It was a light bulb moment for Prell: Up until then, "I thought all girls were attracted to other girls," she says, noting that she had been attracted to women as far back as she could remember.

It wasn't, though, something that she had acted upon; in fact, as a high school junior, she had a boyfriend. But, for most of her adolescence, dating and relationships didn't factor into her life. She attended all-girls schools for middle and high school, and was busy playing sports, serving on the speech and debate team, teaching religious school at her family's Reform synagogue and taking Advanced Placement classes.

The Silver Spring resident, 26, ended up doing a lot of research into gender identity, and uses a label that wasn't on that original identity list to describe herself: queer.

"I define it as an identity that has strong political roots and reject society's understanding of gender," she says, explaining that society, including most bisexuals, typically sees certain traits as belonging either to men or to women, but "Queer says that's not clear at all."

Saying that she has a "strong attachment to fluidity," Prell, who has a female partner, explains, "Right now, I can tell you who I'm attracted to, but in 10 years, who knows how different that will be."

As a student at the University of California at Santa Barbara, she majored in literature and the study of racism (a major she created as part of the university's interdisciplinary studies option). Prell, whose mother is Pacific Islander and father Jewish, took classes in the black, Asian and Chicano studies departments and focused her work on racism in law, public policy and education.

After graduating, Prell, who had grown up in California, moved to D.C. "with the expectation of getting involved in the nonprofit world."

She ended up working as a receptionist for the National Organization for Women.

About a year or so later, she found a job closer to her heart: as the first executive director of the National Union of Jewish Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, and Intersex Students (NUJLS).

As the group's first and, so far, only paid employee, she serves as a resource for campus groups, doing everything from photocopying to writing grant proposals to answering student inquiries.

Active with Bet Mishpachah in the District, she finds the job "endlessly rewarding," saying she relishes the opportunity "to make the world feel more welcoming for students."

This year, she's a fellow with Jewish United for Justice. She sought the fellowship, she says, as "a way to connect with my peers who are doing Jewish social justice."

And, she's a budding gardener. Having succeeded in growing two bell peppers and "a lot of mint" last summer, she says, she has "big plans" this year: "Green bean, lettuce, maybe some eggplant. I have high hopes for eggplants and raspberries." Debra Rubin

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Name: Vanessa (Vinny) Prell

Hebrew name: Seema

Lives in: Silver Spring

Birthday: Sept. 14, 1983

Synagogue: Bet Mishpachah, D.C.

Favorite Jewish holiday: Shabbat

Favorite Jewish food: hamantashen

Favorite Jewish celebrity: Barbra Streisand