Education

B.A., Morehouse College
M.S.W., University of Pennsylvania
J.D., North Carolina Central University

Biography

The NC Central University Veterans Law Clinic will be led by Stephen J. Valentine who served in the active U.S. Army and the U.S. Army Reserves. Stephen is a graduate of Morehouse College with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science cum laude and he went on to earn his Master of Social Work degree from the University of Pennsylvania where he was awarded the Samuel Sylvester Award for outstanding achievement and leadership.

Later he received his Juris Doctorate degree from the NC Central University School of law after receiving the Bronze Star Medal for service during Operation Iraqi Freedom. During his military career he attended the Army Medical Department Officer Basic and Advance Course at the Army Medical Department Center and School in San Antonio, Texas, where he was on the Commandant’s list and the recipient of the Colonel Richard Lynch Leadership Award.

Later he attended the Army Judge Advocate Officer Basic Course at the Army Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School at the University of Virginia, where he was awarded the Judge Advocate General’s Leadership Award. 

Stephen is a member of the Bar of the District of Columbia, The United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals, and a Department of Veterans Affairs accredited attorney.

Stephen is a former Presidential Management Fellow with the United States Department of State in the Political Military Bureau and he served as a detailed Special Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division of the US Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia. He also served on the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa with assignment to the office of Congressman Donald Payne (NJ-10).

Prior to being appointed as the Director of the Veterans Law Clinic Stephen served as an Assistant Professor in the undergraduate and graduate Social Work Department here at NC Central University.