Vanessa Kelly

About Vanessa Kelly

Join us on March 24th to hear from Vanessa Kelly. Vanessa Kelly is a deaf disability advocate, speaker, and writer who practices narrative advocacy in the belief that sharing our stories is a change catalyst. While disability is often viewed as a "corruption" of the senses, Kelly will illustrate — and embody — how disability is a variance that creates, invites, and supports creativity.

A practicing corporate lawyer, Vanessa serves in several disability-related leadership roles. She is the co-head of her employer’s Disability Network, where she creates educational programming and training, participates in disability recruiting initiatives, and implements disability-inclusive policies and procedures. Vanessa serves on the Hearing Loss Association of America New York chapter Board of Directors where she is also an active chapter member and featured speaker. She mentors professionals with disabilities and was recently selected to be a mentor in the Lime Connect Foundation Program for Young Professionals. She served on the faculty for the Practicing Law Institute’s Diversity & Inclusion in Law Practice 2022 symposium. Vanessa has been featured on NPR and in other media publications. She is currently featured in the Center for Hearing and Communication and NYU’s Cochlear Implant Center’s marketing campaigns.