Valerie Gutmann, from Long Grove, Illinois, graduated from the University of Chicago with an honors degree in Sociology. Her research considers domestic social welfare policy and the impact that such policies have on vulnerable populations. Valerie also co-founded the public art non-profit South Side in Focus, which uses photography and oral histories to amplify the voices of residents of the south side of Chicago. She received a human rights grant to work with low-income tenants in eviction court and is currently working as a reporting analyst at a contractor of the Chicago Housing Authority.