Aarti Saihjee is the Chief of Education in UNICEF Thailand since 2020 and is responsible for programmes focused on early childhood development and education with an enhanced focus on equity, well-being, and learning.
She is an Indian national and has worked with UNICEF for nearly two decades in the education sector in multiple countries, including extended stints in Ghana, India, and New York previously. Her experience straddles leading outcomes-based education programming, evidence-informed policy advocacy, and facilitating strategic partnerships for enabling equitable, inclusive, and gender transformative education polices and service delivery across varied development contexts.
Prior to joining UNICEF, Aarti worked in academia in the United States in the field of social sciences and gender studies and as a research and evaluation consultant in India, supporting non-governmental organizations and multilateral institutions in the areas of education, gender and equity, and local development.
She is an alum of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University and Miranda House College, Delhi University, and holds a PhD/MA in Development Anthropology and a Masters’ in Public Administration from the former.