As Head of a large and diverse department with an array of modes of delivery, Elena values the challenges involved in creating conditions for a high-quality student and staff experience. Her multi-disciplinary department has over 100 staff and 50 associate lecturers from across 20 different professions spanning a wide range of industries, where 2578 students are taught across architecture, product design and built environment subjects.
Elena is a charismatic leader with an analytical mind that allows her to influence and drive change. Her passion, energy and hands-on approach, combined with excellent communication skills, have helped her department to become the best performing department in the university. She has developed a clear and strong transformative strategy that focuses on promoting an inter-disciplinary approach to professional and research-led scholarship in all her practice-orientated programmes, to enable the department to educate the next generation of built environment leaders. Her strong leadership has placed the department within the 10 best schools of Architecture and Building in the country, as well as building a diverse workforce that shows the construction industry how to lead. Since she took up her position she has more than doubled the proportion of female staff from 18 percent to 45 percent, and is working towards achieving a 50-50 split by 2025, compared with the current industry ratio of 13 percent women to 87 percent men.
Elena built a strong profile in sustainable design at Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, working on many pioneering and award-winning projects, some as part of Europe-wide research initiatives. Now in academia, she continues to develop her research interests, which focus on the crossover between health, sustainability and architecture.