Vanessa Ortega

Director of Admissions

vanessao@maybeckhs.org

BA Sociology
Mills College

Vanessa was born in El Salvador and came to the U.S. in the early 1980s as a result of the Salvadoran Civil War. After graduating with a B.A. in Sociology from Mills College, she began her independent school career at Live Oak School in San Francisco. She has specialized in enrollment management for over two decades at various schools in the Bay Area.

Vanessa's primary focus in admissions has been making an independent school education accessible to underrepresented communities and family choice. Most recently, Vanessa was the Director of Enrollment Management and Strategy at an independent elementary school on the Peninsula. Vanessa firmly believes that admissions is not merely a job but a calling. Meaningful connections with the community—those that can make a difference in the lives of families—drive her work. She has been involved in designing social justice standards, strategic planning, and parent/guardian/student affinity group work.

In her free time, you will find Vanessa building a Lego set, perusing children's books at a local independent bookstore, and adding funky socks to her ever-growing sock collection.