Irene is Dutch/Peruvian/Slovenian but feels at home wherever she settles. She was born in Peru, raised in Switzerland, and studied in Canada. After finishing her Bachelor’s degree in environmental sciences at McGill University, she moved back to her home-country, Peru, and founded the social enterprise Life Out Of Plastic (L.O.O.P.)

Previous to L.O.O.P, Irene was involved in environmental health research projects in marginated urban populations of Lima and in indigenous communities of the Peruvian Amazon. In 2014, Irene took a year off L.O.O.P. to work for Peru's Ministry of Environment as the Official Youth and Gender Liaison for the UNFCCC - COP20 presidency team. She is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper.