Vanessa Duke

Vanessa began her career as a prison officer at HMP Peterborough.

Her first role in substance misuse was at HMP Peterborough as a CARATS worker and she moved into the community when she first joined Via as a practitioner in Bedfordshire.

Since then Vanessa has worked in a range of substance misuse services including DIP/IOM services, prison treatment and recovery services, integrated drug and alcohol services, and in a residential detox facility.

Vanessa also has experience as a Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered manager and has supported and overseen a number of successful CQC inspections.

Vanessa has significant experience of quality and governance and worked at Via as a quality manager and most recently as a senior manager responsible for organisational quality and continuous improvement at SMART CJS.

Vanessa has also been a volunteer for over five years at a Rape Crisis Centre local to her home and in 2019 was elected as a joint Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees. She’s a champion for women’s equality and is also passionate about driving forward LGBTQ+ inclusion within services.

As an Area Director at Via, Vanessa manages a portfolio of services across London and the home counties, focusing on leading teams to deliver high-quality care.