Valerie S. Mason

Member, Otterbourg P.C.

Biography:

Valerie S. Mason is a member of the Banking and Finance department of Otterbourg P.C. and specializes in the representation of domestic and foreign banks, commercial finance companies, and hedge funds, in the structuring and restructuring of financing transactions, including revolving credit facilities and term loans for acquisitions and general working capital needs, workout arrangements, acquisition financing, lender finance transactions, and Chapter 11 debtor-in-possession and “exit” financing facilities.

Valerie is a member of the SFNET Women in Commercial Finance Committee, a past president and current member of the Board of Directors of the Women’s Prison Association & Home, Inc., serving as Development Committee Chair, and a member of the Audit Committee, and a Trustee of The Brick Presbyterian Church.  She is the president of the East 72nd Street Neighborhood Assn., and was just re-appointed to a second term on Manhattan’s Community Board 8, which serves the Upper East Side of Manhattan and Roosevelt Island.

In recognition of her community activities, in 2017 Valerie was named a “Woman of Distinction” by the NYS Assembly, and in March 2019 she was presented with an “Our Town Thanks You Award” from Straus News in New York City. She received her A.B. from Barnard College, and her J.D. from Duke University School of Law.

Please tell us about your involvement in the criminal justice community through your service on the board of directors of the Women’s Prison Association for 21 years and as board president. How did you become involved and why is this Association’s mission important to you?

My work with women in the criminal justice system began before I became a member of the WPA Board.  As part of my NY Junior League activity, I taught a weekly class called “Money Addiction” at the Bayview Correctional Facility, a medium security women’s prison in New York City (located across from Chelsea Piers – just imagine seeing a 28-acre sports complex outside your cell window).  While I was teaching women about budgets, taxes, etc., what I was learning from them was far more life-changing, at least immediately, for me.  Each woman’s story was different but I soon realized there were unfortunate common denominators.  Many were victims of domestic violence and child abuse but almost all suffered from a lack of self-esteem.  In my experience growing up, low self-esteem in young women manifested itself in eating disorders; in these young women, it was drug abuse and all that unfortunately flows from it.  Many nights, after class, the ladies asked me if I was paid to teach them, and when I told them I was a volunteer, they looked at me in disbelief – why would anyone spend time with incarcerated women for free?  They always wanted to hear about my day at the office and, if it was a bad one, they were always full of encouragement and sent me home full of ideas about how to make it better; amazing isn’t it?  Most of the women had at least one child, and their faces always brightened when they spoke about their children. They were determined to keep those relationships intact.  I admired that, and could tell that the mother/child bonds were strong and kept them going.  For me, with a full-time career outside the home, I marveled at how such a long and severe separation did not diminish the mother/child relationship.  My Bayview experience made me want to do more to help them.  I attended a not-for-profit board training class at the NY Junior League and soon thereafter, right after the birth of my son, I found my way to The Women’s Prison Association.  At WPA, we help women during their incarceration, we run an alternative to incarceration program and once released, we reunite women with their children and support their re-entry to society.  We’ve found that family reunification is a key to reducing recidivism and increasing a woman’s chance of success.  Every mother wants her child to be proud of her, and every child loves their mother, no matter what they’ve done.  It is very rewarding work.

What advice would you give to someone who says they wish they could be more involved in “giving back”, but just can’t find the time?  

There is nothing more true than if you want something done and done right, give it to a busy person.  If you are passionate about something, you will always find time to fit it into your schedule.  Since my involvement with WPA, I have founded a neighborhood association with over 4,000 members, and serve on Community Board 8; I am deeply involved with a number of issues that affect my community on a micro and macro level.  Together with my work on behalf of my clients and my devotion to my family it is all part of a very satisfying day.  I am very lucky and I know it.