Elena Sapelyuk

Elena Sapelyuk is an M.A. candidate in International Policy at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute and a Knight-Hennessy Scholar. Her work focuses on the global shift from donor-driven aid to private investment and market-based solutions in frontier and displacement-affected economies. Before Stanford, she led multi-country programs at the Refugee Investment Network (RIN), managing U.S. State Department–funded initiatives in Kenya and Zambia and working with partners such as the World Bank and Acumen to design investment strategies for underserved markets. She has also supported policy and research efforts with the International Rescue Committee, HIAS, and Oxford’s Refugee-Led Research Hub. Elena holds a B.S.F.S. in International Politics from Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, where she was a Pelosi Scholar and a Projects for Peace awardee.