"She was the neighborhood advocate, town activist, tenacious and committed to the core" -Anna P

Vanessa has been an important figure in my life for as long as I can remember. As a young child growing up down the block she was the neighborhood advocate, town activist, tenacious and committed to the core. I would run around with Darrow and Rebecca in her home and backyard, playing for hours, collapsing in her kitchen for chats. Vanessa always treated me and my peers as interesting people, worthy of thoughtful questions and debate regardless of our age.

I continued to look up to Vanessa as I grew older and more interested in civic engagement. She was everywhere. As I volunteered on Town and Village issues or worked on presidential and local races there she was, going above and beyond.

When I graduated from college Vanessa had perhaps her greatest impact on my life - connecting me with my mentor, the late Assemblymember Richard Brodsky. Vanessa saw me living back at home down the street working in IT and rightly assessed I might be a good fit for a state legislator office. 13+ years, 8+ jobs, and countless community meetings later and I'm still at it, working for the state and loving a career in public service.

I'm forever grateful to Vanessa and know I am not alone in saying that.

Anna P