The Senior Associate Dean of Religious Life at the University of Southern California, Vanessa serves as the first humanist chaplain in any American university. She received her BA in religious studies and Psychology from Arizona State University and her Master of Science degree from George Mason University. She also has received her Master of Divinity degree from the Chicago Theological Seminary. Vanessa earned a Certificate of Humanist Studies & Leadership from the Humanist Institute and is endorsed by the Humanist Society.