Confronting Adversity with Vanessa McNeal

In this episode, you’ll meet award winning documentary filmmaker, national speaker, and two times TEDx speaker Vanessa McNeal. At an early age, Vanessa experienced sexual abuse and neglect, ultimately resulting in educational challenges and a short time in foster care. At age 15, Vanessa was sexually assaulted at a college prep program and overcame the many faces of rape culture. Her life experiences have fueled her passion to educate, inspire, and empower others. She travels and speaks nationally about her personal story, social injustices, sexual violence, trauma, leadership, personal development, and overcoming adversity.In 2017, Vanessa founded her media company McNeal Media, with the goal of creating social change through the art of storytelling. She is the Director of the internationally recognized documentary, “The Voiceless”, which features the stories of male survivors of sexual violence. She most recently Directed "Gridshock", a documentary about the demand for sex trafficking.We’ll hear more of Vanessa’s journey, and unpack what it takes to overcome trauma, advocate for justice, and create social change through story-telling.