Elvira Thissen

For nearly 20 years, Elvira has worked with the private sector, philanthropies, and policymakers to advance solutions for a range of societal challenges lined to global health, migration & displacement, and environmental degradation.

At present, she leads the Good Start Challenge for the Van Leer Foundation, an innovation competition to support the wellbeing of parents and caregiver of young children in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia. Previously, she set up and led VLF’s Global Displacement Portfolio, during which she also started the Moving Minds Alliance – a multi-stakeholder network aimed at mobilising support for young children and caregivers in crisis contexts.

Prior to this, she managed the global health practice at advisory firm SustainAbility in London, working with multinational corporations to rethink their business models to maximize positive societal impact. She started her career working with policymakers in think tanks, and in the European Parliament – after leading a very different life as a professional ballet dancer in The Netherlands and Spain. She holds an MSc in Global Politics from the London School of Economics, a BA in European Studies from the University of Amsterdam, and a BA in Dance from the National Ballet Academy of The Netherlands.