Dr. Ethel Pascua-Valenzuela, PhD

Dr. Ethel Agnes Valenzuela is an accomplished education and research professional with over 30 years’ experience in education policy reform in the Philippines and internationally. A Filipino national, she has extensive experience in donor-funded education programming across Southeast Asia, bringing increased access to teacher trainings and standards to Philippine higher education institutions (HEIs).  

Dr. Valenzuela currently serves as Deputy Chief of Party-Technical for the USAID UPSKILL Program in the Philippines, where she oversees the higher education capacity, policy reform, and sector governance workstreams, partnering with the Philippine Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and other government agencies.  

Prior to joining RTI, Dr. Valenzuela served as the Education Advisor of ASEAN Secretariat on the Future of Education and the first woman director of the SEAMEO Secretariat, based in Bangkok, where she supervised 35 SEAMES staff and 26 SEAMEO Regional Centres in Southeast Asia. She led various projects in education, science, and culture across 11 member states. She worked for more than 10 years at CHED, where she contributed to policies, standards, and guidelines on international linkages, distance education, and inclusive student support services.  

Additionally, she has managed several international and local educational research and training projects with international donor organizations, including the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, UNICEF, ASEAN, UNESCO, and USAID. Dr. Valenzuela is also a Professorial Lecturer in the Department of Education, Leadership and Professional Services within the College of Education at the University of the Philippines Diliman.