In this edition of PurposePhil Pulse on female leadership in education and philanthropy, I’m honored to share my recent conversation with Maria Qureshi, whose journey from a classroom in a public school in Pakistan to leading multi-stakeholder education strategies for Syria exemplifies both courage and clarity of purpose. Maria brings a rare blend of ground-level experience and global systems expertise, shaped by her work across UNICEF, the World Bank, and the Global Partnership for Education. What struck me most in our exchange was how deeply her leadership remains rooted in empathy and inclusion - not just as concepts, but as daily practices that shape everything from curriculum reform to cross-sector coordination in fragile contexts. Whether reflecting on the structural inequities she first witnessed as a teacher, or the delicate diplomacy required in her current role in the Middle East, Maria speaks with a groundedness that reminds us why education is both deeply personal and fundamentally political.
Maria, thank you so much for being here today. I’m really excited to learn more about your story and work. To start us off, can you share a bit about your educational background and the main focus areas you’re working on these days?
Thank you, Nora, I’m really happy to be here and to have this conversation.
My journey in education began quite rightly in the classroom. I started as a teacher in an under-resourced government school in Pakistan, and that experience profoundly shaped my path. My education was in reputable private institutions, so I was somewhat shielded from the realities many children faced in schools. Teaching in a small public school opened my eyes to the inequities in our education system, limited resources, structural barriers. At the same time, I could also see the resilience of students and teachers who were navigating these constraints every day.
That classroom experience lit the spark for everything that followed. Since then, I’ve worked at different levels — provincial, national, regional, and global — with organizations like the World Bank, UNICEF, and the Global Partnership for Education. I’ve worked on teacher training reforms in Pakistan, curriculum redesign, and foundational literacy and numeracy programs in several countries.
Currently, I serve as the Head of the Education Dialogue Forum Secretariat in the Middle East region, where I focus primarily on education in Syria. It’s a unique role that sits at the intersection of humanitarian, stabilization, and Education in Emergencies’ development work. I work closely with UN agencies, donors, and INGOs to coordinate strategies and ensure that education priorities for Syria are aligned, technically sound, and grounded in the country’s needs during this very delicate and transitional period.
In terms of focus areas, my work spans across curriculum development, education in emergencies, inclusive education, especially for children with disabilities, early childhood education, gender, and increasingly, the role of technology in education. So the spectrum has grown over time, but the core motivation has remained the same: to make quality education more accessible and equitable.
That’s such a powerful foundation. You mentioned starting as a teacher. What originally drew you to the education sector? And how has your perspective evolved through your different roles?
That’s a great question. When I look back, I think my interest in education wasn’t so much planned as it was a gradual realization.
In my final year of university, I was engaged in very different things. On one hand, I was majoring in economics and taking marketing and organizational behavior courses. I was interning with a major multinational consumer goods company. On the other hand, I was volunteering at a children’s hospital every Saturday through a student club. I would visit terminally ill children suffering from cancer. It was deeply emotional and also incredibly grounding.
These two parallel experiences made me question what kind of life I wanted to lead going forward. Did I want to spend my time figuring out how to sell a product, or did I want to do something that created a broader social impact? I realized that I wanted my day job to contribute to something larger than myself. Education felt like a meaningful space where I could do that.
That led me to Teach For Pakistan, which is part of the Teach For All network. Being in that classroom changed everything for me. There, I began to understand the lived experiences of students who didn’t have the same privileges I grew up with. I saw how teachers were doing their best under very difficult circumstances, and how deeply those conditions shaped learning outcomes.
From there, one opportunity led to another. I started working on a large-scale education reform in Punjab, in collaboration with McKinsey and Company, and Acasus. The aim was to strengthen professional development for over 185,000 teachers across 36 districts. Through my work, around 4,000 master trainers were trained on pedagogy, literacy, and numeracy. I supported revisions to the curriculum, ensuring it was ambitious, but grounded in what students could realistically learn.
Moving into regional and global roles broadened my perspective. My thinking evolved from local, ground level execution to global, systemic strategy. In East Asia and the Pacific, for example, I worked with UNICEF country offices in the region, providing technical support on disability inclusion and gender mainstreaming. Later, with the Global Partnership for Education, I managed grants for multiple countries, and led thematic work on foundational learning, disability inclusion and gender equality across multiple countries. Also, with the The World Bank, I supported technical and operational work on teachers, classroom management as well as learning assessments, spanning over a number of countries.
One of the more unexpected turns in my career was supporting the COVID-19 response in Solomon Islands. The virus didn’t hit there until early 2022, almost two years after the rest of the world. I had to quickly adapt plans, coordinate with other sectors such as Health, Nutrition, Child Protection and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, engage with ministries, and work on advocacy for safe school reopening. I also had to secure supplies like thermometers and wash kits, and ensure the education system could function and maintain learning continuity through digital modalities, responding swiftly to emerging needs while still aiming to meet longer-term goals.
These experiences taught me that while sometimes passion is a starting point, you also cultivate your interests through challenge and purpose. Whether guided by interest or shaped by circumstance, each step has been a deeply enriching, fulfilling and transformative in my journey.
It’s fascinating to hear how your path unfolded, from the classroom to province-wide reforms, and then to global and emergency contexts. Across all these roles, you’ve worked with diverse partners and teams. How would you describe your leadership style? And how has being a woman influenced how you lead?
I would describe my leadership style as inclusive, collaborative, and purpose-driven. I try to lead by example, and I value on bringing different voices to the table.
Especially as a woman of color in the development sector, I understand that some may feel excluded or not heard. That’s why I try to create space where everyone feels welcome to contribute, whether it's policymakers, donor representatives, grassroots implementers, or frontline teachers.
For example, during the curriculum reform work in Punjab, I made it a point to engage with classroom teachers, not just curriculum experts or school managers or senior district officials. The teachers were the ones who would be delivering the material, and their insights into what works in practice were crucial. Having that dialogue made the reform not only more relevant, but also more sustainable.
Being a woman in leadership has definitely come with its challenges. In many male-dominated settings, I, like many other women, have had to work harder to prove my expertise or to build credibility. There’s often skepticism that you have to navigate and overcome, but I’ve learned to let the quality of the work speak for itself.
At the same time, these experiences have strengthened my commitment to mentoring others. I actively support colleagues, particularly women, in advocating for themselves, whether it’s expressing their views, articulating their needs, or navigating conversations around compensation and workplace equity. I remind them that if they’re leading a piece of work, they probably understand it better than anyone else in the room. Therefore, they should feel confident in owning that space.
Was there a pivotal moment or challenge that really shaped your approach to leadership?
Yes, there are several. One that stands out was a project in one of the countries where I developed a proposal to improve multi-grade teaching in primary schools. The idea was to recruit teaching assistants and reallocate existing teachers to address shortages more equitably. It was initially well-received and supported and owned by the Ministry, but later rejected due to political concerns. There was concern that hiring assistants so close to an election could lead to pressure to make those positions permanent.
It was a setback, but also a lesson in resilience and thinking out of the box. I had to revisit and rethink the approach. I eventually proposed two alternative solutions: one involved implementing double shifts with the existing pool of public school teachers, and the other involved creating tailored lesson plans specifically for multi-grade teaching to assist teachers teach more effectively, given their constraints. Both were accepted and helped us move toward the same goal, just by taking different paths.
Another moment was when I joined the Solomon Islands office. I was managing a large donor grant, and utilization was only 5 percent. With the support of just one staff member, I managed the entire education portfolio. Within six months, we increased utilization to 45 percent, negotiated an extension, and built stronger relationships with the Ministry. It required intense coordination, flexibility, and a lot of trust-building.
These experiences taught me that leadership isn’t always about sticking to Plan A. It’s about maintaining the long-term vision while being innovative and willing to pivot when needed. It’s also about transparency, collaboration, and making sure your team feels supported.
Let’s talk about systems change. It’s a term we hear often, but it’s not always clearly defined. How do you understand it?
For me, systems change means staying committed to the long haul. It’s not about quick fixes or one-off interventions, but about transforming the core structures, mindsets, and relationships that shape education delivery.
It requires shifting perspective: zooming out to see how everything is connected. You can’t improve teacher training without aligning curriculum, assessment, and policy. And you can’t discuss inclusion without addressing systemic barriers in access, pedagogy, infrastructure, and data. So, it’s about coherence across all these dimensions.
But systems change also means working beyond education alone. If you’re supporting early learning, you need to collaborate with nutrition and health sectors. If you’re aiming to create safe learning environments, you must consider child protection and gender-based violence. These cross-sectoral linkages are essential, yet they’re often overlooked.
Another essential element is ownership. No reform can be sustainable without national leadership and local capacity. I’ve seen this reinforced through our work with Syria. Our goal is not to prescribe solutions, but to listen closely to the ministry’s vision and assist them in achieving it. We provide comparative examples when appropriate, but we’re careful not to push one-size-fits-all models.
What works in Finland or Singapore may not suit a post-conflict setting. You need to stay grounded in reality, be aware of the political and social environment, and remain flexible in how you support change.
Ultimately, systems change requires a mindset shift: one that embraces inclusion, long-term thinking, and collaborative problem-solving. That shift must occur both within institutions and within ourselves.
You’ve clearly worked across a wide range of partnerships. What are the most important lessons you’ve learned about building effective ones?
I’ve come to see partnerships as living, long-term relationships. They require trust, clarity, and continuous investment. You can’t just have a few kickoff meetings and expect everything to work smoothly. You have to nurture alignment, on goals, values, roles, and make space for regular communication and adaptation.
One of the biggest lessons for me is the importance of a genuine, shared vision. When both parties understand what success looks like, and why it matters, everything else becomes easier to manage. However, without that clarity, partnerships tend to drift apart or remain at a surface-level of cooperation.
Trust is also very important. I’ve seen partnerships falter simply because of unspoken skepticism and doubts about each other’s expertise, delivery, or intentions. That’s why I try to be as transparent as possible, especially when things aren’t going to plan. For example, if I am managing donor funds, I make sure have ongoing conversations with the donors, instead of just sending a report at the end. That way, nothing came as a surprise. They are already aware of challenges, delays, and our strategies for addressing them, which helps build mutual confidence.
Another important element is localization. Effective partnerships can’t be top-down. If we’re working on a national reform, we need to involve local counterparts at every stage, from design through implementation. That means visiting the field with them, observing what’s actually happening in classrooms, and co-creating solutions. I remember one visit where we observed teacher training that relied on low-quality, “copy-pasted” materials. It was clear the process wasn’t effective. But because we witnessed it together, the ministry lead became a champion for reform. When the new training modules came out, he proudly referred to them as “our work.” That kind of ownership only comes when the partnership is built on mutual respect and shared experience.
Lastly, I believe partnerships need built-in mechanisms for learning and accountability. That means honestly tracking progress, reflecting on what’s working, and adjusting course together. It’s not just about completing a project, it’s about building relationships that can support deeper, long-term change.
As we close, what is your hope or vision for the education sector in the next decade?
First, I think we need to recognize the size of the challenge. We’re dealing with years of learning loss, conflict, displacement, and inequality. But we also have new tools, like AI and digital learning, that can help us tailor and scale solutions in ways that weren’t possible before.
I hope we move toward education systems that are more inclusive, more adaptive, and data-driven. Systems that respond to learners’ actual needs, rather than copying models from elsewhere. We’ve seen how importing solutions without contextual adaptation doesn’t work. The future must be rooted in local realities and driven by local leadership.
I also hope we become bolder. We need transformative approaches that go beyond small, incremental changes. Whether you’re a teacher, a policymaker, or a partner organization, I think we all need to ask ourselves: what room do I have to be more innovative? More courageous?
Because business as usual is no longer enough.