Vanessa Monterosa
Director of Communications, Hack the Hood
Dr. Vanessa Monterosa serves as the director of communications for Hack the Hood. Her life’s work has centered on advancing research, policy, and practices that support the effective and empowering use of media and technology, especially for communities of color. Dr. Monterosa is an expert in digital strategy and executive communications, with over 10 years of strategic programming and planning experience in the education field. She is a trained qualitative researcher passionate about collecting, synthesizing, and uplifting edtech narratives that impact K–12 and higher education.
As a scholar-practitioner, Dr. Monterosa received a doctorate in educational leadership from California State University, Long Beach, where she conducted a qualitative case study examining system-level supports that cultivate digital citizenship practices from the district level to the classroom. She previously engaged in praxis-oriented work within L.A. Unified, designing comprehensive edtech programs for educators district-wide.
