Hey — I'm Dr. Steve Valero.

My story

The road that led here

Engineer. Leader. Coach. Lifelong learner.

Growing up in Southern California as a second-generation Mexican-American, I felt the weight of familial expectations and grappled with uncertainty about how to navigate my path. That experience — of not always knowing the next move — shaped everything about how I coach today.

I started as a software engineer, and for over 25 years I've worked across the full spectrum of technology roles: individual contributor, team lead, engineering manager, and executive. I've built teams from scratch, navigated organizational politics, shipped products under pressure, and made every mistake a leader can make.

Along the way I went back to school — earning a Master's in Leadership Development and then a PhD in Organizational Psychology. Not because I needed more credentials, but because I wanted to understand why people and teams work the way they do. That combination of lived experience and academic grounding is what makes this coaching different.

I've worked at companies like Degreed, Keap, and Infusionsoft. I know what it's like to be the engineer who doesn't know if they have what it takes to lead. I know what it's like to be the manager whose team is struggling and who doesn't know where to start. I know what it's like to be the executive who's figuring out how to build culture at scale.

I started The Move Forward because I wanted to give people the guide I wish I'd had — someone who had been down the road, knew where the potholes were, and could help them navigate with confidence.