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Vanessa Wai

Managing Director, Community Skoll Foundation

Biography

Vanessa works on the Community and Convenings team, supporting the curation and care of the Skoll World Forum delegate community. She has been working in the nonprofit field for over ten years developing community engagement and workforce development programs. Most recently, she served as the Communities Manager at Benetech, a Skoll Awardee. Previously, Vanessa worked at the Downtown Women’s Center, where she managed their volunteer program and started three social enterprises (a café, retail store, and product line) that created job training and employment opportunities for homeless women in the Los Angeles Skid Row Community.

Vanessa holds an MBA from the University of California, Davis and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Psychology and Social Behavior from the University of California, Irvine. Vanessa enjoys the adventures of parenting two energetic and mischievous kids with her partner. She is passionate about food, community building, and social innovation.

Regional Focus

Caribbean, Central America, Central and Southern Asia, Eastern and Southern Africa, Eastern Asia, Europe, Middle East and North Africa, North America, Oceania, South America, Southeast Asia, West and Central Africa

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