Vanessa Pena M.S. M.P.A.

Vanessa Peña is a Research Staff Member at the IDA Science and Technology Policy Institute (STPI). She has extensive experience conducting high-quality research and rigorous policy analysis for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and other Federal agencies, including DoD, DOE, NASA, NSF, NIH, and NIST. She has published on R&D and technology transfer at Federal laboratories, public-private partnerships, STEM workforce, international competitiveness, and analyses of Federal policies and authorities that govern these topics. In her role, she advises Federal Government policy-makers to guide strategic planning, policy, and investment priorities across a multitude of S&T domains and brings a deep understanding of government structures, organizations, and complex issues in S&T, innovation, economic competitiveness, and national security issues.

Prior to joining STPI, Vanessa was the head of engineering for a small business supplier in the aerospace industry. She also has a strong familiarity of global issues through her international work, studying the biofuels value-chain in Honduras for WWF and the Netherlands Development Organization, promoting alternative transport fuels with the London Mayor’s Office, advising on international climate and energy policies for Notre Europe, and conducting research at France’s and Italy’s National Centers for Scientific Research.

Vanessa Peña holds dual master’s degrees from Columbia University and the London School of Economics and Political Science and a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.