Reflections on leadership and paying it forward

CINCINNATI – October 7, 2020 – Valerie Newell has had a long relationship with the University of Cincinnati. Though she hails from another Ohio institution, her husband and both of their sons graduated from UC. She is an emeritus trustee of the UC Foundation where she served as co-chair of the investment committee.

Growing up in Loveland, Ohio, Valerie sought independence when it came time to choose a college. She wanted to go out-of-state, but her family encouraged her to attend a state school, so she chose the furthest one from home—Bowling Green State University (BGSU).

Valerie was an early leader. She was the first woman admitted to BGSU on an athletic card; she swam for the BGSU women’s swim team, was team captain and was All-American for two years. As Valerie explains, “The experience really prepared me for a challenging and competitive career.” After studying accounting and business at BGSU (Valerie is a Certified Public Accountant), she found a career in the investment advisory field, going on to start RiverPoint Capital Management with her business partner Leon Loewenstine, who is a graduate of what is now the Carl H. Lindner College of Business at UC. They sold that firm in 2012 to Mariner Wealth Advisors, where Valerie is currently a principal and senior wealth advisor. For the last five years, Barron’s has ranked her as the No. 1 Financial Advisor in Ohio.

 

Joining the Foundation Board

 

Through board positions at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and the Cincinnati Museum Center, Valerie met and formed friendships with Albert (Al) Vontz and George Rieveschl, who later invited her to join the UC Foundation Board.

“When George asked me to join the board, I said, ‘Why me? I didn’t graduate from UC!’ and he said, ‘We’re looking for more women to serve as trustees and we’d really like a woman in business.’ I was extremely flattered. It didn’t take me more than ten seconds to say yes. It was a really good opportunity for me at that point in my community involvement; the Foundation board was very prestigious. I was definitely an outlier; there were only two other women at the time, Marjorie Motch and Joni Herschede, who would both turn out to be wonderful mentors for me. I was also the youngest one there. I remember when I walked in, I gulped! But everyone was so welcoming. After a few years, I served on the investment committee of the foundation and went on to co-chair that committee with Dick Thornburgh.

“The board has always had terrific, high-level leaders and only gotten better over the years.”

The Future of the University

When asked about the future of UC, especially in the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic, Valerie is optimistic. “Some things are going to change,” she says, “for example, there will be more distance-learning from now on. Technology will be used in new, innovative ways. But I believe that the learning that happens at a college and the desire for the ‘college experience’ isn’t going to go away, and the central campus will continue to play an essential role in students’ lives.”

And, to Valerie, philanthropy is going to be even more important in higher education going forward. “It is one of the important reasons we want to build a strong Herschede Society: to keep our supporters close and informed, so they can see new opportunities to contribute to the institution as its needs evolve.”

What does she see as UC’s greatest area of need? “Scholarships,” Valerie said, without hesitation. “Education changes lives. Donations toward scholarships will help to eliminate some of the disparities coming to light with the COVID-19 pandemic, especially with how expensive a college education already is. It all comes back to education—people being educated about the best ways to take care of themselves, people being given the same opportunities for good careers and health care. We should give people the chance to have the same opportunities to live a successful life.”

To learn more about UC scholarship giving opportunities and how you can make a difference today, please visit https://giveto.uc.edu or contact Naimah Bilal for more information.