Vanessa supports the investment process for the CSGF Scale team across the Pacific West and Mountain West regions. Vanessa believes that education is a powerful equalizer and is dedicated to this work because ensuring that all children have access to quality education is the most important equity effort of our time. Prior to joining CSGF, Vanessa spent three years at The Opportunity Trust managing grants and leadership development programs to build a more equitable education system in St. Louis. Vanessa brings more than a decade of additional leadership and project management experience in education and youth development, including service-learning partnerships with WE Charity, refugee resettlement with ECDC, international education efforts in Cameroon and South Sudan, Peace Corps service and work with UNICEF in eSwatini, and Americorps VISTA service with Colorado College. Vanessa holds a BA in sociology from the University of Minnesota and a MSW from Washington University in St. Louis.