Elin has more than 25 years of professional and academic experience in the fields of environmental education, communications and community-based research.

She has developed policies, strategies, exhibits, research initiatives and programs for international, national and local organizations, including the Secretariat to the Convention on Biological Diversity; the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (the NAFTA Environmental Secretariat); the World Conservation Union (IUCN); the Canadian Biodiversity Convention Office; the Canadian Global Change Program; and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Before establishing her consultancy, she served as Chief of Science Education at the Canadian Museum of Nature; Director of Exhibits and Interpretation at the Vancouver Aquarium; and Manager of Interpretive Services at the Calgary Zoo, Botanical Garden and Prehistoric Park.

Her consultancy business, E L i N  K E L S E Y  &  c o m p a n y, creates and facilitates strategic planning and visioning meetings and participatory decision-making workshops for international, national, and local organizations, institutions and businesses. Her company employs creative facilitation approaches that build on the existing knowledge, expertise and passions of the participants, such as Open Space Technology, Appreciative Inquiry, Conversation Cafes and Future Search.

Elin is the award-winning author of nine books, and her work has appeared in magazines such as BBC Wildlife, New Scientist and OWL Magazine (a science and nature discovery magazine for kids). Ms. Kelsey is skilled at communicating science and environmental issues through the media and has been a regular contributor to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC Radio) and a contributing editor for OWL.

Elin received her BSc in Zoology from the University of Guelph and her MA in Science Learning in Informal Settings from the University of British Columbia. She obtained her PhD in Science Education and International Environmental Policy from King’s College (University of London) as a King’s College Alumni Research Scholarship recipient.

She is an adjunct professor of Environmental Education and Communications at Royal Roads University in Canada and was nominated by her students for RRU’s 2007 Kelly Outstanding Teaching Award. Her research interests focus on public engagement and the roles of informal learning organizations in environmental and sustainability initiatives.

An avid international traveler, Elin has led ecotour expeditions to India, Nepal, Indonesia, Micronesia, Malaysia, Mexico, and the Canadian High Arctic. She is a Canadian citizen and a permanent resident of the United States.

She lives in Pacific Grove, California, where she has just finished a book for University of California Press on whales, environment and culture.

Contact Elin Kelsey