2025 Baxter Symposium Session

Session: Empowering Chicagoland Communities: Understanding Water Quality Through Biology-Based Home Testing

Vanessa is a Research Coordinator at Northwestern University’s Center for Synthetic Biology. She graduated with her B.A. in Photography from Columbia College Chicago and is now working to use her visual storytelling and community engagement experience to bridge the gap between scientific findings and community environmental needs. Outside of this work, she runs a photography business and is deeply involved in community activism in the Southeast Side of Chicago, where she co-founded the Bridges // Puentes Justice Collective of the Southeast.