Born in Philadelphia, Gwendolyn VanSant spent her childhood mostly on naval bases on the East Coast. She first learned about W. E. B. Du Bois when she was accepted into Bard College at Simon’s Rock at age 15. Gwendolyn’s love of Spanish, learning, and meeting new people led her to an early career as an interpreter and translator. In 2007, Gwendolyn and her colleague Marthe Bourdon co-founded Multicultural Berkshire Resources for Integration of Diverse Groups through Education (BRIDGE), a minority- and women-run non-profit promoting equity, justice, and trust. In addition to receiving local and state recognitions, she is Vice Chair of the W.E.B. Du Bois Legacy Committee, an active partner to and member of the NAACP, a member of the Unitarian Universalist Board for Social Justice, and member of the Berkshire Commission on the Status of Women. She serves on the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts board.