Valerie grew up in North Carolina, USA. In 1987 she received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Radio, Television and Motion Pictures from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Several years later, in 1997, she received her Associate Degree in Missions from the Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Missouri. She married Dwayne Keefe in August 1995. Their son Austin was born in 1997. Since 2002, Valerie has served alongside her husband in children's and women's ministries in several churches along the East Coast of Australia. In 2016, she moved to Western Australia with her family with a desire to plant more churches. For six years, she lived in Dalyellup, WA, working in the children's and women's ministries in a local church. In February 2022, God began to call her and Dwayne to move to the Alkimos region to plant a new church. Haven Baptist Church became a reality on 7 August 2022 when they had their very first service. Valerie enjoys playing the flute, writing poetry and loves to be outdoors, especially near a lake or the ocean.
