Valerie Pepe is the organizer of the AMC Music Festival, raising funds and awareness for families affected by AMC.  Valerie was born in 1967, when many doctors didn’t know much about AMC. She was diagnosed with AMC while her mother was still on the delivery table.

Her parents learning of a fourteen letter word that was foreign to doctors was even more so for the average young couple.  Emma and Eugene Pepe, Valerie’s parents, didn’t let this unknown word scare them; they made sure that Valerie received the best treatment.  It was the drive from her parents that enabled Valerie to become a fully-independent person.

Valerie achieved many goals in her lifetime: was mainstreamed into public school soon after Public Law 94-142 was passed into law, achieved honors in junior and senior high school, received a Bachelor’s of Arts in English, a Master’s of Science in Education: Rehabilitation Counseling, and just recently completed New York University’s Creative Writing Program.

Valerie has been employed at the New York City Housing Authority since 1993.  She works in the Environmental, Health and Safety Department as a Business Analyst Specialist.

Additionally, Valerie completed and published two memoirs, Deformed: My Remarkable Life (2016), and Deformed: My Remarkable Life Continues (2020).  Valerie’s books can be purchased from Barnes & Noble and Amazon.  Click the book cover images to view the Amazon book pages to preview and purchase Valerie’s books.