Vanessa brings 20 years experience to her role as Managing Director of Acorn Creative Group having worked within the private, non-profit, State Government and Local Government sectors.

Vanessa is a Wagga Wagga City Councillor and sits on the boards of Riverina Water and the Wagga Women’s Health Centre. She also sits on a number of other committees including as Chairperson of both Wagga Council’s Public Art Advisory Panel and Floodplain Risk Management Advisory Committee.

Vanessa is currently Museums & Galleries NSW Museum Advisor for AlburyCity, Greater Hume Shire and Snowy Valleys Councils. She has developed a number of arts and cultural strategic plans and enjoys working on developing public art plans and projects.

She was directly impacted by the devastating Black Summer bushfires and is the Curator of Arbour Festival, a multi-artform festival that was held across the fifty days of the one year anniversary of the Dunn’s Road Fire in the Snowy Valleys from 28 December 2020 to 15 February 2021.

In 2020 Vanessa was named a Regional Arts Australia Fellow.