Secretariat
 | Dr. Maria Grigoratou Maria is a Biological Oceanographer with expertise in plankton ecology and experience in Science Diplomacy and Coordination. She holds a PhD in Marine Ecology and Ecosystem Modelling (Bristol University, UK), an MSc in Environmental Biology (University of Crete, Greece), and a BSc in Marine Sciences (Aegean University, Greece). Before joining EPB, Maria was a Scientist and EU Coordinator for the G7 Future of the Seas and Ocean Initiative at Mercator Ocean International (France), and a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (USA). She has extensive experience leading workshops, organizing initiatives, and fostering international collaboration. She currently serves as a lead author for the IPBES monitoring assessment (Chapter 4). |
 | Dr. Kylie Owen Kylie is a Marine Biologist with expertise in whale ecology and experience completing research in both the Antarctic and the Arctic. She completed her PhD (The University of Queensland, Australia) on humpback whales that feed in Antarctica over summer, and postdoctoral research in Alaska (Alaska Sealife Center, USA). Before joining EPB, she worked for the Swedish Museum of Natural History as a harbour porpoise expert, and has held adjunct roles at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (USA) and the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (Australia). She has experience in managing research consortiums across multiple countries, and advising policy makers within international conventions to ensure effective use of research results internationally. |
| Ms. Eva Horovčáková Eva specialised in the Arctic during her master studies of International Politics & Migrations at Aalborg University in Denmark (Culture, Communication and Globalisation programme). During her studies she gained many relevant experiences as a Communications, EU & Arctic Affairs trainee at the International Polar Foundation in Brussels and by volunteering at various organisations. |
| Ms. Marije Tempel Marije conducted her Master research on Svalbard during her study in Human Geography. She later on represented the Netherlands during the Emerging Leaders program of Arctic Frontiers where she expanded her network in the Arctic science community. She continued active engagement in events, such as the Dutch Polar Symposium and the Dutch state visit to Norway. Marije has been chairwoman at the Arctic Explorer Foundation since 2020. |
 | Dr. Irma Olofsson Irma has conducted research on seasonal labor migration in Sweden’s green industries, focusing on berry-picking and forestry. She holds a PhD in Human Geography from Umeå University. Since completing her thesis, she has worked within the interdisciplinary research platform Future Forests - a collaboration between Umeå University, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, and Skogforsk - primarily in a coordination role. She is currently a Project Coordinator at the Arctic Centre at Umeå University and provides administrative support to EPB. |
 | Dr. Renuka Badhe Renuka has Masters in Environmental Science, and Land Economy, and a PhD that looked at effects of climate change on southern ocean algal photo-physiology. Over the last 25+ years, she has worked in areas ranging from polar oceans, climate change, and at the science policy nexus, and the last 15 of these in leadership positions. |
The EPB Secretariat also works with consultants on a regular basis, both short and long term: currently we work with consultants for the purposes of HR, Accounting, Web development services, IT support for Polardex, Archiving, and Design. Previous members of the Secretariat include Joseph Nolan, Pjotr Elshout, Griffith Couser, Nina Lavrenteva and Jeanique Everts.
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Contact information
Postal address (Sweden):
European Polar Board
A Working Lab Universum, Universums gränd 8, 907 36 Umeå, Sweden
Postal address (the Netherlands):
European Polar Board
PO Box 93138 NL-2509 AC The Hague, Netherlands
Email: secretariat@europeanpolarboard.org