Meet Vanessa
A graduate of the University of Maryland Baltimore County with a degree in Social Work and Public Administration, Vanessa Barksdale is no stranger to the art of communicating complicated, systemic ideas and inspiring others to take action on them. Since graduating she has used her education to help clients, voters, and nonprofits unpack multidimensional policy challenges, while simultaneously building political power as a solution. With this mindset, Vanessa has served as chair of the Board of Directors for a multinational nonprofit, published original social science research, and worked on the historic contest that begot the first openly gay candidate to earn delegates in a presidential race.
“One of the things I realized really quickly is that a lot of what we call relationship marketing, and influencer marketing is actually just good politics. If we can get those things right, we can reach so many more people.”
Most recently Vanessa worked with Maryland's Democratic Party as the Regional Organizing Director for Southern Maryland, where she recruited, trained, and managed volunteers for the south of the state. Her region included Prince George's County, which saw the largest margin of victory for President Biden of any county in the United States. Additionally, Maryland’s Democratic Party was pleased to produce the most volunteer output into the state.
Building upon her experience in helping campaigns obtain buy-in for policy and candidates, Vanessa founded Modernist Communications as a means to help social impact organizatins obtain buy-in for their ideas. She has earned her designation as a Professional Certified Marketer from the American Marketing Association, and as a Certified Digital Marketing Professional from the internationally accredited DIgital Marketing Institute.
Vanessa is currently a resident of Prince George's County, Maryland. She is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.