Vanessa was born in Leominster, Massachusetts and graduated from Boston University. She worked at Vistaprint in Boston for a few years after college and then moved to NYC to join our Pharma & OTC Team as an Account Manager. Vanessa was a rising star and wonderful teammate. She was an important part of this community for about 2 years in 2015-2016. In August of 2016, she was killed by a random act of violence while out for a run near her mother’s home in Massachusetts.
Vanessa’s death was a traumatic shock for her family and our team. Everyone at Google at the time remembers the day the news broke vividly. News stations were downstairs and the headlines were in our feeds. Client meetings were canceled and counselors were brought in. We held a vigil in her honor in the 111 8th Ave building. We spent a day with her family at Harlem Grown - a nonprofit urban farm where Vanessa volunteered regularly. Google dedicated a yoga studio to her in Chelsea building 8510 - now known as Vanessa’s Rainbow. In the yoga studio, there is beautiful commemorative art on the walls and there are prayer stones in a bowl dedicated to her by our entire team.
Vanessa was an extraordinarily kind and special person who was constantly giving back to her community, so her family and friends created the Vanessa T. Marcotte Foundation to honor her and promote the values she lived for. The VTMF promotes female empowerment and gender equality. They also provide self-defense training and educational opportunities to help reduce violence against women in our society.
Ever since the foundation was created, Google has been supporting their efforts - from the Falmouth MA 5K to the NYC Half Marathon to the NYC & Boston Marathons. We have stayed in touch with Vanessa’s relatives and friends and they have come to count on Google for our on-going support.
