Ester Asin Martinez took the position of Director for WWF’s European Policy Office on 1 October 2018. A lawyer and political scientist by education, Ester has been working for civil society organisations leading their engagement with the EU for more than 20 years. Under her leadership, WWF EU and WWF network have led and won a number of significant EU campaigns, including on water and deforestation.
Prior to joining WWF, Ester worked with a number of global and regional NGOs - Save the Children, CARE International, and the European Confederation of Development NGOs CONCORD- in leadership, senior advocacy and resources mobilisation roles.
Ester successfully lobbied to increase EU humanitarian funding for education in emergencies. She led the coalition of organisations who advocated for better protection of migrant children, which resulted in a dedicated Commission’s initiative on Children in Migration in 2017.
She has worked for the European Commission in West Africa, and started her career in Brussels with the European Consumers Organisation (BEUC). Ester is an elected member of the Board of the Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe. She is a member of the Strategic Advisory Council of the French think tank IDDRI.
Ester is a Spanish national. She holds degrees in Spanish Law, a DEA (Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies) in EU Law, and an M.A. in European Political and Administrative Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges.