Vanessa Paesani is the founder of The Folding Chair Group, a consulting practice she has led for over 10 years, and Executive Director of the Pond-Deshpande Centre at the University of New Brunswick, where she has worked in various leadership roles for over seven years.

Throughout her career, Vanessa has built and led organizations at every stage. She joined an early-stage charity as its first employee and grew it to become Executive Director. She led a regional leadership development organization, directed a large music festival in Fredericton, and was part of a startup founding team that raised $500K in pre-seed investment. She has guided multiple organizations through critical transitions, including leading the Fundy Trail Parkway's transition to provincial stewardship.

Vanessa co-chairs New Brunswick's Nonprofit Advisory Council and has served on the board of Venture for Canada for almost 10 years. She previously served on the Canadian Women's Foundation Investment Readiness Program committee, helping disburse $2M to women-led social enterprises.

She is a certified executive coach and holds a Masters of Arts in Executive and Organizational Coaching from Royal Roads University, where she developed the Aperture Framework—a model demonstrating how leaders expand their capacity to process complexity as they develop. She is trained in the Art of Hosting and certified in GBA+ (Gender-Based Analysis Plus).

The Folding Chair Group is named after Shirley Chisholm's wisdom: "If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair." Vanessa coaches leaders who are building their own seats—and tables big enough for others to join.