About Vanessa
Vanessa Nisperos (she / ellé) is a strategist, writer, and radical social worker and trainer centering social justice and trauma healing in her work, words, and life. As the Associate Program Director of the Academy for Community Behavioral Health, Vanessa trains New York City service providers on healing intergenerational trauma, trauma-informed organizational practices, and social justice advocacy to heal complex trauma. Descending from the Wixárika, indigenous medicine people of central Mexico, and native sailors and water protectors from Northern Luzon, Philippines, on the Pacific Rim, Vanessa practices Mexica (central Mexico) and Lakota (North American) indigenous spirituality and incorporates these traditions into her work.
She is part of an interdisciplinary research team led by Dr. Anna Ortega-Williams (CUNY Silberman School of Social Work) studying Land Based Healing by examining the experiences of Black and Latino youth working in community gardens and urban farms in NYC. Additionally, she leads Academy course development on trauma-informed organizational practices for agencies and community based organizations.
Prior to joining the Academy, Vanessa was a co-owner of Third Root Community Health Center, the oldest collectively owned holistic health space in NYC, where she worked to increase access to holistic health services for BIPOC, trans, and intergenerational Brooklyn residents.
As a second generation sailor of indigenous sailing ancestry on the Pacific Rim, she works to increase access to recreational boating for women and girls of color. She is Captain of La Sirena, a 27 ft sailing vessel on the Hudson River, and loves sharing the transformative power of water in healing trauma.
Vanessa provides individual and organizational consultation on trauma informed practice and strategy.
Certifications
- Crisis Response and Emergency Management (2024)
- Indigenous Tools for Living (2021)
- Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (2019)
- Mental Health First Aid (2017)
- Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (2018)