Vera Institute of Justice

Vanessa Rios leads monitoring, evaluation, and learning for Vera’s Impact Pipeline, the Institute’s process for developing new program ideas. She partners with initiatives to clarify impact goals, measure signs of progress, and embed learning and adaptation.

Before joining Vera, Vanessa was a learning and evaluation officer at the Open Society Foundations, supporting the Human Rights Initiative. In previous roles, she partnered with global feminist organizations and advocates to design and implement collaborative documentation projects that built evidence for advocacy; strengthened organizational capacity, movement building, and grant-making strategies; and facilitated opportunities for collective learning.

In addition to her work at Vera, Vanessa is a 92Y Women in Power Fellow and serves on the national advisory board for Answer, a national organization that promotes access to comprehensive sexuality education for young people.

Vanessa holds a BS in human development from Cornell University and an MPH in global health from Emory University.