Vanessa Nazario was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Trenton, NJ. She has worked in Community Development, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for over 28 years. Her career began at MECHA, a Hispanic-based nonprofit organization providing homeownership training and counseling to low-to-moderate-income families. In 1996, she joined PNC Bank’s Community Development Department, where she championed equity and inclusion in several roles throughout her 20-year career, concluding her tenure as VP of CDB Operations. In early 2017, she transitioned into a new Diversity Director role with RWJ University Hospital, part of RWJ Barnabas Health System. She was responsible for diversity and inclusion and healthcare equity initiatives. She managed several vital programs that helped transform the culture into an inclusive environment for staff and patients. Vanessa also launched the Hospital’s first Diversity & Inclusion Council and oversaw seven Business Resource Groups.  She was also a key leader in developing and launching the PROUD Gender Medical Center Program, a comprehensive medical program serving the needs of the LGBTQ+ community. In early 2021, she joined Memorial Healthcare System in Hollywood, FL, as Director of DEI to create and lead the System’s inaugural diversity, health equity, and inclusion strategy and manage Language Interpretation Services. Through her leadership, Vanessa helped secure the System’s first Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Healthcare Equality Index; she signed two national pledges: CEO Action in Diversity and Inclusion and American Hospital Association’s #123 for Equity Pledge. In June 2022, she was promoted to Corporate Director and Chief Diversity Officer to further MHS’s commitment to DEI. 

Vanessa is proud to serve on several committees, including Florida Diversity Council’s Advisory Council; Human Resources Association of Broward County’s (HRABC) DEI Committee; Serving as a Student Mentor for Rider University’s Women in Leadership Council; HISPA’s South Florida Advisory Council; and ARC of Broward’s Business Advisory Council. Vanessa has spoken at numerous conferences on diversity, inclusion, health equity, community development, and diverse women in leadership. Several organizations have recognized her for her leadership, including South Florida Business Wealth’s Diversity Executive Leadership award; DEIB Health Consortium’s Top Healthcare Diversity Officer; Diversity Global Magazine 2022 Top 15 Champions of Diversity; and Hallandale Beach Chamber of Commerce’s 2022 Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award.  Vanessa received her MBA from Rider University in Lawrenceville, NJ, and has a master’s in science degree from Southern New Hampshire University. She completed a Non-Profit Management Certificate from Seton Hall University and is certified as a Diversity Executive (CDE) from the Institute for Diversity Certification. She recently completed an Executive Leadership program at Cornell University and is pursuing a Doctoral in Business Administration.