Elana has been BIC’s Executive Director since 2018. She joined BIC in 2012 to start up BIC’s child rights program. She led BIC's work on child rights before becoming BIC’s Director of Social Inclusion and Accountability. She has been instrumental in pushing the World Bank to take aggressive action in addressing gender based violence, and is deeply committed to advocating for reforms that respect the rights of those most profoundly impacted by development activities.

Elana is a human rights lawyer with significant experience working at the international level. Immediately before joining BIC she spent a year in Thailand working at Burma Partnership where she helped local civil society groups report on human rights violations committed by the Burmese military. Prior to moving to Thailand, Elana worked for the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect where she led several campaigns to protect populations at risk of mass atrocities. Elana received her Juris Doctor from Columbia University School of Law and holds a B.A. degree in Political Science and History from the University of Maryland.