Jelena Zvizdojević – Organizational Development Expert
About Jelena
Jelena Zvizdojević was born in Podgorica on September 1, 1979. She enrolled at the Faculty of Economics, University of Montenegro in 1998 and graduated in 2002 with a major in Entrepreneurship and Business, achieving an excellent average grade of 9.18. As one of the top students of her generation, she received several awards from both the Faculty of Economics and the University of Montenegro.
As a Government scholarship recipient, she pursued postgraduate studies in Entrepreneurial Economics in 2002, specializing in International Financial Institutions and the EU. She obtained her Master’s degree in 2005 with the thesis “The Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union”, with a special focus on Montenegro.
In 2011/2012 she began doctoral studies in International Economics at the University of Donja Gorica, completing her PhD in 2018 with the dissertation “Statistical Analysis of Agriculture”.
Professional Background
Jelena began her career as a student at the Montenegro Business Alliance. From 2002 to 2011 she worked at the Center for Applied Research and Analysis and the Institute for Strategic Studies and Prognoses, initially as a researcher and later as an analyst.
From 2011 to 2018 she served as Assistant Director at the Statistical Office of Montenegro (MONSTAT), responsible for agricultural, fisheries, business, environmental statistics and forestry.
Since 2019 she has worked as a consultant and expert in economics and statistics with domestic and international institutions. In March 2023 she joined the Damar Institute as Director for Development.
Project & International Experience
Throughout her career, Jelena has coordinated and managed numerous national and international research projects. She has been engaged in drafting strategic documents for MONSTAT and the Government of Montenegro and has collaborated with international institutions such as:
- Eurostat
- UNDP
- UNICEF
- World Bank
- FAO
- IRD
- USAID
She holds a licensed broker certificate and is certified as an ISO assessor.
Professional Contributions
Jelena is the author and co-author of 30 professional papers published in domestic and international journals and publications, including the publication “Guidelines for the Preparation of Strategic Documents” developed for the Government of Montenegro. She has participated in numerous conferences and round tables and completed several study visits across Europe and the United States.
She is a member of the Association of Economists of Montenegro.
From 2011 to 2018 she was a member of several Eurostat international working groups on agricultural, fisheries, environmental and business statistics. For five years she chaired the Subgroup “Agricultural Statistics, Environment, Registers and Classification” within EU Chapter 18 – Statistics. She also spent five years as a member of Negotiating Chapter 11 – Agriculture and Rural Development.
Skills
- Economics & statistical analysis
- Agricultural, business, environmental statistics
- EU statistical frameworks and methodologies
- Strategic planning & policy development
- Project coordination and management
- SPSS, E-Views, Microsoft Office
- Fluent in English
Publications
A selection of key publications includes articles in:
- International Journal of Biometeorology (2024)
- Agriculture and Forestry (2023, 2015)
- UNDP (2022) – Guidelines for the Preparation of Strategic Documents
- Institute of Social Sciences, Belgrade (2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2013)
- ICAS VII Conference, Rome (2016)
- Proceedings of the Agricultural Census (2014)
- Numerous analyses published by ISSP and MONET journals (2005–2009)