Academy Staff

Vanessa Nisperos, LMSW

Associate Program Director

Vanessa Nisperos (she/elle) resides on the land of the Munsee Lenape & Mohican people in upstate New York. She is a descendant of Nahua/Mexica heritage, and of Ilocano people indigenous to the Pacific Rim. As a consultant and trainer with 25 years' experience organizing, designing and implementing services, she contributes her lens as a directly impacted person to the Academy leadership team. She leads courses on healing intergenerational and complex trauma and facilitates a co-design process with NYC social service providers to design trauma-informed and equity-centering professional development programs. Prior to joining the Academy, she managed a community-based mental health site in Red Hook, Brooklyn through Connections to Care (C2C), an initiative of Thrive NYC. She earned her LMSW at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College’s Community Organizing program.

COURSES TAUGHT

• Deep Roots: Practices to Heal Complex Trauma
• Foundations of Care: Part of Racial Equity and Trauma-Informed Care
• Land Based Healing in NYC: Opportunities for Community Wellness & Belonging
• Seeding Change: Care for Complex Trauma
• Trauma-Informed Organizational Practice Certificate Program