Katie Ellena

Towards the end of 2025, you co-founded Partnerships for Integrity (P4I) in Germany and The Concord Project in the United States. Can you tell us about the organisations and the work you hope to achieve through them?

I feel so lucky to have co-founded these two organizations with such remarkable people, especially when we are at such an inflection point for democracy globally. P4I was founded by six women from six different countries, each with experience in some of the hardest places (Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Myanmar, Palestine to name a few). We are based in the EU and focused on providing democracy and governance support across the globe (including our backyard in the Pacific!) – on a more equal footing with partners and in an agile, non-bureaucratic, and cost-effective way.

The Concord Project is focused on the U.S., and it just felt like an imperative moment to contribute to democracy and electoral integrity efforts here as a dual citizen and voter in the state of Virginia. We are focused on very niche initiatives with judges and election administrators at the state level, based on lessons we’ve learned internationally for 20 years. 

In today’s often uncertain and volatile political landscape, what aspects of P4I and Concord motivate you the most?

There are a lot of things that motivate me—not least of all my colleagues and partners—but I will say that working across developed and developing countries with an awareness that we all face many of the same threats and challenges to our democracies is motivating. It is not about international “aid” or North-South divides, but common challenges and lessons. Learning and partnering across diverse countries is gratifying.

During your time at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), you helped conceptualize and launch IFES’s Center for Anti-Corruption and Democratic Trust. What was the purpose of this initiative, and how did it help address the growing threats to democracy?

I conceptualized and launched the Center because I had felt for some time that the anti-corruption community and elections community were quite siloed, yet different types of electoral corruption were the gateway to bigger issues of political and public corruption, and were not getting enough attention. I am proud of the work the Center did to bridge that divide and am carrying that forward with P4I and Concord. As one concrete example, there have been no global standards on political finance for decades, and we started a push to change that under the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), culminating in a new UNCAC resolution passed in December 2025. This gives us a hook in international law for reforms at the national level.  

You’ve been living in the United States now since 2011. Any favourite hotspots or must-see recommendations that are unique to Washington?

I live near Great Falls national park and recommend the amazing waterfalls and trails. I also grew up in Marlborough and therefore must give a shout out to the growing number of good wineries to visit in Virginia. In the US more broadly, I have visited 46 of the 50 states and each one is unique. I have a soft spot for Montana – especially Glacier National Park and Yellowstone.  

What was it that initially made you want to come and study at UC?

Beautiful campus and great reputation.

Any fond memories of your time at UC?

During my LLM, the philosophy department agreed to curate a course just for me on bioethics. It was an amazing opportunity, but one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Sitting across from two philosophy professors each week trying to articulate arguments on thorny issues of the time (human cloning, GMOs), I felt terrified and incompetent – probably a very good life lesson in hindsight.