Vanessa Ruales is a rising junior at Harvard University concentrating in Social Studies with a likely focus on obesity prevention policy in Latin America. She is originally from Ecuador, but has lived most of her life in Jacksonville, FL, and currently lives in Springfield, MA. She has been an active member in the IOP since her freshman year, participating in the Policy Program, writing for the HPR, and serving as Co-Chair of the Visiting Fellows Program as well as liaison in Fellows & Study Groups. Outside the IOP, Vanessa is a board member of Harvard College Effective Altruism and a research assistant at Harvard Kennedy School’s Minson Conflict and Collaboration Lab on behavioral insights. She is very excited to start working in the Office of Massachusetts Senator Eric Lesser this summer.