Elina is a Research Analyst at MEF Associates, based in the Bay Area. She is a detailed-oriented researcher who is passionate about economic security and poverty abolition at the household and neighborhood level. Her expertise lies in tax credits, direct cash assistance programs, wealth and inequality policies, and the experiences of women and people of color in the labor market. She also has research interests in housing and local food policy and has an extensive background in data analysis and visualization using multiple statistical languages.
Prior to MEF, Elina worked in child welfare using her 15 years in the foster care system to drive systems change for children, youth, and families. She continues her advocacy in this space by working with state, local, and national organizations, and governments to better serve youth who are transitioning out of foster care. Elina has also worked with international organizations and did international economic development and foreign policy work across East and Western Africa, East Asia, and Latin America. She continues to use a global and interconnected lens in her work on domestic social policy in the U.S.
Elina received a dual Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and English Literature and dual minors in Economics and Human Rights Studies at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. She has a Master of Public Policy from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan.
Outside of work, you can find Elina running in the Redwoods in her backyard, cooking or traveling with her partner and friends, and meticulously updating her Goodreads/StoryGraph and Letterboxd with new books and films she’s enjoying.