Vanessa Passini

Regional Inclusion Leader, Gensler

Vanessa Passini is the Regional Inclusion Leader for four of Gensler’s Midwestern Offices helping to localize and realize the Firm’s 5 Strategies to Fight Racism. For the last 10 years, she has been the right hand of the North Central Regional Managing Principals partnering on regional strategic priorities and people initiatives, leading and managing change. During her tenure at Gensler, she has worked directly with their Board of Directors to advance the conversation about diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

Vanessa’s passion for DEI comes from her background in theatre. Using performance to confront structural sexism and racism, her creative work is simultaneously inquisitive and confrontational, pulling at the threads of our well-worn narratives to reveal hidden truths. She is a storyteller with an insatiable curiosity about people and how they interact. Translating her skills in understanding human motivations and creative expression, she sees the world as a stage and those around her living their own intertwining stories. She has worked as an educator, strategist, and coach in both educational and business settings to help others express their ideas and communicate their vision.

Vanessa holds an MFA in Theatre Pedagogy from Virginia Commonwealth University where she was also adjunct faculty teaching a spectrum of creative and public speaking courses. She holds certificates in Change Leadership and Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell.