stillborn child in 1888 but had no surviving children. She never fully regained her health after the birth and a subsequent surgery; she suffered attacks of indigestion and migraines for the remainder of her life. Advocacy and reform Education reform In 1892, the Valentines embarked on a prolonged stay abroad. B.B. had business obligations in England, and he hoped the change in scenery would improve his wife's health and disposition; her illnesses did not allow her to be as active as she would have liked. While in England, Valentine was inspired by the ideas of Gladstonian liberalism, and took particular note of how women participated in reforming British society. She returned to Richmond ready to fight for universal education. Richmond Education Association In response to the inequities she saw in Virginia's education system, Valentine worked with other Richmond-area activists like Mary-Cooke Branch Munford to co-found the Richmond Education Association (REA); the founding took place in Valentine's home in 1900. The REA's mission was to improve the quality of public schools in the city and to work towards removing the obstacles preventing poor, African American, and female children from accessing a high quality education. Valentine served as REA president from 1900 to 1904, during which time the organization led initiatives to improve teacher training; increase teacher pay; bring kindergarten and vocational training into city schools; and construct public playgrounds. In 1901, the REA created a Kindergarten Training School. The organization went on to lobby Richmond's city council to establish a kindergarten program in city schools. When the first kindergarten opened in 1903, Richmond's school board named it the Valentine Kindergarten in Lila Meade Valentine's honor. During her tenure as REA president, Valentine, with Munford, led the charge in replacing Richmond's only high school at the time, which had never been renovated since its construction in 1879. By speaking out about the filthy, hazardous, rat-infested school—and inviting reporters on a tour to document the conditions—Valentine helped secure a $600,000 appropriation for the construction of John Marshall High School. The school opened in 1909 on the current site of the John Marshall Courts Building in downtown Richmond. Southern Education Board In 1902, Valentine traveled to Athens, Georgia, to attend the annual conference of the Southern Education Board, which worked for better funding and higher education standards in Southern schools. The conference—and her conversations with Robert Curtis Ogden, a Northern businessman and then-head of