Vanessa Quintana is a Chicanx revolutionary born and raised in the east side of Denver. In the wake of the Manual High School closure during her freshman year, Vanessa found her passion for intersectional justice and a vision for liberatory change. With a relentless drive and being an ever-evolving leader, Vanessa became the first in her family to graduate high school, college, and professional school. She graduated from the UC-Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy with a Master of Public Policy and returned home to Denver to share her love.
Vanessa currently leads legislative advocacy and advocacy programming at Girls Inc. of Metro Denver. Vanessa guides the youth of the Transformational Leadership Board in analyzing policy and activating youth of all ages in legislative advocacy efforts in Denver Public Schools and the Colorado General Assembly. Vanessa also spearheads Leadership Out Loud program, a three-year program cultivating community leaders to dismantle systems of oppression. Throughout the program, she educates the mechanics of changemaking and power building by guiding youth in policy campaigns while teaching practices of self-care. Vanessa loves to tap into a wealth of knowledge working throughout government, campaigns, and positive youth development organizations in writing, critical thinking, and speaking.
When she is not exercising communal power, Vanessa enjoys recentering herself in spirituality, lightening the load with a hearty laugh, and enjoying the company of her people over delicious food and funky beats.
