Elena McNiece

Elena McNiece

Executive Assistant

Elena has recently completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Science and Policy from Duke University, where she specialised in environmental law & policy. Elena is keenly interested in reducing institutional disadvantage and supporting communities subject to environmental injustice.

Before joining Grata Fund, Elena worked at Marrickville Legal Centre as a client intake officer where she helped connect historically underserved communities to justice. She has also interned at the Community Empowerment Fund where she worked with residents of Durham, North Carolina to end the racial wealth gap.

Prior to her work at community legal centres, Elena was an intern to the executive vice president of Duke University to design and implement policies to help the community achieve carbon neutrality by 2024. She also assisted local government and school districts in Florida to reduce municipal carbon footprints and ensure all communities had a voice in drafting policies.   

Elena has recently collaborated with the Humanities Action Lab to create a museum exhibit that explores racial injustice through the lens of African-American gardeners in North Carolina. The exhibit, titled Climates of Inequality: Stories of Environmental Justice, is currently traveling the globe.