Overview
Maria Lelli is a researcher at Enel Foundation, where she studies the socio-economic and geopolitical dimensions of the energy transition. Since 2021, she has worked with leading international institutions in the energy sector, such as the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). In 2025, she began leading Enel Foundation’s youth initiatives, aimed at empowering and engaging the next generation of energy leaders.
Maria holds a Master’s degree in European Interdisciplinary Studies from the College of Europe in Natolin (Warsaw, 2020), where she specialized in EU energy policy. She received both the award for the best Master’s thesis on the European Neighbourhood Policy and recognition among the top-performing Italian students of her cohort. She also earned a Master’s degree in International Studies from the University of Pisa (2019), graduating with 110/110 summa cum laude, following a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Relations.
Her professional background includes experience at the Consulate General of Italy in New York and the European Committee of the Regions in Brussels, where she contributed to the work of the Environment, Climate Change, and Energy (ENVE) Commission.