Iris Elent, MSW

Director 

Iris Elent (she, her, ella) leads VIVA’s community-centered projects. She specializes in designing strategies that uplift the voices of those closest to the issues and the solutions. Iris has worked extensively with groups across the country to engage families and communities in the creation or redesign of policies and programs. She is adept at facilitating discussions that turn ideas into outcomes, while mitigating power imbalances and navigating challenges along the way.

Iris has spent her life asking tough questions, listening deeply, and uniting people to tackle inequities, and she knows that transformation happens in community.

Iris came to VIVA from the nonprofit world providing trauma-informed counseling and program management for BIPOC youth and young adults, with a mission to make macro-level change and disrupt systems of oppression. These days, when she isn’t chasing her toddler, she immerses herself in human stories by reading, watching documentaries, and attempting DIY projects. 

Education

M.S.W., University of Southern California

B.S. Sociology & Feminist Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara