Valerie Keathley is a native Kentuckian. She obtained her bachelor’s degree at Salem College and her master’s degree at the University of Kentucky. Her research interests include labor geography, mobility, gender and sexuality studies, cultural geography, and political geography.

Valerie is currently working on her dissertation which is tentatively titled “Life on the Big Slab: Identity and Mobility in the United States Trucking Industry.” The research data is drawn from in-depth interviews with over-the-road (OTR) truck drivers, participant observation with a driver in the industry, and a discourse analysis of media depictions of the industry.