Vanessa Gomez

Vanessa Gomez, Ed.D., ze: 9pt; text-align: left;">is a passionate change agent with three decades of service in education, including 23 years as a school counselor across all levels, from elementary to alternative education. She currently serves as the Director of Equity & Access for San Jacinto Unified School District, where she leads the implementation of the district’s Equity and Access Plan.

A recognized leader in school counseling, Vanessa has led award-winning teams and specializes in developing and implementing comprehensive school counseling programs grounded in a Multi-Tiered Multi-Domain System of Support. She has expertise in crisis response, suicide prevention protocol development, and professional development training in social-emotional wellness, cultural proficiency, and trauma-informed practices.

Vanessa served as an adjunct faculty member in the School Counseling and School Psychology department at San Diego State University, where she was honored with the Most Influential Faculty Award. During her career as a school counselor, she was named one of the Top 10 School Counselors in the American School Counselor Association. Vanessa earned her doctorate from San Diego State University, where her dissertation focused on implementing trauma-informed approaches in schools.

In addition to her leadership role, she has been a Lead Professional Learning Specialist for Hatching Results and co-author of Hatching Results for Secondary School Counselors: Implementing Core Curriculum, Individual Student Planning, and Other Tier One Activities (Hatch, Triplett, Duarte, & Gomez, 2019). In 2024, she was recognized as Advocate of the Year by the California Association of School Counselors. 

Earlier in her career as a high school counselor, Whitney earned RAMP recognition in 2011 and received an Oppenheimer Recognition Award for her collaborative efforts to raise her school’s Freshman On Track rate by developing innovative progress-monitoring tools for student achievement, attendance, and behavior. An Education Pioneers alum, Whitney remains passionate about transforming schools so that every student in the nation has equitable access to a high-quality education—including a comprehensive school counseling program.