Vanessa is an expert on sparking and scaling innovation in schools everywhere so that all kids can be prepared for their future. She consults with funders and organizations focused on innovation in education and youth development and is an Expert-in-Residence at Harvard Innovation Lab.

Most recently, Vanessa served as North America Community Impact Director at Nike, leading a statewide education initiative in Oregon, managing key national and local partnerships, and engaging Nike leaders to innovate in education. Her work (re)launching and implementing the Nike School Innovation Fund was recently documented in a Harvard case used to teach shared value and scaling impact in a joint program between the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Harvard Business School.