Elena Mateus (She/Her)

Elena Mateus is the Associate Manager of Marketing and Communications for SMASH. She specializes in creative solutions that bring people and perspectives together and is passionate about using personal narratives to change minds and drive change.

Before coming to SMASH, Elena was a Researcher at TMZ where she not only broke exclusive worldwide stories, but she strengthened her ability to sniff out new angles and create content that breaks through a crowded media landscape.

While at UC Berkeley (GO BEARS!), Elena was the News Editor for San Quentin State Prison’s newspaper, where going behind bars weekly helped her realize her desire to use storytelling to change minds and promote social justice. Her short documentaries spotlight underserved communities, and they have been screened at festivals like the Tribeca Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival. She’s also worked on Shorty-award winning campaigns for Mark Zuckerberg’s nonprofit, FWD.us.

Elena is extremely excited to return to the Kapor Center after her previous role as an Events Coordinator. In her free time, she likes to play beach volleyball, watch anything Bravo or RuPaul-related, obsess over dogs and cook. She believes that fresh-baked cookies are almost always the solution.