Organisation
TESE
Position
National Coordinator
Biography
Vanessa Mendes is Portugal’s Coordinator for TESE – Association for Development, an NGO working in the field of youth employability since 2008. She has 15 years of professional experience with vulnerable young people and joined TESE in 2017. Since then, she has designed and coordinated several European projects in employment, youth and social innovation. Her background includes work with highly vulnerable populations through organisations such as the Portuguese Red Cross and the Child and Youth Protection Services.
Within the ALMA initiative, she coordinated one of the Portuguese pilot projects, combining TESE’s expertise in non-formal education and youth employability with the transformative potential of European mobility.
She holds a master’s degree in psychology (University of Coimbra) and an advanced programme in strategic management (Nova SBE Executive Education).
Her professional journey has reinforced her belief in the untapped potential of both people and practices, from young people finding meaningful pathways to impactful methodologies finding their way to grow and scale.
Speaking in:
#EUSocialForum 2026: Empowering NEETs Through ALMA (Aim, Learn, Master, Achieve): Transforming results into stronger support for youth