Vanessa is an Education Researcher at IRC’s Airbel Impact Lab, working on the IRC’s global agenda, the FCDO-funded Education Research in Conflict and Protracted Crisis (ERICC) Programme. The research programme focuses on promoting education in conflict- and crisis-affected settings, enhancing drivers of learning, including access, continuity, and quality, and exploring the role of education in fostering equity, cohesion, and sustainable peace.

She has extensive experience in the education and international development sectors, spanning over a decade. Prior to joining the IRC, she worked as a Research Associate at the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)/Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF)-funded multinational research network on the Political Economy of Education, promoting social justice and cohesion in Central Asia. Vanessa has also worked as a development practitioner for several years, notably on JICA-funded Official Development Assistance (ODA) education projects in low- and middle-income contexts, primarily in Bangladesh and Uzbekistan, where she collaborated closely with local Ministries of Education and major development partners. Vanessa specialises in Central Asian contexts and identity-related issues and is currently completing her PhD in Education from Astana University, Kazakhstan. Her doctoral research examined the role of education in shaping youth national identities in post-Soviet, multi-ethnic Uzbekistan through the intersection of ethnicity, gender, and religion, with the aim of promoting social cohesion and equity.

She also holds an MA in Education and International Development from University College London, Institute of Education (UCL, IOE), UK, and an MA in Pedagogy from Université Bordeaux Montaigne, France.