Elena delves into the content of our work and crafts it into descriptions to help make a compelling case for why a donor should support us. This entails engaging with some of the most urgent and important issues in international development today: climate change, rural livelihoods, and environmental restoration. 

In a previous career doing policy advocacy on international development issues, Elena was part of the worldwide Jubilee movement that helped to win debt relief for countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, freeing up funding for much-needed social services. She has a PhD  in Leadership Studies, specializing in Nonprofit and Philanthropic Leadership and Management, from  the University of San Diego; and a Master of Arts in International Relations, with concentrations in International Economics and in Social Change and Development, from Johns Hopkins/SAIS. Elena is the proud mother of a teenage daughter. She loves baking, going to the beach, and writing fiction.