The Leadership Conference, The Education Fund Name Vanessa N. Gonzalez Head of Field and Member Services

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Rafael Medina, [email protected], 202.869.0390

WASHINGTON – The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and its sister organization, The Leadership Conference Education Fund, welcomed Vanessa N. Gonzalez as Executive Vice President of Field and Member Services. In this role, she will maximize the coalition’s reach and effectiveness at the local, state, and federal levels.

“We are thrilled to have Vanessa join our senior leadership team,” said Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference and The Education Fund. “She is a highly regarded leader who offers a wealth of organizing and partnership-building experience. We look forward to bringing the knowledge and energy she brings to the civil and human rights space into our coalition.”

Vanessa N. Gonzalez, MSW, MPA, most recently served as Assistant Vice President for Outreach and Strategy at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). In that work, she partnered with teams across the university to increase and strengthen outreach to communities of color and positively influence their higher education experience.

Prior to that, Gonzalez served as the Director of Outreach and Engagement in the Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs for the U.S. Department of Education. Before serving in the Obama administration, Gonzalez was Director of Latino Leadership and Engagement for Planned Parenthood Federation of America and worked as a family and child therapist at Southwest Human Development Center in Phoenix, Arizona. She also served in the administration of former Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, held various high-profile political campaign positions, and held the role of Communications Director for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Gonzalez currently sits on the board of Inclusv, a nonprofit established to ensure that staff, consultants, and vendors of color are found at every professional level within advocacy, policy, and campaigns. She is also on the board of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, the only national reproductive justice organization dedicated to advancing the health, dignity, and justice for the 26 million Latinas, their families, and communities in the United States. Gonzalez received her Bachelor’s degree from Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas and her Master’s degree in social work and public administration from Arizona State University.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

The Leadership Conference Education Fund builds public will for federal policies that promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States. The Education Fund’s campaigns empower and mobilize advocates around the country to push for progressive change in the United States. It was founded in 1969 as the education and research arm of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. For more information on The Education Fund, visit http://leadershipconferenceedfund.org/.