Vanessa Rule

My name is Vanessa Rule and I use she/her pronouns. I grew up in a bi-cultural family in France and the U.S. My first language is French, followed quickly by English.

Twenty years ago, I learned about the climate crisis and was inspired by Middlebury College students and professor Bill McKibben to organize for climate justice. I spent the next 20 years as a community organizer and non-profit leader doing this work. I organized alongside many college students committed to making the world more just and livable for all. It is an honor to now have the opportunity to work with Middlebury students as they build their strength and resilience while getting ready to engage and make their impact in the world.

I am pursuing a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Bennington College and have become a certified Somatic Coach through the Strozzi Institute for Somatics. I am a firm believer in deep listening, building on people’s strengths, and honoring the wisdom of their cultures and ethnicities. My inclination as a counselor is to support people’s ability to access and trust their whole beings to find the answers they are looking for. I am particularly drawn to helping people access the wisdom of their bodies through somatics and connection to nature.

My childhood moved between big cities with my parents and the countryside with my grandmother and extended family, and I deeply love both types of environments. I am the mom of two amazing 23-year-old and 26-year-old humans. My hometown is currently Strafford, Vermont, where I live with my husband, Scot, and my beloved dog, Sybil. Both will be visiting me at Middlebury this year.