Marlène Elias

Bio

Marlène Elias is the Gender Lead at the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture. She leads the Alliances Module of the CGIAR GENDER Impact Platform and the Work Package on Developing the Capacities of Emerging Water-Energy-Food-Environment (WEFE) Nexus Leaders in the CGIAR initiative on NEXUS Gains.

Marlène has a BSc in Biology and Environmental Sciences, and an MA and PhD in Geography. Rooted in a feminist political ecology approach, her research focuses on gendered dimensions of forest management and restoration, gender norms in agri-food systems, forest/agri-food value chains, and women’s resource rights, predominantly in West Africa and South and Central Asia.

Before joining the Alliance, Marlène conducted research on gender, forest-based livelihoods, agroforestry, and forest management in Latin America and Africa. Among other positions, she has worked in UNESCO’s Division for Gender Equality and as a Fellow in the Department of Anthropology of Université Laval in Canada. She is the founder of the NGO Association Burkina Canada that facilitates education to underprivileged girls and boys in Burkina Faso. Marlène is based in Montreal, Canada.