Meet Your Host: Vanessa Ramirez, the host and co-executive producer of Arizona Midday. During her six years on 12News Today in AZ as the traffic anchor, Vanessa was part of the morning team that won the 2018 Rocky Mountain Emmy for Best Morning Newscast.
In addition to hosting Arizona Midday, Vanessa serves as the in-game host for the Arizona Diamondbacks, a role she’s held for the past 16 seasons. She also hosts Cox’s Su Vida, spotlighting the Hispanic community, culture, food and lifestyle topics. Earlier in her career, Vanessa was a radio personality on KZON101.5 and Mega 104.3.
After losing her father to non-smokers lung cancer in 2011, Vanessa founded the Frank Ramirez Breathe to Believe fundraising event. So far, she has raised more than $100,000 for cancer research, awareness and support.
Vanessa is also active with the American Cancer Society. An advocate of the American Cancer CAN group, she traveled to Washington D.C. to discuss cancer issues and bills with Congress, receiving the American Cancer Society’s Rising Star Woman of the Year Award for 2017. She is also a committee member of the American Cancer Society Arizona Chapter, American Lung Association AZ Ambassador and sits on the Arizona Coyotes Foundation Board.
A Phoenix native, Vanessa grew up in the West Valley where she graduated from Maryvale High School and continued on to Grand Canyon University to earn a B.A. in Communications.
When she has free time, Vanessa enjoys spending it with family, friends, her dog Milo, exploring new restaurants and traveling.
Meet Emcee Chuck Drago, Professional Voice Actor and Announcer who has announced 15 different sports at Stadiums and Arenas around the globe including locally for The Arizona Diamondbacks, Arizona Coyotes, Phoenix Rising, World Fighting Federation, Grand Canyon University Baseball, 11 different sports for Arizona State University, and 6 Major League Baseball Spring Training teams.
Meet Guest Speaker Chris Draft, the Founder, President, and CEO of the Chris Draft Family Foundation (CDFF) whose mission has been to empower families to lead healthy lifestyles. He is also the Co-Founder of Team Draft, leading the creation of a national campaign that is changing the face of lung cancer. He is an internationally recognized speaker, community leader, and family and character advocate who serves as an NFL Ambassador and a national spokesperson on many health-related issues, including the care and treatment of asthma, from which he suffers, and lung cancer, the disease that claimed the life of his wife, Keasha in 2011.
