VANESSA CARACOZA
Summary
Vanessa Caracoza is a Mexican-American Latina and first-generation college graduate. She is personally driven by inclusive community development and strongly believes in empowering underrepresented communities to influence government and society. Vanessa is a graduate of Arizona State University and earned an executive program certificate in Social Impact Strategy from the University of Pennsylvania. Vanessa's background is in civic engagement, strategic partnerships and public relations. She currently serves as Deputy Executive Director for the Office of the City Commissioners - City of Philadelphia. During her service at the City Philadelphia, she has managed budgets of over $5 million and led large teams of over 130 employees.
Overview
9
9
years of professional experience
Work History
Deputy Executive Director
Office Of The City Commissioner, City Of Phila
10.2023 - Current
- Establish the first ten County Elections Offices and oversee the ongoing expansion of mail-in-ballot drop boxes in Philadelphia with the goal of increasing access to voting and increase participation rates.
- Effectively manage project budget of $3 million
- Lead and motivate a team of 115 dedicated union staff members who provide exceptional service to the community by assisting with voter registration, mail-in ballot applications, and voting-related inquiries.
- Collaborate with the Board of Elections and Law Department to make necessary changes to voting materials per the voting code, contributing to a fair and nonpartisan election process.
Director of Community Engagement
City Of Philadelphia - CEO
08.2023 - Current
- Lead a team of 26 community engagement staff.
- Develop and implement grassroots campaign that engages community on the risks related to substance use, developing trust in overdose prevention, and share concrete resources.
- Facilitate the Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity (CEO) Partner Network meetings that bridge the gap between community organizations and City services.
- Identify and cultivate strategic community relationships and execute events with area organizations.
- Create scalable, rapid response and long-term grassroots engagement strategies.
Director of Partnerships
City Of Philadelphia - Philly Counts
04.2021 - 08.2023
- Manage budget of over $5 million and three programs with a large team that coordinates and executes neighborhood engagement initiatives that connects communities to City and social safety net resources.
- Manage cross-sector partnerships.
- Built and manage canvassing program that knocked on over 200,000 doors and had 35,000 conversations with residents in six months.
- Built and manage Community Health Workers (CHW) in partnership with Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) to improve social determinants of health (SDoHs) in communities.
- Built and managed COVID-19 Prevention & Response Fund Network, a fund that was established by Philanthropy Network in Partnership with Philly Counts to 1) increase vaccination rate in communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and 2) to address challenges exacerbated as a result of the pandemic. The fund awarded over $1 million to 185 local and diverse non-profits, businesses, and individuals. This collaboration played a major role in helping the City reach a vaccination rate of over 75%.
- Implemented an awareness campaign to increase participation in the 2020 Census
Coalition Manager
City Of Philadelphia - Philly Counts
01.2020 - 01.2021
- Led city-wide coalition building and community organizing efforts to engage residents of importance of the 2020 Census.
- Developed and executed operations program that trained more than 8,000 Census Champions to be trusted messengers, engaged more than 9,000 people in taking action to promote the census, and collaborated with community partners to host more than 50 job fairs that helped fill positions to support the count.
- Built and led Philly Counts Higher Education Subcommittee that convened representatives from colleges and universities in Philadelphia to engage students in the 2020 Census.
- Engaged with mainstream and ethnic media on 2020 Census updates and progress.
- Managed phone banking program that engaged over 400 volunteers, partnerships, and made over 300K calls over the course of 5 months.
- Managed Satellite Election Office of 13 team members which assisted 1,717 voters in 2 weeks.
- Coordinated logistical mail-in ballot drop off locations/events, voter registration and mail-in ballot application and processing.
- Supervised mail-in ballot counting stations and provisional ballot counting operations at PA Convention Center during the 2020 General Election vote count.
Operations Manager
City Of Philadelphia - Philly Counts
05.2019 - 01.2020
- Oversaw operating budget exceeding $1 million.
- Managed day-to-day operations, including staff onboarding, support and assignment delegation for 21-member team.
- Strengthened operational efficiencies by developing organizational systems for office and team.
Social Media Marketing Consultant
Amplify Latinx
03.2019 - 05.2019
- Worked with Executive Board and planning committee on developing social media outreach strategies for their annual Amplify Conference.
- Developed Amplify Conference Social Media Tool Kit.
Strategy Consultant
City Of Boston
11.2018 - 05.2019
- Worked with the city agencies and consulting team staff on the development of a 2-year strategic plan for the Mayor's Office for Immigrant Advancement.
- Collaborated with internal and external stakeholders to gather feedback on the vision for the department and reported the findings.
Campaign Manager
State Representative Jeffrey Sanchez
03.2018 - 11.2018
- Managed campaign budget of over $450K.
- Developed campaign strategic plan, managed voter engagement leading up to election day.
- Hired and managed team of 2 staff members, 8 interns, and over 300 volunteers.
- Planned and executed fundraising events that contributed to fundraising over $450K.
- Constructed, strategized and managed media relations, marketing, and social media campaigns.
- Collaborated with elected officials, labor unions and organizations to maximize campaign field capacity and resources.
Small Business Advisor
Welcoming Center For New Pennsylvanians
03.2017 - 03.2018
- Provided direct technical assistance to small business clients in creating business and marketing plans.
- Project Manager for Tobacco Retail Project (funded by Philadelphia Department of Public Health); prepared program performance reports for both internal and external stakeholders.
- Created and implemented strategic plan to recruit corner stores in low-income areas to become profitable tobacco-free stores.
Regional Organizing Director
Pennsylvania Democratic Party
07.2016 - 11.2016
- Hired and led a regional staff of nine Field Organizers who mobilized voters by building 11 teams of over 150 volunteers in the northern region of Allegheny County.
- Efforts led to an increased turnout of 11,020 votes, which resulted in the campaign winning Allegheny County.
Field Organizer
Battleground Texas
08.2014 - 11.2014
- Fostered collaborative efforts to schedule, host and facilitate events and identify further opportunities to reach members of community.
- Recruited and trained 50 volunteers to help organize their communities into neighborhood teams that registered, persuaded, and turned out voters on Election Day.
- Led 81 outreach events which included voter registration drives, phone banks, canvasses, debate-watch parties, and weekly meetings. Managed volunteer outreach efforts that completed 199 voter contact shifts, made 122,272 phone calls, and canvassed 88,654 doors.
Education
Social Impact Strategy Certificate -
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PABachelor of Arts - Philosophy
Arizona State University
Tempe, AZSkills
- Strategic Planning
- Team Management
- Hiring and Onboarding
- Performance Monitoring and Evaluation
- Budget Management
- Critical Thinker
- Strategic Partnerships
- External and Public Relations
Languages
Spanish
Native or Bilingual
Affiliations
- EVP of Lead Strategy & Initiatives, Association of Latino Professionals For America (ALPFA) Philadelphia (2020 - Current)
- Co-Chair , City of Philadelphia Latinx City Resource Group (2022-Current)
- Fellow , 2021 New Leaders Council (2021)
Timeline
Deputy Executive Director
Office Of The City Commissioner, City Of Phila
10.2023 - Current
Director of Community Engagement
City Of Philadelphia - CEO
08.2023 - Current
Director of Partnerships
City Of Philadelphia - Philly Counts
04.2021 - 08.2023
Coalition Manager
City Of Philadelphia - Philly Counts
01.2020 - 01.2021
Operations Manager
City Of Philadelphia - Philly Counts
05.2019 - 01.2020
Social Media Marketing Consultant
Amplify Latinx
03.2019 - 05.2019
Strategy Consultant
City Of Boston
11.2018 - 05.2019
Campaign Manager
State Representative Jeffrey Sanchez
03.2018 - 11.2018
Small Business Advisor
Welcoming Center For New Pennsylvanians
03.2017 - 03.2018
Regional Organizing Director
Pennsylvania Democratic Party
07.2016 - 11.2016
Field Organizer
Battleground Texas
08.2014 - 11.2014
Social Impact Strategy Certificate -
University of Pennsylvania
Bachelor of Arts - Philosophy
Arizona State University
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