Maida Pasic is the Regional Education Adviser for UNICEF Europe and Central Asia Office, based in Geneva. In this role she leads the implementation of UNICEF regional education strategies and programmes aimed at building resilient education systems that ensure inclusive and quality learning for all children in 22 countries and territories the regional office serves.  

Prior to joining ECARO, Maida was the Regional Education Specialist in UNICEF East Asia and Pacific in Bangkok, where she was responsible for providing technical guidance to UNICEF country offices on adolescent education and skills, gender in education, and education in emergencies. Previously she was UNICEF’s Chief of Education in Palestine, leading UNICEF’s education and adolescent participation programme and managing coordination of our emergency response there. 

Maida started her career at UNICEF New York, where she worked for the Office of the Executive Director and subsequently in the UNICEF Global Education Team designing programs to address capacity development needs of national partners. In this role, she contributed to the development and formulation of child-friendly schools approach, UNICEF’s flagship approach to improving quality of education.    

Maida holds a Doctor of Education degree from the University of Sussex, UK; Master of Education degree from Columbia University, Teachers College, USA; and Master of Arts degree from New York University, USA. 

Her academic research focused on the role of education in peacebuilding and social cohesion as well as the role of international organizations in global education policy development and transfer.