Yelena Bakaleva

Yelena Bakaleva, CAE, MBA, MS, currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer at the International Refugee Assistance Project since June 2022. Previously, Yelena held the CFO position at USA for UNHCR from May 2016 to June 2022, where Yelena was instrumental in doubling organizational revenue from $50 million to $100 million by modernizing financial systems and promoting shared leadership. Yelena has also served as Vice President of Finance at Cancer Support Community, COO/CFO for Yelena Should Run, Director of Finance at American Immigration Council, and COO/Director of Strategic Alliances at Navratilova Inc. Yelena's extensive experience in financial and operational management spans both non-profit organizations and private enterprises. Yelena holds an Executive Certificate in Leadership and Management from The Wharton School, an MBA in Corporate Finance from The Johns Hopkins University, and a Master of Science in Applied Mathematics from Tomsk State University.