Vanessa is a Brazilian attorney in the fields of International Law, Human Rights, and Animal Law, and an Animal Law LLM alumna. She is currently a member of the Humane Society International Farm Animal Welfare Team in Brazil.
She got her LLB cum laude in Law from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil (2013), where she also specialized in Public and Private International Law (2017) and earned her Master’s Degree in International, European and Comparative Law (2019). She also holds a Diplôme d’Université in Comparative and European Law of Contracts and Consumer Law from the University of Savoie Mont Blanc, Chambéry, France (2011).
Academic research has always been one of Vanessa’s main interests, which is why she has been a member of the Research Group on International Law coordinated by Professor Claudia Lima Marques since 2007. In the scope of her activities for the Research Group, she was awarded DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) scholarships to study International Law at Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen (2008-2009) and Refugee Law at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (2018), both in Germany.
Realizing that nonhuman animals are the most underrepresented group in society made Vanessa direct her efforts and her knowledge in international law toward the protection of animals. In addition to pursuing her LLM, she has been dedicated to volunteering for animal rights NGOs, such as the Brazilian Vegetarian Society, where she has become a local coordinator.
She also served as a Visiting Fellow at Harvard Law School following her graduation from the Animal Law LLM Program.