Sara Elder

Senior Policy Advisor

Sara Elder is a Senior Policy Advisor, Standards Workstream, with IISD’s Economic Law and Policy Program. She works with the State of Sustainability Initiatives (SSI) team and is the lead author for the State of Sustainability Initiatives Review on Private Standards, Market Access and Poverty Reduction. Her work focuses on the social and environmental impacts of global supply chains for producers in the Global South.

She has lived and worked in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, with experience in development policy and practice and managing applied research projects. Before joining IISD, Sara worked for the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva, where she conducted innovative research and analysis, and developed and facilitated training for policy-makers on global supply chains and inclusive development, with a focus on food security and rural economies.

Sara holds a PhD in resources, environment and sustainability and a Master of Arts in resource management and environmental studies from the University of British Columbia. She is fluent in English, with working knowledge of French and Spanish, and conversational Farsi and Kinyarwanda. She is based in Vancouver, Canada.