After reading Archaeology and Art history of India, Japan and Tibet at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London, Vanessa’s interest grew in Indigenous issues when she conducted her research on the Indigenous art of Tibet, within the Tibetan diaspora, in Northern India in the summer of 2008. She has always had an interest in conservation, but her practical application began during her university years during which time she volunteered at a community garden in Kings Cross, London, as well as helping run a student-led food cooperative selling organic, fair-trade, and locally sourced food to students. She has been working for the ICCA Consortium since August 2010 and currently lives and works in Indonesia.