Vanessa is a graduate of Southern Methodist University, incorporating cultural studies in Paris, France, and San José, Costa Rica. Further studies of Indigenous traditions on Isla Tiburón in Mexico's Sonoran Desert, the Amazon in Brazil, and Native American traditions in the United States have also shaped her global perspective, along with extensive international travel to Africa, China and beyond.. 

 

She is a certified teacher of yoga and meditation and a mindset advisor, and Vanessa lived and taught in a Zen meditation center for three years. 

​

Surviving Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in '05, losing everything in the storm and rebuilding, taught her the true impermanence of life. It is all on loan. There is no U-Haul behind a hearse. Be grateful always for what you have. Each moment of life is a gift.

 

She has also lived an alcohol-free lifestyle for over 25 years, focusing on effective tools for adult children of alcoholics and addicts. Addiction can hit every family. Learning how to be present and not take the behavior of others personally is a true training.

 

She has worked alongside Azim Khamisa, founder of the Tariq Khamisa Foundation (TKF), in both the United States and Australia, from maximum-security prisons to high schools and CEO offices. Khamisa and the work of TKF have been recognized by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and she is certified in his work.

 

Her experience also includes other corporations, CEOs, and individuals seeking presence and practical tools for life. She takes a knee to any homeless war veterans on the street—and to any survivor of any kind. Respect for our fellow human beings, regardless of socioeconomic standing, is essential. 

​

Her trainings are not just about lowering stress, but about how to find a different way to live. There are tools to transform, but it depends on doing the work to find the inherent peace within you that patiently waits. We all have our Hurricane Katrinas. It is what we choose to do with them that matters. Life is just right now.