Vanessa Meraz is CLASP’s senior policy counsel on the Immigration and Immigrant Families team. As the proud daughter of Mexican immigrants and an immigrant herself, Vanessa is deeply committed to advancing policy solutions for immigrant communities. On the team, Vanessa leads and supports advocacy strategies promoting family unity, healthy child development, and economic and educational opportunity for immigrant children, youth, and families with low incomes.

Vanessa brings a wealth of experience to this role, including two years as a research assistant on CLASP’s Immigration and Immigrant Families team. In her prior work at CLASP, Vanessa expanded the Children Thrive Action Network, provided extensive support for a report documenting the harmful effect of immigration worksite raids, and led policy advocacy efforts around DACA.

Prior to returning to CLASP, Vanessa became the first in her family to graduate from law school. In her time at Berkeley Law, she served as co-chair of La Alianza Law Students of Latin American Descent and provided pro bono legal services to undocumented community members. After graduating, she worked as a litigation associate at a corporate law firm. Vanessa was named a Pro Bono Hero for her contributions to representing pro bono clients in matters including immigration, criminal justice, and benefits access.

Vanessa earned a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law and B.A.s in Political Science and Letters: Constitutional Studies cum laude from the University of Oklahoma.