Vennesa V. Romero

My professional journey spans 29 years and is deeply rooted in my personal experience as a survivor. I left college for my safety and found refuge at Roxanne's House in San Marcos, Texas, where I began volunteering and eventually became employed. This experience led me to switch my major to Sociology Social Work, and I went on to earn my Master's in Nonprofit Management. I quickly realized that intervention and support for families could prevent the cycle of abuse I experienced, so I began working with families, particularly women in situations similar to my mother's. Throughout my career in the nonprofit sector, I worked with child abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking cases, with much of my crisis intervention focused on human trafficking before it became widely discussed. I implemented programs including daycares in transitional living centers and thrift stores in domestic violence shelters, many of which still operate today. I also testified before Congress to advocate for legislative changes, including stricter penalties for strip clubs hiring underage workers and shifting legal consequences from trafficking victims to those who exploit them. After becoming a single parent, I transitioned to government work for better benefits and retirement, first at the state level and now at the federal level. For the past three and a half years, I've worked in suicide prevention with military families and veterans, taking crisis calls and working specifically with callers with complex needs. My work involves everything from negotiating with actively suicidal individuals while coordinating with law enforcement and emergency services, to connecting families with resources and sometimes making death notifications. I show people that they've always had the power within themselves, that what happened to them doesn't define them, and that there is life on the other side of their crisis.