Vanessa Ball

I am from Portland, OR and am serving as a fellow on behalf of The Mission Continues. The Mission Continues empowers veterans who are adjusting to life at home to find purpose through community impact. Operations in cities across the country deploy veteran volunteers alongside non-profit partners and community leaders to solve some of the most challenging issues facing our communities. Through this unique model, veterans build new skills and networks that help them successfully reintegrate to life after the military while making long-term, sustainable transformations in communities and inspiring future generations to serve.

I served in the United States Marine Corps from 2004 to 2009 as an Arabic Linguist. I took an unusual path to service by choosing to enlist after finishing a degree in Natural Resource Management from Washington State University.

I will be working with The Outdoor Project as a writer/researcher on topics of environmental conservation. My love of outdoor recreation and passion for environmentalism make this a perfect fit. Hiking and camping with my two young kids served as a tool in my post-military recovery and I feel strongly about protecting the wild places that gave me so much. I currently blog about my family’s outdoor adventures at www.outdoorfamilyproject.com.