Vaishali has a multi-disciplinary training with a degree in Life Sciences (B.Sc.) from University of Delhi, Environment Management (M.Sc.) from Indraprastha University and in International Forestry (Professional Masters) from University of British Columbia. She holds a diploma in Remote Sensing and GIS with specialization in Forestry and Ecology from Indian Institute of Remote Sensing.

Her interest lies in restoration and landscape level planning and management. Her work so far has been in the field of Wildlife Conservation in India answering questions related to nature-people interactions, mapping animal movement and corridors, and using principles of Systematic Conservation Planning for finding a balance between conservation and development. Her current work involves studying riparian ecosystems and the drivers of degradation.

She has received various awards for academic excellence including Binkley Family Graduate Scholarship (2022), Golden Jubilee Scholarship (2018), and Sh. Suresh Kumar Trikha Memorial Prize (2014). She has also been gold medallist of the Post Graduate Diploma course of the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing.