Vanessa Ly

Vanessa Ly is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Sisters Unchained, a Boston-based nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting young women and girls impacted by parental incarceration (approximately 98% are of color) by providing a refuge space where they can focus on loving and improving themselves and their communities in the way they see fit. Vanessa immigrated to Boston from Peru in 1982 at the age of four, and issues impacting women of color have been particularly important to her from a young age. Vanessa is intentional and passionate about creating safe spaces that facilitate healing, personal growth, and leadership development for Sisters Unchained participants. In addition to holding a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Massachusetts, Boston and an Associate’s degree in Biotechnology: Forensic DNA Science from Massachusetts Bay Community College, Vanessa also completed a 200 Yoga Teacher Training, holds an End of Life Doula Certificate, and is a self-taught documentary filmmaker. Her first short film, “Eternally Misunderstood,” shares the stories of nine young women with incarcerated loved ones and has been screened at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston College, and Harvard University. In every creative endeavor, Vanessa aims to embody the language closest to her heart: storytelling, which she sees as a medium of self-healing.