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Vanessa Baehr-Jones

Vanessa is an award-winning writer, composer, and lawyer. For nearly a decade, she prosecuted child sex predators as an Assistant United States Attorney in Los Angeles and Oakland, California. For her work on behalf of victims, she was twice awarded the U.S. Attorney's Office Victim Service Award, twice nominated for a Director's Award, and received the Assistant Attorney General Award for Exceptional Service, one of the Department's highest honors. A survivor herself, she left the Department of Justice to write a memoir about her experiences and open a law firm advocating for survivors.  

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Vanessa grew up in the theater and her artistic background has always informed her advocacy in the courtroom. A trained Soprano, she has performed in Gospel choirs, concert choirs, and rock bands. Her new musical, written in collaboration with composer Thomas W. Jones and creator Sonya Baehr, tells the story of a young woman prosecutor and her travails In Justice.  

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Vanessa's writing has been published widely in literary, humor, and legal publications. Her essay, "The Chasm Opens," was awarded First Place in the Memoirs/Personal Essay category of the 91st Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition. An excerpt from her memoir was selected as a finalist in the 2022 Wild Women story contest. 

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Vanessa lives in Oakland with her husband, three sons, a German Shephard rescue, a Tabby housecat, and tumbleweeds of animal fur.