Dr. Annelies Goger, a Fellow at Brookings Metro, is an economic geographer with a PhD in economic geography and a master's in city planning. She works on understanding and closing the opportunity gap by exploring ways to improve systems that prevent individuals from achieving economic stability. Her current projects focus on scaling access to quality educational opportunities, job readiness, and experiential learning for people transitioning from prison to society using virtual reality technologies. Goger emphasizes the importance of context and qualitative data in tackling issues and argues that many countries already have systems in place to support people's career goals, but the US is not investing enough in creating opportunities for low-wage workers, those with limited formal education, or those with criminal records. She advocates for a more holistic approach to education and job training, including apprenticeships and vocational programs, to provide multiple pathways into good jobs, especially for underrepresented groups. Goger's work aims to help policymakers understand the challenges of reentry and develop solutions to overcome obstacles such as lack of access to quality education, limited job opportunities, and digital divides.