Vanessa Macamo, LLM, is a current ArizonaLEND Special Education trainee and a Fulbright Scholar from Mozambique pursuing her Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of Arizona.
Before coming to the United States, Vanessa served as founder and principal of a preschool in Mozambique. She recalls the pivotal moment that shifted her path towards doctoral studies: "The turning point for me came when a family asked me to enroll their child with cerebral palsy in my preschool, and I realized we lacked physical accessibility, trained staff, and inclusive practices to properly support him." Rather than turn the family away, she told them, "Let's do this together. I don't have a magic wand, but together we can make it happen." This experience revealed that good intentions alone were not enough—she needed deeper, systemic knowledge in the field.
As an ArizonaLEND trainee, Vanessa has found the program transformative. "I think all of the lessons from the LEND program shaped how I think about disability issues, not only those issues, but also myself as someone who can influence change," she reflects. She highlights a class with ArizonaLEND Dental Faculty Dr. Day, which influenced her decision to address her own health concerns, as well as her ongoing mentorship discussions with her faculty mentor and ArizonaLEND Program Director, Dr. McGrath.
Vanessa's commitment to the disability community extends far beyond the classroom. As a TV host in Mozambique, her national program was shared on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, reaching audiences across platforms. Through her media work, she focuses on youth skill development, leadership, and social change, connecting local realities in Mozambique to disability rights, education, and emerging tools such as artificial intelligence (AI).
She recently presented a webinar titled "Amplifying Inclusive Voices through AI: Enhancing Accessibility, Leadership, and Opportunity in Youth Media." In it, she highlighted a critical gap: there are over 300 sign languages worldwide, yet not all have been incorporated into AI tools—including Mozambican Sign Language. This matters because many Deaf or hard-of-hearing Mozambicans have limited access to interpreters. As Vanessa puts it, "The greatest risk is developing AI systems without local data and community leadership," underscoring the need for each country to develop its own dataset.
Vanessa serves as a bridge between the disability communities of Mozambique and the United States, but positions her work as facilitation rather than translation. "My work is not about translating others' experiences, but about building platforms where Mozambican educators, families, youth, and persons with disabilities speak for themselves and engage directly with U.S. audiences," she explains. She accomplishes this by connecting organizations in Mozambique with universities and research spaces in the United States.
Vanessa also serves as the Council for Exceptional Children Arizona Student Representative and Vice President of AfroConnect, the African student community at the University of Arizona.
Learn more about Vanessa's work at https://www.vanessamacamoportfolio.com/
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