Vanessa Edwards Foster is a longtime activist, fighting for the rights of transgender people across decades. She started lobbying in Washington, D.C. in 1997 with the International Conference of Trans Law & Employment Practices (ICTLEP) and Gender Public Advocacy Coalition (GPAC). In 1999, she co-founded the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition (NTAC), a grassroots initiative “to establish and maintain the right of all transgendered, intersexed, and gender-variant people to live and work without fear of violence or discrimination.”

From the mid-1990s to 2001, Foster, along with trans activists Sarah DePalma and Monica Roberts (founder of TransGriot), co-hosted After Hours, the Houston-based LGBT radio show that broadcast on KPFT 90.1 from 1987 to 2017. Foster was also the editor of the Texas Association for Transsexual Support (TATS) newsletter.

In 2018, Foster ran in the Democratic primary for election to the U.S. House to represent the 27th Congressional District of Texas.