After working as a paralegal and serving almost eight years in the Army National Guard, Vanessa Lawson M.S.L.S. ’25 developed a passion for justice and helping others. She thought about pursuing a J.D. degree but realized that she didn’t need to become a lawyer in order to be able to advocate for others.

In 2018, Lawson launched a modeling and talent agency, driven by a desire to create a platform that celebrated beauty and individuality across all backgrounds. Inspired by the models she used at the time, she realized how the modeling industry in Minnesota lacked true diversity and representation of diverse backgrounds.

A few years later, when the COVID-19 epidemic began and Lawson was deployed to Iraq and Kuwait for thirteen months, she reimagined her business as a technology-driven company in the talent management space. She learned about Web3 and AI from fellow soldiers and saw AI as a new challenge—one she chose to face offensively to protect her business. Recognizing the urgent need, especially after seeing actors strike over studios’ misuse of their likenesses, Lawson envisioned a company that would defend the rights of talent, models, and athletes. This evolution led to the founding of Porte Management Agency, Inc., a grassroots company that now spans several countries and employs approximately thirteen full- and part-time staff, with a board of six members and Lawson as its founder and CEO.

In order to continue growing her company, Lawson knew she would need to really understand the ins and outs of business law, so she decided to apply to Cornell Law School’s M.S.L.S Program—a twenty-month master’s program in legal studies designed specifically for business professionals. Lawson is graduating from the M.S.L.S. program in May and is working diligently to expand and solidify her business.

In addition to running Porte Management Agency, Lawson is applying her newfound legal knowledge to her “passion project,” working with other members of the Porte family to help descendants of slaves who fled from Barbados to Liberia around 150 years ago to establish dual citizenship, as their ancestors had to renounce Barbados citizenship to become Liberians.

Led by their patriarch John Prince Porte, the Porte family had fled the brutal conditions of slavery on Barbados’s sugarcane plantations and, with determination and courage, sailed aboard the Brig Cora to the free state of Liberia in 1865. Once there, like many others before them, they established a new home, reconnecting with their ancestral heritage and shaping a new future for generations to come.

In the 1960s and 70s, Albert Porte, a journalist and Lawson’s distant relative, began exposing how the Liberian government at the time was violating human rights of Indigenous Liberians. His actions led to him being imprisoned for using his voice to advocate for those who could not do so for themselves. Upon learning of Albert Porte, Lawson became intrigued with her heritage and began digging deeper into the family she came from. This not only gave her the idea for the name of her company, but it also helped her find her calling.

Lawson, born in Liberia, left the country at age two with her mother, fleeing civil conflict and eventually resettling in Minnesota. As an adult, she returned to Liberia, where she immersed herself in her family’s culture and became deeply engaged with the Porte family history and efforts to close the gap between Barbados and Liberis. Lawson’s efforts now include extensive genealogical research, tracing family lines to reestablish ancestral connections and open pathways to dual citizenship in both Barbados and Liberia.

“I’m a firm believer that in order to get where you’re going, you need to know where you’ve been,” said Lawson.

Lawson is in the process of reclaiming her Liberian citizenship, which she had to renounce when moving to the United States, as Liberia lacked dual citizenship laws until 2022.

“I think I have a unique vantage point here, as I am helping others do this, I am also doing it for myself,” said Lawson. “In America, I always saw the benefit of dual citizenship. America is a ‘salad bowl,’ that allows diverse cultures to come together and form a society but still allow people to retain their unique individual culture and identity.”

Lawson has been doing this international work, individually, for three years now, and for the past four months, collectively working with her family. She has stayed in Liberia to help with this process, all the while growing her business and finishing her M.S.L.S. degree through Cornell.

“In the M.S.L.S. program, we strive to admit students who will not only benefit from the program but also contribute to its growth and richness. Vanessa truly exemplifies this philosophy, and we are very proud of what she has been able to accomplish,” said Fouad Saleet, assistant dean for external education. “She has been an outstanding student, but there is also a blend of perspectives, professional experience, and personal interests she brings to the table. Her contributions have enriched the experience of her peers and elevated the overall learning environment.”