Maria Ivanova is a scholar of global governance working on the performance of international institutions, implementation of international environmental agreements, and sustainability. She is Director of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University in Boston. Her book, The Untold Story of the World’s Leading Environmental Institution: UNEP at Fifty (MIT Press 2021) provides a comprehensive analysis of the origins and performance of the UN Environment Programme.
In June 2022, Ivanova was appointed one of 66 Foundation Fellows of the International Science Council, the highest honor awarded by the Council to those who have made remarkable contribution to furthering engagement with science. She co-chaired the drafting process for the official letter from scientists and scholars to global leaders at the Stockholm+50 Conference, calling for urgent policy action for a sustainable planet. She served on the Rwandan delegation to the UN Environment Assembly negotiating the resolution on a global treaty on plastics. Ivanova was a member of the Scientific Advisory Board to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. She is a member of the Technical Advisory Group to the Global Commission on Science Missions for Sustainability and the Joint Scientific Committee of WCRP as well as Ambassador for Transparency International.
This page has been updated in May 2024.
