Vanessa Gutierrez is a proud resident of Ottawa County who enjoys sharing beautiful natural areas and benefits of outdoor physical activity in parks with community members. She has been a participant of the Ottawa County Parks' Step It Up Program since its launch in 2016. Vanessa has used her photography and writing skills to highlight national, state, and local parks that she has traveled to through her blogs on social media. One of her goals is to bring awareness to the barriers people of color face as they seek access to public parks and to find solutions to increase use in these areas.

Vanessa has established herself as a young professional Latina leader as she dedicates her time to serving on a nonprofit board and various committees. Her professional experience includes seven years in early childhood classrooms as a teacher's assistant, Community Engagement Specialist at Ready for School, and is currently in her role as Administrative Assistant/Customer Service for Sinclair Recreation, LLC.