Elena Bertozzi is an advocacy, policy, and communications professional with over 15 years of experience leading multi-stakeholder coalitions and working with multilateral institutions. Prior to joining Project Starling as Deputy Director in 2025, Elena led strategic engagement with the United Nations and member states at the Open Society Foundations (OSF), including during UN General Assembly High Level Week and high-level summits. She also managed OSF’s campaign model overseeing six thematic campaigns worth $30 million and supported a multilateral reform portfolio.

As UN Representative for Humanity & Inclusion, Elena established the organization's New York office and led high-level engagement with the UN and members of the Security Council. She developed and implemented crisis advocacy strategies for situations like Syria, Myanmar, and Ukraine, bringing local perspectives to UN discussions. Her networked advocacy efforts led to concrete policy changes, including Security Council resolutions on disability rights in conflict and sanctions’ impact on humanitarian aid, as well as the adoption of system-wide guidance on the inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action.

Prior to her UN work, Elena spent seven years in Brussels working with EU institutions and as a consultant at Burson-Marsteller, which equipped her with the skills to navigate complex multilateral systems. She managed pan-European projects involving up to 20 countries and coordinated high-level policy debates.

Elena holds an M.A. in Political Science and Public and International Communications, summa cum laude, from Catholic University of Milan, Italy. She began her career as a journalist in Italy and has lived and worked across Europe before settling in New York, where she lives with her husband and two daughters.