Elena Essa is the Program Manager for Global Strategic Partnerships at Project Drawdown. In this role, she provides strategic management and decision-making support for philanthropic, business, and investor capital flows to effectively scale climate solutions.
Prior to Project Drawdown, Elena held the role of Senior Associate at RMI (Rocky Mountain Institute), where she led technoeconomic, policy, and strategic research across the Carbon-Free Electricity Program and Climate-Aligned Industries Program. Her areas of expertise focused on clean electricity and energy planning, virtual power plants, green shipping corridors, and decarbonized hydrogen trade and policy. Before RMI, she worked with CELI (Clean Energy Leadership Institute) as a Fellowship Coordinator.
Elena holds a Master of Engineering degree in energy systems engineering and a Master of Science degree in environment and sustainability with a focus on sustainable energy systems from the University of Michigan (U-M) and a Bachelor of Science degree in statistics, also from U-M (Go Blue!). She studied abroad with the University of Oxford’s Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment and the Iceland School of Energy at Reykjavik University.
Outside of work, Elena serves on the board of a New York City–based music nonprofit and enjoys travel, reading, and playing/listening to music.