Ivana Maleš was born in Novi Sad, Serbia. She graduated in environmental studies at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Bratislava. After completing her studies, she started working in the field of waste management. For almost 20 years, he has been working in the field of waste management strategies, especially in state and public administration. She prepared various strategies and documents for the implementation of effective tools for reducing the amount of waste and transitioning to a circular economy.

Ivana is the co-founder of the Institute of Circular Economy, where she currently works. It deals with the area of circular economy policy and its implementation at the municipal level. Since 2022, she is a member of the board of the European Environmental Bureau, where she represents Slovakia.