Elena Nikolaeva graduated
from the Moscow State University, Geographical Department, in 2001. After that
she has been working for several years in the area of incoming tourism in
Russia, mostly organizing individual itineraries for foreign tourists all over
Russia and CIS. Ecological tourism has become the main sphere of her interest.
Currently Elena is managing the Training Center for the staff of Protected Areas within Environmental Education Centre “Zapovedniks” (Russian NGO) and is involved in a number of conservation projects. Elena is in charge of creation of different training programs for the staff of federal and regional protected areas, as well as organizations that interact with PA. These programs include seminars on environmental education, law enforcement on PA, ecotourism development, sustainable livelihood programs, project development of visitor centers and ecological trails, etc.
She also develops and implements study tours to the leading Russian and foreign nature protected areas to familiarize environmental specialists with the best available practice on PA management. In her spare time Elena loves traveling, most of all hiking to the mountainous regions and exploring nature spots.