Even as a child, she knew she wanted to do something to make the world a better place. Elisabeth Gabalova was born in Prague, Czech Republic, but has subsequently lived in seven countries, in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. After finishing high school, the now 28-year-old recognized that doing something in sustainability would be difficult in her native country. “Out of interest, I started studying coding, but the desire to do something with sustainability grew every day. However, there is not yet the same momentum in Central and Eastern Europe as there is in the Netherlands when it comes to sustainability. You need an environment where you can learn, accelerate and execute. The breeding ground is certainly there and I am therefore convinced that in this century Central and Eastern Europe can and will become important partners in defining our common European future,” Elisabeth explained. The first stop was studying Cognitive Sciences in the United Kingdom. “That’s where I did my first Master’s,” she explains. “A good choice, because I am above all a real ‘people person’. In addition, I love being outdoors, going for long walks with the dog and losing myself completely in the splendor of nature.”
Sustainability plans turned into real opportunities
“Five years ago I noticed that ‘sustainability’ was suddenly going fast in Western Europe, with the Netherlands leading the way. I saw wonderful career opportunities and decided to move to Amsterdam, to do a Master’s degree in Environment & Resource Management at the VU. That was the first step for me to turn my sustainability plans into career opportunities. Salacia offered me the chance to move from meaningful volunteer work to a paid job in sustainability after graduating from the Master in Amsterdam. More and more, I can shape my life around actively contributing to a better world.”
A wonderful coincidence is the fact that Elisabeth already has the Master of Cognitive Sciences in her pocket. She explains: “You learn to understand people and their motivations, fears and patterns. In my studies, I learned that the great masses move mostly intuitively. People follow society’s ‘default setting’ and don’t have things like sustainability in their system by default yet. This is why data is so hugely important and why I find Salacia’s work so valuable. I believe that you have to first map everything with the help of data in order to then take validated action. Only then can you unlock the highway to a better world and get the masses moving. I therefore see my education in Cognitive Sciences as an added value at Salacia. Yes, I can program, yes I am 100% committed to a sustainable world and besides that I can convince people why making that change is so important. I want to combine the best of these worlds at Salacia, with heart and soul.”
Landed in the right place
We ask Elisabeth -who at the time of this interview has completed her 12th day in Rotterdam- what her first impression of working at Salacia is. “Fantastic simply. From the first moment I felt welcome. You sense a lot of positive energy here and the team members just accept each other as they are. Nobody here has a problem with my little quirks, like joking around, singing or dancing around the company, etc. Consider that I have worked mostly in corporate environments where there was less room for that and you understand that I ended up in the right place.”
Where do you want to be in 10 years, we ask. Elisabeth replies in conclusion, “Since I couldn’t have imagined 10 years ago that I would be here today, that’s a tough question. However, I do have plenty of dreams. In any case, I hope that 10 years from now I will be part of a very large group of people who have made a systemic change, on the way to better. I also hope that in 10 years the data that Salacia generates will have been applied to achieve much-needed improvements. What I also have as a dream is to be in a position in 10 years to be able to spread the sustainability message in Eastern Europe under the banner of Salacia. To help create the same momentum that we are already experiencing in the Netherlands.”