Peace and Conflict Studies Fellow
Peace and Conflict Studies Fellow
About Vanessa Voller (2026-2028)
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Vanessa Voller is a mixed-methods, community-engaged researcher whose work centers on gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and adolescent sexual and reproductive health. A former Fulbright Scholar in Bolivia and Research Fellow at the University of Minnesota Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility, her research examines experiences of GBV and barriers to contraception among adolescents and young adults in rural Bolivian communities. Dr. Voller previously worked clinically as a medical advocate, accompanying survivors through forensic sexual assault examinations in emergency departments in Minneapolis.
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She currently volunteers as an expert witness providing testimony in asylum cases involving GBV survivors from Bolivia before the U.S. Department of Justice. This work has further shaped her commitment to research that is grounded in social justice, trauma-informed practices, and policy change.
During the KAIGC Fellowship, she will conduct a research project focused on the experiences of Bolivian survivor migrants and will disseminate findings to both academic and community audiences.
Fellowship support will also enable her to attend the 2026 Sexual Violence Research Initiative Forum in Thailand and pursue additional training in engaged Buddhism to inform her research, teaching, and advocacy.
She is particularly grateful for this opportunity given the current ICE raids unfolding across Minnesota and political rhetoric vilifying refugee and immigrant communities.