Director of ICATALIST, member of the European Scientific Council on Climate Change, lead author of IPCC Working Group II on Adaptation, Vulnerability and Impacts. She collaborates as an expert in the Spanish Citizens’ Climate Assembly.
At ICATALIST her role focuses on the development of strategic projects related to climate change adaptation and sustainability for different stakeholders, social innovation and innovation-based public policy. She leads an interdisciplinary team to implement projects that aim to have a positive impact, based on a range of products and services around shared values.
Founder and Director of ICATALIST. Elena completed her PhD at King’s College, London. She holds a Master’s degree from Cambridge University and a Master’s degree in Investigative Journalism, Data Management and Visualisation from the Juan Carlos I University with the newspaper “El Mundo”.
She was Associate Professor at IE Business School and Visiting Senior Fellow at the London School of Economics as Alcoa Research Fellow.
Professionally, Elena has worked with several organisations, including UNESCO, FAO, UNDP, the EU Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, universities and basin agencies, as well as with the private and third sectors.
She has published on a variety of topics mainly related to water security, social innovation, collaborative decision making, water governance, climate change adaptation, policy evaluation, knowledge management and transfer.
Its current main focus is on climate change adaptation, collective action and the role of green infrastructure, as well as strategic (ground) water management.
" We only reflect the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are found in the inner world. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change."
- M. Gandhi
– CEO and founder of Icatalist
– President of the BRIGAID Connect Association
– Lead author IPCC
– Member of the European Climate Change Advisory Council
– Expert at the Citizens’ Climate Assembly
Graduate in Environmental Sciences from the University of Malaga. Subsequently, she completed a Master’s degree in Biological Diversity and the Environment, specialising in biodiversity and marine environmental management, taught at the same university.
At the end of her studies, she began to develop professionally in the field of environmental consultancy and education, highlighting her experience in the elaboration of Municipal Plans Against Climate Change and as environmental education coordinator of the educational programme “Pasaporte Verde” offered by the Environmental Sustainability Area of Malaga City Council.
She considers herself to be equal parts analytical and imaginative, which means that science and creativity go hand in hand. Her most creative experience includes the design of informative posters for the Andalusian Regional Government’s Ecological Awareness and Education for Sustainability Programme and the creation of environmental content for social networks.
Her current specialities are climate change adaptation research, environmental education and outreach.
UICN (2022). The Environmental Education Programme of the Ayto. of Malaga “PASAPORTE VERDE” awarded 1st prize, Good Climate Practices Award, Autumn Quarterly Newsletter 2022, (28-29). https://www.uicn.es/web/boletines/2022/Oto%C3%B1o22.pdf
What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make
- Jane Goodall
• Researcher at Icatalist
