Vanessa Ochoa

“I want to make sure we break the stigma for people with mental health disabilities and have more folks in positions of leadership.”
- Vanessa Ochoa

Vanessa Ochoa’s history of disability advocacy at DRC started out by chance. When she needed to find work with benefits for her daughter’s autism-spectrum disorder therapy, she randomly applied to DRC. 13 years later, a coincidence has become a calling.

“I truly believe that some higher power, God, I don’t know what, had me apply for this job on Craigslist in 2010,” Vanessa said. 

As special advisor to the Strategic Partnerships and Community Engagement (SPACE) team, Vanessa connects with outside organizations and leaders. She can’t help but advocate fiercely for people with disabilities, it’s just who she is.

“I believe that as long as you are fighting things with love and kindness in your heart, things will work out,” Vanessa said. “As long as you fight for things with good intentions, only good things can come of it.”

Vanessa’s journey towards disability advocacy started when her now adult-daughter was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder as a child.

“It changed my whole mindset because of how the system treated her, being a brown baby with a disability, and being a brown mom, the experience is totally different,” Vanessa said.

Vanessa said she saw how the world was not set up for people with disabilities, and it made her want to fight for more inclusion.

“I had to advocate for my daughter to go to prom, sports games, field trips—things that are very simple. I have fought it to the end. And that’s why I keep fighting,” she said.

DRC History

Vanessa started at DRC in the Office of Clients Rights Advocacy (OCRA). As an administrative assistant, Vanessa was the first point of contact for people calling OCRA. She said that she often encountered parents and advocates who were frustrated with a situation and needed help.

“It definitely gave me the perspective of the need, especially of monolingual Spanish-speaking families,” she said.

After OCRA, Vanessa became a bilingual clients right advocate, multicultural affairs advocate, and senior advocate in the Advocacy and Community Engagement (ACE) program. For the past two years, she has been working with the SPACE team.

In the SPACE team, Vanessa combines her knowledge of DRC with her ability to relate and connect with clients and community members. She works with outside organizations to find common goals that align with DRC. She also is passionate about working with immigrants with disabilities.

She was raised in a traditional Mexican Catholic environment. Vanessa said that mental health was not something that was talked about, it was something to “pray away.” Because of this experience, she is passionate about breaking the stigma about mental health in the Latinx community.

“I want to make sure we break the stigma for people with mental health disabilities and have more folks in positions of leadership,” Vanessa said. “I think it’s important for people with disabilities that are intersectional to be represented and that it becomes a norm.”

Other interests

Outside of using her voice for advocacy, Vanessa is also known for her skills as a singer. While many people know her for her mariachi performances, Vanessa said she loves performing songs in all kinds of musical genres. She’s sung songs like Etta James’ “At Last” at friends’ weddings, and performed Carrie Underwood’s “I’ll Stand By You,” at a fundraiser.

“I enjoy singing because it helps me to become the song, to feel the song on stage and then get off the stage and be a different person. It allows me to become a different person — it’s therapeutic. It helps me to express myself and my feelings,” Vanessa said.

Vanessa is also known for her graphic t-shirts that are often affixed with motivational phrases like, “speak up even if your voice trembles” in English and Spanish. She said she finds that the shirts are often a point of connection between her and the folks she encounters. A common bond that lets people know she is on their side.

“I love to wear shirts like that because you never know if you’re the only one who thinks that way. In the spaces that we tend to go and advocate, people feel alone if they think differently,” Vanessa said.

When asked what she would tell her 13-year-old self, she reflected on always feeling outside of the mainstream, but hoped her child-self would be proud.

“Be yourself and be proud of who you are and stay authentic. Don’t worry about what other people think or say, because who you are is going to lead you to great things and to great people who love you for who you are, and they’re not going to try to change you.”