Vanessa is a social impact urban planner and community development professional dedicated to empowering and supporting communities. Her professional and academic roles enable her to design and lead approaches to address equity challenges, coordinate community engagement opportunities for marginalized groups, consult on domestic and international urban planning related projects, collaborate on planning initiatives, and activate spatial and social environments. She has experience in developing and implementing engagement strategies that reach into multi-faceted communities, state and local governments. The Institute for Quality Communities has worked in over 50 communities of all sizes.