Elena Louder is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Energy and Resources Group and the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management. Trained as a human-environment geographer, her research examines the political, social, and environmental dimensions of energy transitions. Drawing on perspectives from political ecology, political economy, and energy geographies, she investigates how energy systems can be decarbonized in more equitable and just ways. Her research is grounded in community-based and qualitative approaches and has focused on Chile, the U.S. South, and the Great Basin. She earned her PhD in Geography from the University of Arizona in 2024 and holds both a BS and an MS in Natural Resource Conservation from the University of Montana.