Vanessa McNeal-Atadoga (born August 3, 1993) is an American

social activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in Social change, social, Political campaign, political, economic or Natural environment, environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes i ...

public speaker Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...

, and documentary filmmaker. She directed the documentary that features stories of five male survivors of sexual violence titled ''The Voiceless,'' and ''We Are Survivors'', a documentary that examines the experiences of eight victims of sexual abuse. In 2019, McNeal released her fourth documentary film titled ''Gridshock'' to expose the sex trafficking industry in the state of Iowa. McNeal is a two time

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speaker.

Education

Vanessa graduated from

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...

in 2015 with a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree in Child Adult and Family Services and a Master of Social Works (MSW) degree from the

University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI offers more than 90 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences and gr ...

in 2017.

Career

Vanessa's career in filmmaking, social activism and speaking kicked off after the release of her first film titled ''I am: The Vanessa McNeal Story''. Since then she has spoken at various college events, for the US National Guard, and produced three other documentary films respectively titled ''We are Survivors'', ''The Voiceless'', and ''Gridshock''. In 2015, she began her journey in making films that focuses on investigating sexual violence and influencing social change by producing a short film about her childhood experiences with sexual abuse. She has been hosted as a guest at several college campuses, government agencies and community events around the U.S to share her stories and screen her films with the aim of creating social change. McNeal's awards include winning best director for her film “The Voiceless,” Women Filmmaker Award of Recognition, 2017 YWCA Young Woman of Tomorrow Award of Recognition, 2018 STATEment Maker award and in 2019 she was presented with the Outstanding Iowa Anti-Trafficking Service Award.

Filmography

* ''I am: The Vanessa McNeal Story'' (2015) * ''We are Survivors'' (2016) * ''The Voiceless'' (2017) * ''Gridshock'' (2019)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McNeal, Vanessa Living people 1993 births African-American activists * Iowa State University alumni University of Northern Iowa alumni American women documentary filmmakers American documentary filmmakers