Vanessa Vancour is a former TV anchor with a passion for bilingual storytelling. She teaches social journalism, community engagement and bilingual news at the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Vanessa is passionate about equity, inclusion and thoughtful diversity initiatives. In 2017, she delivered a TEDx talk titled "I'm Mexican, Does that Change Your Assumptions about Me?" In the talk, she provides tactical tips on managing your own biases and preconceived notions -- a subject she is passionate about addressing with organizations and professionals in a variety of industries.
Vanessa has made a career out of working to improve diversity of coverage in newsrooms through mentorship and leadership. One of her largest initiatives is the creation of Noticiero Móvil, a bilingual news program aimed at improving coverage of Latinx issues in northern Nevada. The program is conducted through the Reynolds School of Journalism and was made possible through an Online News Association grant. Vanessa also serves as a mentor to students during the National Public Radio Next Generation Bootcamp.
Vanessa was recently appointed to ONA’s Mentorship Collaborative leadership team, to encourage diversity in the newsroom and in coverage. This marks her next step toward making a difference on a national level.
For Vanessa, the opportunity to work with professionals from around the country to help create a better, more sustainable environment for aspiring journalists from underrepresented communities is an opportunity that simply could not be passed up for both her students and the Reynolds School at large.
A digital marketing instructor as well, Vanessa is a highly analytical, forward thinker with a proven track record for managing digital solutions for renown brands including Autodesk, Newport Beach & Co., Tahoe South, Wildfire by Google and more. Vanessa previously served as an account manager and strategist for Noble Studios, a full-service digital agency.