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
José holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a Master of Science in Water and Sustainable Development from IHE Delft (Netherlands). He works on climate change adaptation with a practical and place-based approach. His interests focus on addressing environmental challenges related to water and ecosystems, supporting processes that strengthen resilience. He believes in the value of connecting knowledge, experience, and commitment to scale solutions that foster active awareness in an ever-changing world.
Since September 2025, he has been Business Development Coordinator at ICA. In addition, since May 2024, he has served as an Associate Researcher, leading technical assistance for autonomous communities and municipalities in Spain that are signatories to the European Union’s Mission on Climate Change Adaptation. In this role, he oversees quality control, vulnerability and risk analysis, improvement of adaptation plans, and designs participatory roadmaps and financing strategies. He also conducts research impact evaluations and participates in projects on water governance and climate risk management.
In northern Sinaloa, Mexico, he served as Deputy Director of Environment of the Municipality of Ahome, Director of Environmental Restoration and Conservation I.A.P., and Founding President of the Biocultural Association Proyecto Fe A.C. On a voluntary basis, he led the Sustainable Cities Working Group of CODESIN, co-founded citizen initiatives such as Barrios de Paz and the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee of Ahome. He also directed Biofest and collaborated in the implementation of the disaster risk reduction initiative #FuerzaSinaloa following the 19E floods.
“The meaning of life is to give life meaning.”
- Viktor E. Frankl
