About Me

My name is Vanessa Micale (she/they/ella) and I am the founder of Poderosa Voz LLC. “Poderosa Voz” means powerful voice. I am a certified Resilience Toolkit facilitator through Lumos Transforms. Since 2020, I meet regularly to practice with Resilience Toolkit practitioners. I strive to engage with presence and purpose. I am anchored by daily movement, meditation and creative practices. I love to hold space as much as I love to be held by community.

As a bilingual and bicultural mixed Latina, I am fluent in Spanish. I have created bilingual curriculum, facilitated trauma-informed workshops and participated in public speaking in local, national and international settings. I can provide a full CV for organizations interested in working with me as a public speaker or workshop facilitator.

I have two decades of nonprofit and public sector experience from direct service to leadership roles in public health violence prevention, the movement to end gender-based violence and creative writing teaching in juvenile hall. I have contributed to and co-led multi-sector coalitions, DEI (Diversity Equity and Inclusion) community engagement work and policy advocacy as an internal subject-matter expert.

I am a writer, multidisciplinary artist and performer. I am a queer pleasure activist who loves the animal and natural world. I am an Aries Sun, Libra Moon, Aquarius Rising. I am familiar with liminal space. I am a neurodivergent HSP (Highly Sensitive Person).

I am sustained by the teachings and writings of many people including: Nkem Ndefo founder of Lumos Transforms, Sumayya “Fire” Coleman, Kelsey Blackwell, Perle Noire, Marinka, Che Che Luna, Stella Harris, Blanca S. Villalobos, Ev’yan Whitney, Sonya Renee Taylor, adrienne maree brown, Prentis Hemphill, Tricia Hersey, Nedra Glover Tawwab, yung pueblo, Bayo Akomolafe, Mixed in America co-founders Meagan Kimberly Smith & Jazmine Jarvis, Tara Brach, ‘for the wild: an anthology of the anthropocene’ podcast, Sister Dang Nghiem, Lama Rod Owens and Thich Nhat Hanh.