Val is the co-founder of 30Forward, a national Canadian initiative focused on advancing the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women in policing through research-informed strategies, mentorship, allyship, and leadership accountability. 30Forward brings together police services, police associations, researchers, and community partners across Canada.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Women in Leadership Certificate from Cornell University, and has co-authored national frameworks on trauma-informed policing and collaborative police responses to sexual violence. Val is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences and is committed to building policing organizations that are effective, inclusive, and reflective of the communities they serve.

In addition to his leadership role, Dr. Couto is Associate Faculty at Royal Roads University’s School of Humanitarian Studies and School of Communication and Culture, and a part-time Professor at the University of Guelph-Humber. His research explores identity formation in policing, focusing on 2SLGBTQI+ officers and intersectionality within organizational culture. He is the author of Dr. Couto is the author of Covered in Blue: Police Culture and LGBT Police Officers in the Province of Ontario and Female (2014) and Gay. Cop: The Intersectionality of Gender and Sexual Orientation in Police Culture (2018), both landmark academic studies of gay police officers in Canada. His doctoral work, The Constructing of Canadian Police Officers’ Identity (2023), was published by and made available to senior Canadian police leaders by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.

Originally from Brazil, Dr. Couto holds a Doctor of Social Sciences and a Master of Arts in Professional Communication from Royal Roads University, and a BA in Journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University (Formerly Ryerson University). His contributions to public safety and academic research and teaching have earned him the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal (2013), Serving With Pride Ally Award (2016), and two teaching excellence awards – the 2016 Outstanding New Associate Faculty Award, School of Communication & Culture, Royal Roads University, and 2025 Teaching Excellence Award for Royal Roads University’s Master of Arts in Professional Communications Teaching Excellence Award.

Dr. Couto is the founder of Tourniquet Communications and currently serves on the Executive Team of 30Forward, a national initiative promoting the advancement of women in policing.