Dr. Vanessa Crossgrove Fry is Co-Founder at Idaho Policy Institute (IPI) where she leads students, staff, and faculty in providing innovative and independent research to help public, private, and nonprofit leaders overcome challenges and navigate change. She serves as Associate Research Professor in the School of Public Service where she teaches the Vertically Integrated Project Housing Opportunities for All. Dr. Fry has focused both her work and education on utilizing multi-sector, evidenced-based solutions to address persistent social, environmental, and economic issues and meet the current and critical needs in communities across Idaho and beyond. Vanessa also holds a BA in Biology and Fine Art from Wittenberg University in Ohio where she was a first-generation college student and collegiate athlete, an MBA in Sustainable Management from Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco where she is an Adjunct Faculty Member, and a PhD Public Policy and Administration from Boise
State. In 2022 Vanessa participated in a Mandela Washington Fellowship Reciprocal Exchange in Cape Town, South Africa. In addition, she serves on the boards of the American Red Cross of Idaho and East Oregon (where she is Past Chair), the Consortium of University Public Service Organizations (where she is Past President), City Club of Boise (where she is President), and Association for University Business
and Economics (where she is President). In 2024 she was named a Rapid Education Prototyping (REP4) National Fellow and a National Association to End Homelessness, Homelessness Research Network Scholar.