About Vanessa Vaupel, PharmD, BCPS

Healthcare Expert + Mom + Problem Solver + Girl Scout = Formula for City Council Success

The health of my community is at a turning point, and I can no longer stand by and watch. I’ve never been good at staying quiet when something matters.

Federal funding cuts are at our front doors. Donald Trump’s decisions are gutting the public health infrastructure cities like Reno depend on. When leadership at the top is actively making things worse, the people closest to the problem don’t get the luxury of waiting.

I’m a pharmacist, a problem solver, and someone who has spent her career pushing for “yes” when it mattered most.

Let me tell you about one of those moments.

I’m sitting in the director’s conference room at the VA hospital. 

Around me, our administrators and service chiefs – mostly men – are going back and forth about why we can’t move forward. We don’t have the staff. We don’t have enough information. What if someone has a reaction.

The debate was about the newly-available COVID vaccines and these smart, capable leaders were hesitant.

I understood. These were untested waters. From a pharmacist’s perspective, these vaccines were novel and complex. Even our own government, which we often look to for a plan and hope, instead offered ugly propaganda and pushed fear.

I understood the hesitancy. I understood the fear. But COVID was scarier. People were dying. Our veterans were dying. And saying “no” to the vaccine wasn’t an option.

It was time to do something. I stood up. And I said: yes, we can.

As it usually goes, when you speak up, you get assigned the duty to lead, and lead I did. With evidence, solutions, and a plan. We launched one of the most successful vaccine campaigns in the entire VA system, becoming the fourth highest vaccinating VA in the country.

Here’s what I learned that day: the right voice at the right moment can move an entire room from fear to action.

That’s what I want to be for Reno.

Because our city is facing big questions right now. About housing. About how we grow. About how we will deliver healthcare in the face of an unpredictable and anti-science federal government. Reno needs a healthcare expert on our team.

I can tell you exactly where I will start. City council members serve on boards that directly shape public health in our region. I want a seat on the Washoe County District Board of Health where my clinical background means I’m not learning on the job, I’m contributing on day one. I would also look to serve on the licensing board where I can help the businesses that support healthcare and public health and get them to work serving our community. 

That’s the kind of leadership I’ll bring to the city council. Not beliefs, but evidence. Not fear, but solutions. Not waiting for someone else to step up, but standing up and saying yes.

Our city needs someone who understands that housing policy is health policy. That park investment is childhood wellness. That every budget line has a human consequence. I see those connections because healthcare is how I’ve spent my life. And it’s time that perspective had a seat at the table.

I’m a pharmacist, a working mom, and your neighbor. My husband and I are raising our two daughters here in Reno, where I’m happy to be a Girl Scout mom. I’ve led a Girl Scout troop for nearly a decade, investing in the next generation of young women in this community. I currently serve in federal engagement strategy and data analytics support at the University of the Pacific. I also serve the community as an Elk, a Rotarian, and as a member of the Junior League.