BIOGRAPHY

Vanessa currently serves as a bilingual mentor for Classroom Storytelling seminar participants, works with students in the Rice Oral and Written Language Laboratory (OWL Lab), and is involved with the Lab replication sites. She also oversees logistics for SLC's annual conferences: Early Literacy Summit, Summer Institute and Fall Summit. She graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in communication and minor in English. Vanessa started her teaching career as a head start pre-kindergarten teacher and team leader in San Antonio ISD. She later taught third grade bilingual and dual language classes at Fort Bend ISD for four years. Before joining the School Literacy and Culture team, Vanessa worked as a bilingual math specialist and interventionist in Houston ISD where she serviced students in first through fourth grades. While at Houston ISD, she also mentored teachers, and designed and delivered professional development sessions. In addition to her involvement with School Literacy and Culture, Vanessa co-teaches Creative Writing Camp classes. She enjoys cooking, traveling and spending time with her husband, Justin.