Vanesa Simon

Vanesa Simon is an innovative Social Entrepreneur and Artist dedicated to integrating the arts into
health and wellbeing. As the founder of Mariposa Arts, she serves as the Program Director of
Healing Through the Arts, a program she launched in 2017 in partnership with the Delaware Art
Museum. This initiative offers free art workshops aimed at enhancing wellbeing for participants and
host organizations, focusing on communities affected by health, environmental, and historical
traumas. The program emphasizes the use of various art forms in non-clinical settings to help
individuals manage stress and develop a creative practice in a supportive environment.
In 2024, Vanesa began a partnership with the Delaware Division of the Arts and the Delaware Office
of Veteran Services to help launch Delaware CreatiVeterans, a state-wide program to serve the
military connected community through art workshops for wellbeing.
Mariposa Arts thrives on strategic partnerships at the organizational, sponsor, and community
levels, employing an entrepreneurial approach to community building that is human-centered and
fosters a sense of belonging.
In 2024, Healing Through the Arts received the prestigious National Endowment for the Arts
Creative Forces grant in recognition of its impactful work with the Veteran community, which began
in 2022. Additionally, in 2024, Vanesa was nominated to the National Council on the Arts by
President Joe Biden.