Dr Éliane Ubalijoro is Chief Executive Officer of the Landscape Alliance and Director General of World Agroforestry (ICRAF). She is the first African woman to lead a CGIAR Research Center.
Dr Ubalijoro serves as Professor of Practice at McGill University and the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. She is a Fellow of the International Science Council and a Senior Fellow at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). Appointed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, she is a member of the Independent Group of Scientists preparing the 2027 Global Sustainable Development Report.
Her leadership spans science, sustainability, finance, policy and global development. She serves on several international boards and advisory bodies, including IKEA Forestry Advisory, Equity Group Holdings PLC, ESCP Sustainability Council, Science for Africa, Genome Canada, Capitals Coalition, the Global Alliance for a Sustainable Planet Impact, Akagera Medicines, ShEquity and Rwanda’s National Science and Technology Council. She is also a member of the first African Space Council, elected by African Union Heads of State, and serves on the External Advisory Committee advising Statistics Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada on the Census of Environment.
Recognized for her contributions to leadership and gender equity, Dr Ubalijoro received the International Leadership Association’s 2022 Women and Leadership Award. In 2025, Reuters recognized her as one of 12 Trailblazing Women in Climate.
