Meet Vanessa Codorniu

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Vanessa Codorniu. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Vanessa , so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

As a Latina born in Peru to Argentine parents, raised in New York City, and naturalized as an adult, I began bridging languages, realities, and cultures from a young age. My family was deeply spiritual, rooted in Catholicism yet respectful of Indigenous practices and that duality shaped how I saw the world. I became acutely aware of how people communicated, the pain they carried, and my own confusion and longing to understand it all.

I found my purpose by following what hurt and what healed me. From an early age, I was drawn to the unseen, to intuition, dreams, and the energy of nature, animals and humans. As I moved through family trauma and my own healing, I realized that what came naturally to me: listening, guiding, and helping others reconnect to their wisdom, wasn’t random. It was a calling.

My spiritual and healing journey began as a way to survive and then evolved into a way to serve. I’ve learned that most people overlook their gifts because they feel so natural, it’s the feeling of “that’s just how I am.” But often, our purpose lives in those effortless places. It’s not only about a career; it’s how we greet the day, meet challenges, and bring our energy into every space we enter.

In 1999, I began holding women’s healing circles as a community service. By 2012, after surviving a car accident on the Winter Solstice my inner voice said, “Don’t go back to corporate. Go full-time.” So I did. I founded The Urban Priestess, which later became The Biz Bruja, and went on to create podcasts, online summits, and global certification programs.

In 2017, I began studying improv and soon realized it was another path to healing and authenticity. I started sharing it in retreats across Pennsylvania, Mexico, and Peru, integrating it into my leadership trainings. Eventually, that work blossomed into my second business, Improv Unleashed.

Over time, my purpose has revealed itself at the intersection of everything I love: spirituality, creativity, and service. Teaching, healing, performing, and leading communities all come from the same root: helping people remember who they are, trust their voice, and live with courage and joy.

Purpose isn’t something I found all at once—it’s something I continue to uncover, layer by layer, as I grow.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I’m a bilingual cultural strategist, ancestral healer, artist, and creative entrepreneur whose work lives at the intersection of spirituality, storytelling, and social impact. For over 25 years, I’ve guided thousands through healing, leadership, and intuitive development and in recent years, I’ve expanded my practice through performance, improvisation, and applied creativity.

I’m the founder of The School of the Healing Artes, a bilingual online school that trains the next generation of Latinx and BIPOC healers and conscious leaders through certifications in intuition, hypnosis, Reiki, and ancestral healing. I’m also the founder of Improv Unleashed, a leadership and wellness program that brings improv-based tools into hospitals, universities, and organizations to foster courage, communication, and collaboration.

My artistic work mirrors my healing mission. I recently debuted my one-woman show, “Perra Puta Loca Bruja,” at the York Fringe Festival. It weaves storytelling, ritual, and humor to reclaim archetypes historically used to silence women, exploring intergenerational trauma, identity, and liberation. Alongside the show, I’ve created a 22-card oracle deck that continues the conversation through art, ritual, and reflection.

I’m also a founding member of Raíces Creativas / Creative Roots Collective, a grassroots Latinx arts initiative amplifying underrepresented voices in Central Pennsylvania, and host two podcasts: The Biz Bruja (English) and Nacimos Mágicas (Spanish), both celebrating intuition, ancestry, and creative empowerment.

What excites me most about my work is the bridge it builds between ancestral wisdom and modern creativity, between personal healing and collective change. Whether I’m performing on stage, teaching in a circle, or leading a corporate improv training, guiding someone through ancestral healing through hypnosis, my mission remains the same: to help people remember who they are, reclaim their voice, and live with courage and joy.

Coming up, I’m expanding Improv Unleashed trainings for organizations, developing a national tour for “Perra Puta Loca Bruja,” as well as an empowerment workshop for women dealing with the impact of societal expectations and launching the oracle deck to accompany the show. My goal is to continue blending creativity, healing, and storytelling to create spaces of belonging, transformation, and joy.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Looking back, I’d say the three qualities that have shaped my journey most are intuition, adaptability, and courage.

1. Intuition — trusting your inner compass.
Long before I had a business plan, I had an inner knowing. Intuition guided me through creative pivots, business shifts, and moments when logic said “no” but the soul said “go.” For anyone starting out, cultivate time for silence and self-connection. Listen deeply to what lights you up and what drains you. Your intuition will help you make aligned decisions faster than any strategy can.

2. Adaptability — learning to evolve without losing yourself.
As someone who’s navigated spirituality, business, and performance, I’ve had to constantly reinvent. From teaching online before it was common, to expanding from healer to performer to entrepreneur, adaptability kept me moving forward. My advice? Stay curious. Keep learning new tools and stay open to uncomfortable growth, it’s how your next evolution finds you.

3. Courage — choosing authenticity over approval.
It takes courage to be visible as a Latina creative, to tell your story, and to stand for something deeper than trends. Courage doesn’t mean not being scared it means showing up anyway. My advice is: start before you feel ready. Share your truth, your art, your message, even imperfectly. Every act of bravery expands your capacity for purpose and impact.

At the heart of all three is this: you don’t have to have it all figured out to start. You just need to trust your knowing, adapt as you grow, and have the courage to keep showing up as yourself.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

I’m always open to collaborating with creatives, educators, producers, companies and organizations who share a passion for healing, storytelling, and social impact through the arts.

I’m especially interested in connecting with universities, conferences, wellness organizations, festivals and theatres that value diversity, inclusion, and creative transformation. Whether it’s through improv-based leadership trainings, speaking engagements, artistic residencies, healing workshops, or performances of my one-woman show Perra Puta Loca Bruja or sharing LoS CoMpLiCaDoS, the first Latino improv team in Pennsylvania, I love co-creating spaces that blend creativity, culture, and consciousness.

I also welcome collaborations with Latinx and BIPOC artists, filmmakers, and community leaders who are reclaiming ancestral wisdom, humor, and authenticity in their work. I believe in partnerships that elevate everyone involved—where art isn’t just performed but lived as a catalyst for healing and connection.

If you’re reading this and feel aligned, I’d love to hear from you. You can connect with me through my website www.improv-unleashed.com
, thebizbruja.com or www.PerraPutaLocaBruja.com
, or on Instagram @thebizbruja. Let’s create something that moves hearts, challenges norms, and reminds people of their magic.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://improv-unleashed.com/, https://thebizbruja.com/, https://perraputalocabruja.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebizbruja/, https://www.instagram.com/latino_improv_los_complicados/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VanessaCodorniuEnEspanol/, https://www.facebook.com/vanessa.codorniu/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessacodorniu/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VanessaCodorniu
• Other: English podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/2neKrtLHdZZQ9y86znqbc4?si=502b40a7a8414533

  Spanish Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4iRzqZq2SHJuPbz2wu8liw

Image Credits

Emil Rodriguez-Powell
Wendy Yalom