Women Empowerment. Community. Survivor Advocacy.

Early Life

Vanessa is a Filipino-American poet & lover of all forms of hip hop. She grew up competing in dance battles in the Seattle area and you can find her dancing in Macklemore's music video: The Town. 

Competition/Slam poetry started at school and at Youth Speak Seattle events. This is where she first stepped into the slam scene. Seeing her poetry make a difference in someone else's life was enough for her to continue writing. She fell in love with Journalism while reporting stories of her community through her school publication, the Arrow. This pushed her more as a writer, storyteller, and contributed to her voice. 

International Stages 

Vanessa lived in Guam after moving away from home at the age of eighteen. While on the island, she got involved in Sinangån-ta, a local poetry organization that mentors young poets for regional and national competitions. Her experience as a youth coach for slam competitions has contributed to her love for teaching. Vanessa is a Sunday School teacher and provides all-ages poetry workshops to local libraries. 

She then relocated to Germany. From there she started creating with her friends under the art collective: Return 2 Cindr. The collective focuses on social justice and positive morale. They host events that serve as fundraisers for charities, youth programs, or disaster reliefs. 

On-going Projects

Creatives will create! Vanessa is the Editor-In-Chief of Return 2 Cindr's e-magazine "Message Sent" and publishes quarterly. The magazine reaches out to artists  globally for artwork and literary pieces that match the theme for the quarter. Giving people the opportunity to shine and have their work recognized is a great passion. She is also hosts open mics in her local area as well as online. Her podcast, "The Vanessa Verse Podcast" is on it's second season.