Vanesa Jackson (she/her/hers) is a first-generation graduate from Grand Rapids, Michigan. She has helped push forward DEI efforts throughout her educational career at a variety of institutions. She was previously the Intercultural Affairs Coordinator & Smooth Transitions Program Director at Albion in Albion, MI, where she managed the overall leadership, administration, program development, event planning, hiring of staff, and created program evaluations and reporting methods. She has created and deployed several workshops and speaker series to create and sustain a sense of community and provide opportunities for discussions regarding social justice issues, advocacy work/projects, and educating our community on how to socially navigate through society today. Her training workshops include implicit bias and microaggressions across cultural identities and practices among young professionals. She strongly believes that that equity should be accessible and the standard for all. Looking ahead, she intends to use her training, skills, and position to ensure excellence and increase equity and diversity in all roles she assumes and in society. She is inspired by the tenacity and honesty of students who overcame many obstacles and maintain deep commitments to social justice and their communities.

Vanesa is a Bi-Lingual Experienced Educational Mentoring Program Coordinator with over several years of experience working with underserved populations. She thrives in situations that call for relationship building, communication, development, and optimizing resources. She is a highly motivated, versatile, and resourceful educational coordinator. She poses excellent communication skills and is comfortable interacting with students and teachers. Vanesa is well versed in securing resources, conducting research, and assessments to help students learn key skills, and has successfully written and managed grants. In addition, she is an experienced program manager, with data management, and survey development/ research and measurement skills. She has been actively practicing fundraising and development skills along with supervisory and program budget management skills. Vanesa studied English and Spanish with a Higher Education Concentration during her undergraduate studies. She holds a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership from DePaul University, Chicago with a Higher Education emphasis

In her free time, Vanesa enjoys hiking, yoga, and cooking. She is very passionate about cooking and celebrating her mother and grandmother's Caribbean recipes. Vanesa became passionate about DEI as she experienced the displacement of her childhood community. No longer being able to visit her grandmother's home or her childhood elementary schools, she saw firsthand the power of advocating for equitable access to resources. Vanesa hopes to be able to advocate for students and staff in her new role and further the mission of DEI at SEAS. Vanesa is a mother and has a passion for creating a more equitable and accessible educational experience for students. Her motto for DEI work is to level out the playing field to expand opportunities for disenfranchised people. 

She can be reached at [email protected]