About Nesta

Nesta is an innovation foundation. For us, innovation means turning bold ideas into reality and changing lives for the better. We use our expertise, skills and funding in areas where there are big challenges facing society.

Mary-Alice is a principal researcher in the fairer start mission, leading research work on the link between family income and child outcomes.

She is passionate about the potential for rigorous evidence to inform policy and practice and ultimately improve lives.

Originally trained as an economist, Mary-Alice has worked across academia, government and the non-profit sector. Before Nesta, she served as research lead at Policy in Practice, leveraging administrative data to generate local and national policy insights in the UK. Prior to that, she worked at J-PAL North America managing large-scale randomised controlled trials of public and health economics interventions.

Mary-Alice is currently pursuing a PhD in Social Policy at the London School of Economics, exploring the relationship between benefits policy and human capital formation. Her research focuses on unpicking the channels linking very early life experiences with health and wellbeing trajectories.

Outside of work, Mary-Alice spends most of her time with her toddler – reading lift-the-flap books, spotting aeroplanes and riding buses.