Ela Gökçiğdem is a recent graduate from Babson College. After witnessing the environmental and economic collapse of her hometown in Turkey, she found a way to use business as a platform to advocate for sustainability. She is the founder of ePearl Technologies and won runner up at the NFTE National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge in 2019, selling over 1,000 pairs. At ePearl Technologies, Ela coded and designed an innovative noise-cancellation technology of which the licensing was sold to one the world's industry-leading sound-system corporation. From there she channeled her profits into her non-profit MyEcoEdu which provides high schoolers with a baseline environmental curriculum. These ventures have allowed her to be featured on NBC, ABC, The Washington Post, and internationally through the Voices of America Network.

She is an advocate for ocean-based climate solutions and has represented numerous organizations at various United Nations Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations and conferences. Her latest venture, Bloom, is a clean-tech startup which specializes in small-scale algal mitigation systems for the coastal villages of Turkey. Bloom currently has a functional prototype is and spearheading research on a global scale regarding algal mucilage conversion and the connection with global biodiversity credits and blue (ocean) credits. Bloom has won first place at the Monaco Ocean Protection Challenge and awarded Ela as the "European Entrepreneur of the Year" at the 2023 YouthStart Entrepreneurship Competition. She serves as a member of EarthEcho International’s Youth Council and as the Director of Finance for the youth-led climate organization Zero Hour. Representing Turkey on the Sustainable Ocean Alliance's Youth Policy Advisory Council, Ela seeks to elevate the voices of marginalized coastal communities on a large scale through business, economics, and advocacy.

Outside of school, Ela is a member of the Friends of Ocean Action and the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science through her innovative work at Bloom. Ela also served as the vice-curator of the World Economic Forum's Global Shapers Community Boston Hub from 2022-2023. Ela is seeking to further her education in Ocean Governance and has dedicated her career to environmental conservation.