About Me
Hi, I'm Vanessa.
Every day I make decisions involving staffing, budgets, fundraising, strategy, governance, and organizational culture. Some are straightforward, and others literally keep me awake at night.
Coaching isn't separate from my leadership work; it's informed by it. The conversations I have with coaching clients are shaped by the same kinds of questions I continue to wrestle with myself.
As the CEO of Sojourner House in Rhode Island and a licensed attorney, I've helped to grow the organization from a small grassroots nonprofit to a $13+ million statewide agency. It's work that has stretched, inspired, and shaped me deeply. My work has always been more than “just a job” to me. I know what it means to care deeply about your organization, the people on your team, and the community that you serve.
I'm a huge fan of physical movement, and I firmly believe that good leadership isn't purely intellectual. I've learned that some of my best leadership decisions haven't come from thinking harder. Instead, they've come from slowing down enough to notice what I already knew.
I think yoga and mindfulness have been part of the process. I teach yoga in Providence and am a perpetual student, constantly seeking to deepen my practice.
What I Believe About Leadership
Leadership changes us as much as we change our organizations. Good leaders evolve and change with their organization, and in this process they constantly encounter new obstacles and challenges.
On the one hand, this can feel exhausting. On the other hand, intellectual curiosity and humility (not to mention a good sense of humor!) can help many leaders learn to stretch themselves to grow along with their work.
I strongly believe that there isn't a one-size-fits-all approach to leadership or organizational development. This is precisely why leadership and executive coaching can be so powerful: working in partnership, we can identify your specific challenges, your specific goals, and figure out where to go next.
Ultimately, I don't think the goal of coaching is for me to have better answers than you do. I think it's to ask better questions—questions that help you see your situation more clearly and make decisions that are aligned with your values, your goals, and your leadership style. One of the things I love most about coaching is asking questions that help people think differently. Sometimes one thoughtful question can open a door that hours of advice never could.
My role isn't to sit across from you as an expert. It's to sit beside you as a thoughtful partner.
Together we can explore the reality that leadership rarely presents us with perfect choices. More often, it asks us to thoughtfully weigh competing priorities, make the best decision we can with the information we have, and move forward with confidence.
And, most importantly, as someone who has been passionate about my work for many decades, I can help you find ways to love your work without sacrificing yourself for it.
Credentials & Experience
- Associate Certified Coach (ACC), International Coaching Federation (ICF)
- Coaching certification — ACT program, Brown University School of Professional Studies (2025)
- President & CEO, Sojourner House (Rhode Island)
- Licensed attorney
- Adjunct Professor of Gender Studies, Rhode Island College (since 2010)
- Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, Rhode Island College (2024)
- Guest instructor, Wheaton College (Norton, Massachusetts)
- Law seminar instructor, Roger Williams Law School (Bristol, Rhode Island) — Fall 2026
- 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT 200), Yoga Alliance — advanced training through the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health
New clients are always welcome to book a half hour exploratory call with me free of charge to see if we might be a good fit for each other.