Biography

Dr. Elin Torell is the Director of the Coastal Institute. She joined the University of Rhode Island (URI) in 2002 and the Coastal Institute in 2022. As the Coastal Institute Director, she facilitates the Institute’s work of advancing solutions to environmental problems in coastal ecosystems by increasing understanding of the relationships between human activity and the condition of the coastal environment and its resources. Torell, who also serves as Director of International Programs at the URI Coastal Resources Center, brings more than 20 years of experience in helping coastal communities and countries around the world, implement interdisciplinary science-based planning of marine resources tied to basic food and job needs. Through these efforts, she brings key interests to bear, such as blue economic development, gender equity and social inclusion, population, health, and environment, climate resilience, fisheries management, and environmental compliance, as well as significant knowledge of the application of evaluation tools to measure incremental and long-term project progress. Torell serves on the advisory group for the USAID Feed the Future Fish Innovation Lab and the Program Committee for the Swedish funded Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Organization’s Cities and Coasts Program. With a Ph.D. in environmental studies and a MSc in human and economic geography, Torell is an adjunct professor and graduate faculty in the URI Department of Marine Affairs. She is the recipient of the 2017 Woman of Achievement Award from the YWCA of Rhode Island.