Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa Gracia Cruz.
Hi Vanessa, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
When I was 23, I lost my mom. One of the hardest parts of that season was not having an older, more experienced woman to guide me through life’s biggest moments. In the years that followed, I walked through infertility, depression, and anxiety. In 2019, God did a miracle in my body and blessed me with my first child – and yet I felt even more lost, trying to navigate motherhood without a mother. In 2021, after my twin girls were born, I started Maven House – a community for women built on Titus 2, the idea that experienced women can teach younger women how to navigate what they’ve never faced before. Maven House exists to give women the tools to reach their full potential as mothers, as businesswomen, and as dreamers, all in the context of community and sisterhood. I’ve learned that everything is easier when you have a community behind you. At Maven House, we pray together, stand together, share testimonies, and learn from one another.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Building anything is hard, and it’s hard for everyone who builds – I actually think that should be encouraging, because we tend to assume things are going smoothly for everyone else when we’re really just seeing the tip of the iceberg. Maven House is five years old, but the idea had been in my heart for decades: helping women and using my voice to teach. I started teaching at my local church when I was 15, leading a small youth group. Over the years there have been plenty of setbacks – events that lost money, rooms where no one showed up. I kept going because I never let outside validation, or what looked like success, be my motivator. My motivation has always been: was I obedient to God with what He put in my hands? Am I doing what I was put on this earth to do? If the answer is yes, then even if no one buys in or it takes a few tries to get it right, I’m okay with that.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Maven House?
Maven House offers online courses, community groups, virtual retreats, and personal mentorship for women – all from the comfort of your phone. The model was born out of my own seasons over the last five years: so many times I wanted to learn more and connect more, but I was pregnant, postpartum, or raising littles who had to be in bed by a certain time. Studies show women feel most isolated during those years – and while not everyone in Maven House is a mother or postpartum, the point is that we bring community to you. You shouldn’t have to be isolated because you’re in a busy season of career, kids, or other big projects. We’re building a community of women of faith – women who sometimes can’t make it to church, which can ache and get lonely. Today Maven House is 364 women across the US and Latin America, with 73 courses across three levels plus guest electives, all online. The goal has always been the same: empower women to stay connected – not just to anyone, but to like-minded women.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
The best way to collaborate is to join Maven House – you never know who will be encouraged by your story, or how much you have to offer a community of women like you. You can also get involved with our missions: every year we fund local projects that give back to Latinas in Florida and across Latin America, and we’re often collecting donations and looking for helping hands from volunteers.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://becomeamaven.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mavenhousewomen
