Dr. Vanessa Deane's praxis is rooted in the political economy of climate change and disasters, primarily in small island developing states.

Dr. Vanessa Deane, AICP is the Chief Executive Officer of Pinchina Consulting and Director of Urban Planning at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service (NYU Wagner). Currently, she is exploring the adaptive capacity of select francophone nations through a climate justice framework. Dr. Deane was a Visiting Professor of Urban Planning at Sorbonne Université in 2022.

Her prior work includes a comprehensive analysis of Haiti's institutional development challenges, which were further accentuated by the 2010 earthquake. She won the 2021-2022 "Outstanding Decentralization Paper Award for Latin America and the Caribbean" for this contribution from the Local Public Sector Alliance. Other accolades include the NYU Wagner 2020 "Professor of the Year" award.

She holds a doctorate in Public and Urban Policy from The New School and a Master of Urban Planning from NYU Wagner. She graduated magna cum laude from Brandeis University with her Bachelor of Arts in African and African American Studies as well as in American Studies, along with double minors in Education Studies and in Social Justice and Social Policy.

Dr. Deane is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners. She is also a Public Voices Fellow of the Op-Ed Project.