VHA is excited to welcome another member of our 2025–2026 VISTA cohort, Danni Smith, who is serving as the Communications VISTA with Virginia Housing Alliance.

About Danni:

Danni Smith is originally from Upstate New York, where she graduated from SUNY Potsdam with a degree in public health and psychology. Her prior professional experience, ranging from government to nonprofit settings, has revolved around housing stability, food access, and health equity. She is passionate about using data and research to uplift the lived experiences of people in her community.

Danni served as a VISTA with the Alliance for a Better Omaha in 2018-2019. She decided to return for another VISTA service term with VHA to continue deepening her experience and skill set in housing advocacy. Since moving to Richmond, she has become active in housing spaces in the community, and she is excited to spend this year collaborating with other residents, community partners, and local leaders to support sustainable, equitable change.

Project: 

During her time as the Communications VISTA at Virginia Housing Alliance, Danni has focused on increasing community engagement and awareness around VHA’s mission of expanding housing opportunities across the Commonwealth. She is particularly interested in breaking down complex housing policy topics into easily-digestible, public-facing communications. She has supported VHA’s Policy & Advocacy team with messaging around various housing initiatives and programs, to include developing, designing, and writing the 2025 Virginia Housing Trust Fund Impact Report – which has been used to advocate for increased state-level funding for affordable housing and homeless services throughout Virginia.