ESEIA Team - ESEIA - European Sustainable Energy Innovation Alliance

ESEIA Team

The ESEIA Team, headed by the ESEIA Director Brigitte Hasewend, manages and coordinates the services and operations of the Alliance.
It implements the ESEIA Strategy 2034 together with the ESEIA Working Groups.

Brigitte Hasewend

Brigitte Hasewend is founding and acting ESEIA Director and Member of the Governing Council since 2009. Under her leadership ESEIA has developed a strong international network and won a number of large-scale Horizon funded R&I projects. She has set up the ESEIA-TU Graz lecture series entitled Climate Survival Campus for public debate on climate-friendly solutions. Since 2013 Brigitte Hasewend has worked for the EC as expert evaluator for Horizon R&I projects. Previously she was Vice-President of the Supervisory Board of Joanneum Research. She has headed the International Strategic Research Partnerships at TU Graz for many years. Before re-joining TU Graz, Brigitte Hasewend had spent 10 years living and working in Brussels including at DG RTD of the European Commission.

Brigitte Hasewend on LinkedIn.

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Sıla Çelebi

Sıla Çelebi

Sıla Çelebi is ESEIA Project Assistant. She holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Systems Science and Climate Change from TU Graz, Austria (2025) and a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey (2021). Prior to her role at ESEIA, she worked as an intern at AEE Intec on large-scale thermal energy storage systems.

Sila Celebi on LinkedIn.

Martin Kriegl

Martin Kriegl is ESEIA Project Assistant. He holds a Master’s Degree in Environmental System Sciences, Climate Change, and Environmental Technology from Graz University of Technology, Austria (2024). Prior to his role at ESEIA, he worked at TU Graz, Department of Higher Education and Programme Development and as a Project Assistant intern at a Public Affairs and Communication Consultancy based in Brussels.

Martin Kriegl on LinkedIn.

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Zina Mejbri

Zina Mejbri is ESEIA Project Manager. Her academic journey includes obtaining a Master of Science in Mediterranean Organic Agriculture from the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari in Italy, and an engineering degree in Agronomic science from the National Agronomic Institute of Tunisia. Prior to her role at ESEIA, she held various positions including as Production Manager in a Plant Nursery, Research Responsible in a Tunisian start-up, and Assistant to an International Project Coordinator. At ESEIA, she has been taking part in project management and project acquisition.

Zina Mejbri on Linkedin

Nicoleta Talpes

Nicoleta Talpes is ESEIA Dissemination and Communication Manager. In her role she leverages her extensive background in strategic communication and environmental advocacy to enhance the organization’s outreach and impact. She holds an M.A. in European Social Policy from the University of Bucharest, Romania and is founder of several sustainability education projects.

Nicoleta Talpes on Linkedin.

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Richard Wheeler

Richard Wheeler is ESEIA Senior EU Project Advisor. Richard Wheeler is a specialist in artificial intelligence and computer science who has worked for the World Health Organisation in Geneva and The University of Edinburgh, and been a research manager at laboratories in Brussels and Vienna. He is active in the field of sustainable technology and scientific management, and acts as a Chair in a number of EU R&I funding schemes. At ESEIA he leads EU R&I proposal strategy.