Dr. Elizabeth is a globally recognized social entrepreneur, resilient housing expert, and founder of Build Change. A trained engineer and former bricklayer, she is widely known for advancing safe housing, post-disaster reconstruction, and systems change initiatives that protect vulnerable communities from natural disasters and climate-related risks.
Since founding Build Change in 2004, Hausler has grown the organization into a global team operating across five continents, helping reshape international development and reconstruction practices by making resilience a core priority. Her work was inspired by extensive experience in post-disaster communities, including research conducted as a Fulbright Scholar in India.
Hausler has received numerous honors, including being named U.S. Social Entrepreneur of the Year by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and leading Build Change to receive the Skoll Foundation Award for Social Entrepreneurship. She is also an Ashoka Fellow, Draper Richards Kaplan Fellow, and Echoing Green Fellow.
She holds a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from University of California, Berkeley and has been featured by major media outlets, including The New York Times, BBC News, Forbes, and Bloomberg Businessweek.
