Leena Ylä-Mononen is Executive Director of the European Environment Agency since 1 June 2023. She has a master’s degree in environmental sciences, specialising in ecotoxicology and chemicals risk assessment and management.
Before joining the EEA, Leena was Director General at the Ministry of Environment of Finland, managing the Climate and Environmental Protection Department.
Before joining the Ministry in 2019, Ms Ylä-Mononen worked for over 11 years in management positions in the European Chemicals Agency in Helsinki. Prior to ECHA, she worked in the European Commission, Directorate-General for Environment, on chemicals and pesticides policy files.
Earlier in her career she worked in the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) on environmental risk assessment and management of industrial chemicals, biocides and pesticides.
Ms Ylä-Mononen has been involved in international cooperation at the Nordic, European, OECD and global levels, and in negotiations and implementation of multilateral environmental agreements on chemicals, waste and climate change.