Elsa Barron

Elsa Barron (she/her) (peace studies and political science) is an environmental peacebuilding and climate justice researcher, writer, poet, and activist. Through her research, she is interested in understanding political processes of truth and reconciliation and the political influence of liberation theology movements. She is exploring opportunities to apply these concepts and processes to international climate diplomacy and climate justice movements.

Elsa collaborates on related topics as a program associate with the Institute for Climate and Peace, a climate justice organization based in Hawai’i. She has previously worked at the Center for Climate and Security, Faith in Place, the Payne Institute for Public Policy, the Wilson Center Environmental Change and Security Program, and the NGO Committee on Financing for Development. Her faith and climate advocacy has been featured in the CBS News, Rolling Stone, and the Christian Science Monitor, among others. She has attended COP26, 27, and 28 through the Christian Climate Observers Program, and she is now one of three co-directors of that initiative, which is a partnership of twelve faith-based environmental NGOs.

Elsa is a Richard and Peggy Notebaert Premier Fellow. She holds a Bachelor of Science in biology with a supplementary major in peace studies and a minor in sustainability from the University of Notre Dame. During and after her degree, Elsa spent time in Palestine where she collaborated with local organizations to research the impact of structural violence on environmental peacebuilding initiatives.