Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa Ross.
Hi Vanessa, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Thank you so much for the opportunity to do this interview again. I appreciate this platform as I want to say thank you to the readers for taking the time to read this feature. My name is Vanessa Ross. To truly understand my journey, you have to understand that my past and my purpose are inextricably linked. I didn’t just create a personal foundation, I lived the very blueprints of it.
I grew up in crime-ridden, socioeconomically challenged neighborhoods where childhood was a battle for survival. My biological mother had a drug addiction, and my biological father is unknown. My siblings and I endured the hurt of neglect, and basically all forms of abuse. At times living in abandoned houses with no electricity or running water to living in homeless shelters. Beyond this trauma, I endured relentless torment at school by kids who mocked me for being homeless, unkempt and because of my biological mother’s drug addiction.
When my siblings and I were eventually abandoned at a homeless shelter and placed into the foster care system, the trauma simply changed shapes. As an “older” child, I was deemed “unadoptable.” I bounced through volatile temporary placements and state facilities, eventually landing at Tennessee Preparatory School in Nashville. With no mother, no father, and no support, I made a promise to myself: I would become someone. And if I can shield even one person from this darkness, I would do it. I remember whenever I shared my dreams with others, I was told I was crazy. Being told our cards were already dealt and that we’d likely be incarcerated, addicts or dead before 18 because that was the legacy we inherited.
But I refused to become a product of my environment.
I didn’t just survive the statistics; I shattered them. Driven by an insatiable will for the knowledge that could protect others, I went on to earn several degrees spanning Legal Studies. Criminal Justice, Healthcare Law, Compliance and Risk Management. I solidified my expertise by becoming CHC (Certified in Healthcare Compliance) certified and a PTCB Certified Pharmacy Technician. This fall, I plan to continue stretching my horizon by entering a PhD/Doctorate program in Medical Science with a specialized emphasis on Patient Safety, Advocacy, and Public Health.
I share this because I remember being told that I would never amount to anything simply because I came from nothing. If you are a child, a teenager, a mother, a woman, or part of a marginalized group or someone simply discouraged reading this right now and wondering if you are worthy, let my life stand as a living testament that you can achieve your goals. You can and will persevere! It will not be easy; you will face adversity and adversaries, but remember: your beginnings do not define your boundaries.
For me success brought an entirely new, complex layer of emotions. Like so many women, I hit a crossroad at one point of my life. I had to find out who I truly was outside of being a mother and a professional and honestly I am still navigating this crossroad. Along with those challenges, a heavy survivor’s guilt from my childhood settled into my spirit. I carried the weight of knowing that some of the most beautiful, brilliant souls I grew up with in those abandoned neighborhoods and group homes were never afforded the same opportunities, or lacked the support to persevere. I survived, but so many did not. I knew I had to use my testimony to inspire those trapped in similar circumstances.
I realized that my success wasn’t meant for me to sit on, it was a testimony meant to be a bridge. In 2011, I sowed the first seeds of what would become a personal crusade, eventually naming it Fostering Hope, a Johnnie Mae Maxwell Foundation, in honor of my maternal grandmother. Although she inherited and passed down the same painful cycle, she gave me some pieces of hope before passing.
My foundation is built entirely out of my own pocket with my own sweat and tears. Every single branch is a direct answer to a prayer I once made in the dark while navigating the challenges and obstacles as a child, teen, woman and mother:
The Youth & Literacy Initiative is my answer to the little girl who was teased for being homeless, abandoned, dirty and hungry. We provide nourishment and hygiene bags so kids don’t have to worry about being hungry especially during school breaks. We are launching book clubs and professional and life skills teleconferences to give at-risk youth the tools and resources to navigate, so they don’t have to navigate alone like I did.
Valentine’s Hope was born from my own heavy seasons of navigating motherhood and womanhood, and breaking the cycle of abuse and addiction I witnessed my biological mother endure before I went into foster care. It stands as a sacred, judgment-free sanctuary for women to heal, participate in life-skills workshops, and receive biannual giveaways of essential clothing, hygiene items, and baby supplies to build brighter futures.
Hope for Health Equity, launched in June 2026, is my newest and most urgent battleground. As a professional with over 20 years of healthcare industry experience, multiple credentials, and degrees, I still have faced institutional and systemic bias in the healthcare system as many women of color and marginalized groups have faced. But I was unprepared for the devastating reality of medical gas-lighting and institutional bias my own minor child faced while navigating with a life-altering congenital medical issue. This experience made it undeniably clear that healthcare bias does not spare children of color, nor women of color regardless of your education or socioeconomic status. This branch is fiercely dedicated to dismantling healthcare inequalities so no family, child or marginalized has to fight institutional healthcare/medical bias alone.
Fostering Hope is my living legacy, designed to show the world that you do not have to be a victim of your circumstance. You can take a stand against it.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The journey has been far from easy. Getting to where I am today took an immense amount of strength and courage because all the odds were stacked against me. I had no support and no guidance.But the key is never giving up. As I stated in the previous interview, it’s like driving or navigating with no map or directions.
There are pit stops, and you may even get lost, but as long as you are able to get back on track and make it to your destination no matter how long it takes, that is all that matters. As you can see with my story there were so many obstacles but I am still blessed and thankful as these challenges helped mold me and get me to where I am. With the foundation itself, there are some challenges because I have been limited in networking and identifying exactly who needs services sometimes. There are times where my initiatives may not get much traction. But that doesn’t matter to me; if I can reach at least one person and have a positive impact is all that matters.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Fostering Hope is structured into dedicated branches to meet people exactly where they are:
Fostering Hope (Youth & Literacy Initiative)
*The Podcast: Pulling back the curtain on my childhood and foster care journey to prove to at-risk youth that their environment does not dictate their future.
*Outreach & Literacy: Distributing essential hygiene and food bags to meet immediate physical needs, alongside book clubs to expand young minds.
*Empowerment Teleconferences: Practical guidance for resume building and interview skills to turn raw potential into tangible opportunity.
*School & Community Speaking: Going directly into schools, churches, and shelters to motivate and breathe hope into the hearts of youth.
Valentine’s Hope (Women & Mothers Initiative)
*The Valentine’s Hope Podcast & Teleconferences: A judgment-free zone to vent, share resources, and voice your truth.
*Virtual Support Groups & Live Chats: A continuous circle of connection and understanding right from home.
*Life Skills Training: Practical empowerment designed to help mothers build brighter futures.
*Biannual Giveaways: Providing essential support twice a year, ranging from hygiene products and baby essentials to professional clothing for success.
Hope for Health Equity (Healthcare Advocacy Initiative)
*Amplifying Your Voice: Dedicated podcasts and teleconferences providing a safe platform for people of color to share their stories, expose healthcare bias, and be profoundly heard.
*Advocacy & Community Support: Offering specialized support groups, interactive workshops, shared resources, and a dedicated network to ensure disenfranchised families are supported, protected, and healed.
And More to Come
There is so much more on the horizon for all branches of Fostering Hope, as we expand our mission from immediate support to powerful advocacy.
Very soon, I will be hosting deeply crucial conversations regarding the recent, raw disparities within the healthcare system that my daughter, myself, and others have navigated. We are pulling back the curtain on how we are working to overcome these barriers, bringing a fierce light to systemic and institutional biases, and exposing the devastating, real-world impact these discriminatory behaviors have on human lives. These stories will be heartbreaking, but it is our profound hope they will empower everyone affected to take a stance. Together, we can stand strong to bridge the gap toward true equity. In addition to these conversations, there is still so much more to come.
I am currently working on a couple of deeply personal books that I hope to release ideally by the end of this year or early/mid next year.
The first book will be my story the full, unfiltered testament of where I came from. It will be real, raw, and at times heartbreaking, but ultimately a heart-warming story of resilience and triumph.
The second book, is perhaps the most difficult yet necessary work I have ever created. It will delve into the shocking and very real truths of systemic racial bias that my family and I have personally experienced within the healthcare system.
This will be a book born from heartbreak, as it navigates the visceral impact these biases have on families especially on innocent children. This project is incredibly personal and dear to me, given the suffering my own child has endured and the powerful words she has voiced regarding that treatment. It is my deepest prayer that through sharing this raw truth, our collective heartbreak can turn into a healed heart, and that others facing what seems to be an impossible battle know they are not alone and that true support exists.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
When I look at where I am today, the credit belongs to those who inspire me to fight, and those who gave me the grit to do it.
First and foremost, my children deserves the credit, especially my beautiful daughter. Seeing what she is going through from a medical perspective, while remaining so unfathomably strong, leaves me in awe. Despite the institutional and racial inequity she’s experienced, she continues to stand unshakeable in her faith. Her quiet, fierce strength motivates me every single day.
And overall, I owe everything to those who face adversities and disparities every day. To the child sitting alone in foster care, the at-risk teenager wondering if they will survive past 18 and how, the abused woman trying to find her voice, and the mother who is desperately searching for herself in the middle of a storm, I owe credit to them. Their struggles, their pain, and their resilience are what gives me the grit, the capacity, and the will to stand up and fight. They are the heart beating inside of Fostering Hope.
Finally, I want to give a special shout-out to Touchere Johnson. She was a mentor to me when I was a teenager one of the very few people who truly believed in me back then. I haven’t spoken to her in years, but I will never forget her impact. If you are out there, thank you!
Before I close out this interview, I want to leave readers with a final quote of encouragement:
“Never be a victim of your circumstances; take a stance against your circumstances.” — Vanessa Ross
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sites.google.com/view/fosteringhopeajohnniemaemaxwel/home?authuser=1
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/foster.hope.2018/
