Ylva Rylander

Ylva Rylander is a Communications and Impact Officer for SEI’s larger research programs Trase – Intelligence for sustainable trade and the Mistra Geopolitics programme (2021-2025). Since 2025, she also leads communication plans, outreach activities and impact for projects led by the Cities, communities and consumption research team and since 2026, also covering for the Water, coast and oceans research team at SEI Headquarters. 

As a core member of SEI’s Project Communications and Impact Division, Ylva develops communication plans, theory of change, writes and publishes SEI features, perspectives and news stories, manages websites and provides strategic advice and training to SEI researchers to help them maximize the impact of their research.

Since January 2023, Ylva assists with leveraging media exposure and coverage across SEI globally. Ylva was the press contact for Mistra Geopolitics, a programme with eight partners funded by Mistra (2021-2025). She also collaborates with Global Canopy on strategic outreach for Trase, and contributes to press and communication activities for SEI’s Consumption Compass and other projects led by SEI Headquarters.

Ylva wrote SEI’s first media strategy launched in 2019 when working as SEI Press Officer from 2015 to October 2020. In collaboration with Communication Officers at SEI’s global centres, her work contributed to leverage SEI’s media exposure with many 100% and expanded SEI’s media outreach in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Ylva has twice served as Acting Director of Communications, first in 2011 and most recently from April 2013 to March 2014. She has been engaged in over 50 of SEI’s global projects, some of them mentioned here; Impressions, the New Climate Economy, the 10 Year Framework Programme on Sustainable Lifestyles and Education and the Arctic Resilience Report.

Prior to joining SEI, Ylva worked as a climate change expert at the Swedish PR-agency Westander where she assisted governmental agencies, non-profit organizations and Swedish corporations to create publicity and influence environment-related policy decisions. Previously, she also was climate change coordinator at the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, working on the creation of public awareness on climate change and environmental issues.

Ylva holds a master’s degree in energy and environmental systems from Karlstad University, studied professional writing at Macquarie University in Sydney and at the University of Waikato in New Zealand. She is professionally trained in media relations, lobbying and awareness-building.