"Her counsel was always agitating and too often correct" -Frank B

Concerned Families of Westchester is a peace and justice organization with its roots in 9/11. Our turf is the Rivertowns, and for ten or so years we have held a weekly peace vigil in Hastings on Saturday. Back in the mists of time, we bonded with Vanessa. Though she was always too busy and late for everything, she would arrive at our vigils, participating and discussing. Her special contributions to our work were her summaries at our monthly meetings regarding the status of “immigration” and “election protection.” Needless to say, we couldn't have asked for a better teacher or more dedicated activist regarding immigration. She also took leadership in our work over 5 years or so in dealing with the evolving challenges of election security, especially the integrity of voting machines, as we moved from paper ballots to electronic voting. This involved a lot of “in the weeds” information that Vanessa could explain cogently as well as passionately. Speaking personally, I was especially fortunate to be the recipient of many (lengthy) emails from Vanessa, seeking to explain to me errors that I was committing regarding the political situation in the USA, especially when I erred on the side of false optimism. To be taken seriously by Vanessa was a true honor, and her counsel was always agitating and too often correct. I know that her engagement with Concerned Families was only a tiny fragment of all that she had on her mind and all that she did, but we were lucky to have her with us.

Frank B