Vanessa serves as the Director of Enrollment Management for PK–12, the Director of Admissions for Middle and Upper School, and an Upper School science teacher at the Berkeley Carroll School, a PK–12 co-ed independent day school in Brooklyn, New York. She is in her 27th year as an Upper School science educator, 16th year as the MS/US Admissions Director, and third year as the Director of Enrollment Management.
Beyond her work in the classroom and admissions office, Vanessa is an active member of the school’s leadership community. She serves on the Board of Trustees' Anti-Racism Task Force and the Equity & Inclusion and Marketing and Communications committees. She is also a proud faculty advisor to several student affinity groups, including the Student Culture and Equity Council, Latine, and People of Color groups.
Vanessa is deeply committed to making the admissions process accessible and reflecting the school’s core values. She leads her team in fostering a process that sees the whole child, ensuring that every applicant is considered through a lens of equity, inclusion, and the school’s mission: "...to prepare our diverse graduates for success in college and the greater endeavor—a life of critical, ethical, and global thinking." In addition to her work at Berkeley Carroll, Vanessa supports other schools' admissions teams by offering anti-bias training and professional development, helping to ensure that equitable and inclusive admissions practices continue to grow and strengthen across the broader independent school community.
Vanessa earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Science and a second Master’s in Education and School Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. In 2022, her peers honored her with the Enrollment Management Association’s (EMA) inaugural Changemaker Award, recognizing her transformative and inspiring work in enrollment as a BIPOC admissions professional.