Vanessa Gill

Vanessa Gill believes it is her mission to bring art and science together in innovative ways that help people. Learning from her own experiences as an individual with Asperger syndrome, she founded Social Cipher, an empowering video game for children with Autism. Her remarkable interdisciplinary team works to develop the game’s design based on scientific research and the needs of real children and families affected by Autism. A year since its inception, Social Cipher has won multiple pitch competitions and was a finalist out of over 1000 entries in the National Geographic Chasing Genius Challenge. This past May, Vanessa graduated from Claremont McKenna College with a B.A. in Neuroscience and physics minor. She has also conducted and recently published research on traumatic brain injury.  When she’s not working with her Social Cipher team, you’ll find her hiking, sketching, or geeking out over books, music, science, and Star Wars.