Who's Who in PISA

The OECD Secretariat has overall managerial responsibility for the programme, monitors its implementation on a day-to-day basis, acts as the secretariat for the PISA Governing Board, builds consensus among countries and serves as the interlocutor between the PISA Governing Board and the international consortium charged with the implementation of the activities.

General contact information

Postal address:
OECD PISA
2 rue André Pascal
75775 Paris Cedex 16

E-mail address: edu.pisa@oecd.org

Internships

If you are interested in applying for an internship with the Secretariat please make sure that you are able to meet these requirements then send a message to edu.pisa@oecd.org together with your CV.

The PISA team

Andreas Schleicher
Director, Directorate for Education and Skills

Andreas Schleicher is Director for Education and Skills, and Special Advisor on Education Policy to the Secretary-General at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris.

As a key member of the OECD Senior Management team, Mr. Schleicher supports the Secretary-General’s strategy to produce analysis and policy advice that advances economic growth and social progress. He promotes the work of the Directorate for Education and Skills on a global stage and fosters co-operation both within and outside the OECD. In addition to policy and country reviews, the work of the Directorate includes the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), and the development and analysis of benchmarks on the performance of education systems (INES).

Before joining the OECD, Mr. Schleicher was Director for Analysis at the International Association for Educational Achievement (IEA). He studied Physics in Germany and received a degree in Mathematics and Statistics in Australia. He is the recipient of numerous honours and awards, including the “Theodor Heuss” prize, awarded in the name of the first president of the Federal Republic of Germany for “exemplary democratic engagement”. He holds an honorary Professorship at the University of Heidelberg.

A German citizen, Andreas is married, with three children. He speaks German, English, Italian and French.

Tel.: +(33) 1 45 24 1897
andreas.schleicher@oecd.org

Yuri Belfali
Head of Division

Ms. Belfali supports the Directorate for Education and Skills in providing strategic direction to the work on knowledge generation and its policy implication concerning skills development in early childhood education, care and school systems. She oversees large scale surveys including the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Teaching and Learning International Survey programme (TALIS) and thematic analyses including the development of learning framework ‘the future of education and skills: OECD education 2030’. These programmes are key components of the OECD’s work to help countries promote learning opportunities for all, which promotes economic growth and social progress.

Ms. Belfali spent the last 20 years in France, the US, and in several countries of South East Asia, Africa and Middle East and North Africa regions. Before joining the OECD, she worked for UNICEF as Chief of the Education Section in Morocco and the World Bank in the field of human development between 2002 and 2012. She had a leadership role in advising governments for education reforms and gender mainstreaming. Ms. Belfali, a Japanese national, holds a Master’s degree in International Educational Administration and Policy Analysis from Stanford University.

Tue Halgreen
Senior Project Manager

Tue manages the development and implementation of PISA. He joined the OECD and the PISA team in 2012. Before joining the OECD he was a Senior Advisor on assessment and evaluation policy in the Danish Ministry of Education. Tue holds a Master's degrees from the universities of Lancaster and Copenhagen. He speaks English, French and Danish.

Miyako Ikeda
Senior Analyst

Miyako is in charge of PISA data analysis. She joined PISA in May 2004 and has a Master's degree in the sociology of education from the University of Tokyo and a doctoral degree in education from Teachers College, Columbia University. From 2000 to 2002, Miyako was with the World Bank in Vietnam, where she conducted a national study on the quality of primary education. From 2002 to 2004, she was with the International Institute for Educational Planning (UNESCO) as an Associate Expert and worked for a project of the Southern and Eastern African Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ). Miyako speaks Japanese and English and is studying French.

Mario Piacentini
Senior Analyst

Mario leads the work on the PISA assessments of transversal, 21^st century skills. He is the lead author of the frameworks for the PISA 2018 assessment of Global Competence and for the PISA 2021 assessment of Creative Thinking. He also authored several PISA analytical reports, including the first report on the well-being of students. Mario joined the OECD in 2009 as a Young Professional. Before moving to the PISA team in April 2015, he worked for the Public Governance Directorate and the Statistics Directorate of the OECD, the University of Geneva and the World Bank. Mario has contributed to several large OECD and inter-agency projects on gender and well-being, and led the definition and development of international indicators on metropolitan areas, inequality, entrepreneurship and trade. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Geneva. Mario speaks Italian, English, French and is currently learning Spanish.

Michael Ward
Senior Policy Analyst

Michael works for the Directorate for Education and Skills and the Development Co-operation Directorate on global educational development issues, particularly those related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and Education 2030 agenda. He is the manager of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) for Development (PISA-D) initiative and has 35 years of field experience in education in Asia, Africa and Latin America with OECD and development agencies. He holds a PhD in Educational Development from the University of East Anglia (UK) and a Master's of Science degree in Economic and Social Change from the University of London (UK).

Francesco Avvisati
Analyst

Francesco works on analysis and research in the PISA team. He joined the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills in 2010, and the PISA team in 2013; over these years, he has led several reports based on PISA data, including “Students, Computers and Learning” (2015) and “Effective Teacher Policies: Insights from PISA” (2018), has authored a number of research papers using PISA data and developed software tools for their analysis. He has also been responsible for the monthly PISA in Focus series (2017-19) and coordinated the work of the PISA Technical Advisory Group, advising the PISA Governing Board on Technical issues related to survey and assessment design and analysis. In 2021-22 he worked at J-PAL Europe, on secondment from the OECD, as the Director of the Innovation, Data and Experiments in Education (IDEE) initiative. Francesco holds a PhD in Economics from the Paris School of Economics, a Bachelor in Economics from the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (Pisa, Italy), and is an alumnus of the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris.

Janine Buchholz
Analyst

Janine joined the OECD in January 2022 to support the PISA Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Programme. She holds a PhD in Psychology from the Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, and has a background in psychometrics. Before joining the OECD, she worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education (DIPF) in Frankfurt, Germany, where she led the scaling of the international questionnaires for PISA 2015 and 2018. She has been a visiting scholar at Educational Testing Service (ETS) in 2013 and the Centre for Educational Measurement Oslo (CEMO) in 2018, as well as a recipient of the OECD's Thomas J. Alexander fellowship in 2020. Janine speaks German and English, and she is currently in the process of reactivating her French.

Tiago Caliço
Analyst

Tiago joined the OECD in June 2023 to support the PISA Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Programme. He holds a PhD in Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Statistics from the University of Maryland, College Park. Before joining the OECD, he worked as a contractor for the National Center for Education Statistics (US) supporting research and development of analytical methods for event data generated in the context of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). At the OECD, Tiago focuses on expanding the use of event data in PISA, particularly in what relates to the psychometric modeling of cognitive processes. Tiago speaks Portuguese, English and Spanish.

Rodrigo Castaneda Valle
Analyst

A Mexican national, Rodrigo has been working for the Directorate for Education and Skills since 2011. In the past, he has worked in the LSO and NESLI networks, in the analysis of labour force surveys and system-level data for Education at a Glance. After a couple of years working on development programs in Southeast Asia, Rodrigo came back to the OECD to work in the PISA team and later in the TALIS team. Rodrigo holds an M.Phil. in Philosophy and a Master’s degree in Linguistics from Lancaster University (United Kingdom).

Marta Cignetti
Junior Analyst

Marta joined the PISA team in May 2021 to support the research and development of the PISA innovative domain assessments. She holds a double Master’s degree in Economics and Management of Government and International Organizations and in International Development from Bocconi University and Sciences Po Paris. Marta speaks Italian, English, French and is currently learning Japanese.

Catalina Covacevich
Analyst

Catalina supports the development and implementation of PISA and is leading the development of the PISA 2025 optional Foreign Language assessment - English. She joined the OECD in 2016 to support the implementation of PISA for Development initiative. Before joining the OECD she worked for the Inter-American Development Bank as a local Education Specialist in Chile, for the Assessment Unit of the Chilean Ministry of Education, and for MIDE UC, a Chilean institute specialised in large scale educational assessments, where she participated in the design and implementation of national and regional assessments. Catalina holds a MSc in Social Psychology from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She speaks English and Spanish, and is studying French.

Juliana González Rodríguez
Research Assistant

Juliana joined the PISA team in October 2022 to support the development and oversight of PISA, particularly of the PISA 2025 optional Foreign Language Assessment-English. She is a lawyer and holds a Master's Degree in Public Policy from Sciences Po. Before joining the OECD, she worked for the Colombian Government on international litigation before the Inter-American System of Human Rights, for her University in Colombia as a researcher, and for the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies supporting the monitoring and verification of the implementation of the Peace Accord in Colombia. Recently, she worked as a consultant for the Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs (ELS) in the OECD, where she drafted an evaluation report on the progress made in labour policies in Colombia since 2018. She speaks Spanish, English and is studying French.

Natalie Foster
Analyst

Natalie joined the OECD in January 2017, starting as an intern in the OECD Development Centre. After a brief spell at the European Commission, she re-joined the OECD in November 2017 to work on the research and development of the PISA innovative domain assessments. She holds a BA in French and Spanish from the University of Nottingham, and completed her MA in European Studies (Politics, Policy and Society) at the University of Bath, Charles University (Prague) and Sciences Po Paris. Natalie is British, and speaks English, French and Spanish.

Tiago Fragoso
Analyst

Tiago supports the development and implementation of PISA. Before joining the OECD in 2020, he was a Researcher at Fundação Cesgranrio and was part of the implementation and data analysis teams of several Brazilian large-scale educational assessments, including the national set of basic education assessments (SAEB) and the upper secondary evaluation (ENEM). A psychometrician by training, Tiago holds a PhD in Statistics and a MSc in Applied Mathematics, both from Universidade de São Paulo. Tiago speaks English, French, and Portuguese.

Ava Guez
Analyst

Ava joined the PISA team in March 2022 to work on the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) programme and innovative domain assessments. Before moving to PISA, she worked in the Policy, Advice and Implementation (PAI) Division at the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills, supporting the improvement of assessment capacity in secondary education in Morocco. Ava's prior experience also includes conducting consultancy work for UNESCO. Ava completed her PhD and Master's in Cognitive Science at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, and holds a Master's in Economics and Public Policy from Sciences Po Paris. She speaks French, English and (rusty) Spanish, and is currently learning Hindi.

Kartika Herscheid
Statistician

Kartika joined the PISA analysis team in January 2023 to work on PISA 2022 Volume I. She provides statistical and analytical support on the PISA reports. Before working on the PISA 2022 report, she also worked in the PISA team in 2022 as an intern. Kartika holds a Master's degree in Public Policy and Development from the Paris School of Economics (PSE) and a Bsc in Economics from Tilburg University. She speaks Dutch and English, and is currently learning French and Indonesian.

Irène Hu
Analyst

Irène joined the PISA Analysis Team in January 2023 to work on PISA 2022 Volume II. Before joining PISA, she worked as a consultant at the World Bank’s Development Economics Research Center, and with the Poverty and Equity Global Practice. Her previous professional experience also includes working at the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Division and the World Health Organization. She completed a Ph.D. in Economics from the Paris School of Economics (PSE) and Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. She also holds a Master's in Analysis and Policy in Economics from PSE and an Engineering master’s degree in Data Science from the French National School of Statistics and Economics (ENSAE). Irène speaks French, English, Mandarin Chinese and learned German.

Gwénaël Jacotin
Statistician

After a first experience in the PISA team in 2018 working mainly on the Equity report, Gwénaël returned in 2023 to work as a statistician for the PISA 2022 Initial Reports. Previously he worked on all data-related aspects (collection, management, analysis) of the OECD Creativity and Critical Thinking Survey. He joined the OECD in 2011 and holds a Master's degree in Economics from the Paris School of Economics and another Master's degree in Statistics from the Paris 1 Sorbonne University.

Gracelyn Lee
Analyst

Gracelyn joined the PISA Analysis Team in April 2023. She provides analytical and statistical support to the Lead Analyst Programme. Prior to joining the PISA, she has experience in developmental cognitive neuroscience, and assessment and evaluation. Gracelyn holds a Bachelor’s in Psychology from the National University of Singapore and a Master’s in International Educational Development from the University of Pennsylvania. She speaks English, Mandarin and Cantonese, and is currently learning French.

Emma Linsenmayer
Analyst

Emma joined the OECD in September 2018 as an intern on the Strength through Diversity project. After finishing her Master's degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from the American Graduate School in Paris and interning at the U.S. Mission to the European Union, she re-joined the OECD to support the research and development of the PISA innovative domains assessments in November 2019. Emma’s prior experience includes teaching ESL for a China-based education technology company and supporting the protection of migrant children’s rights for a Paris-based NGO. She holds a BA in Psychology, English Literature and Law, Societies and Justice from the University of Washington, Seattle and speaks English and French.

Thomas Marwood
Project Support Co-ordinator

Thomas joined the PISA team in February 2017 to support the implementation and dissemination of PISA. Before joining the OECD, he worked for the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Thomas holds a degree from the University of London Institute in Paris and speaks English and French.

Valeria Pelosi
Project Support Co-ordinator

Valeria joined the PISA team in July 2023 to support the implementation and dissemination of PISA 2022. Before joining the PISA team, she worked for two years at the OECD Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs working on Financial Education projects. Prior to joining the OECD, she worked for the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (Vienna) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (Stockholm). Valeria holds a degree from the University LUISS Guido Carli in Rome and speaks Italian, English and French.

Christa Rawkins
Analyst

Christa joined the PISA team in January 2023 as a Policy Analyst to lead the preparation of a case study publication which will support the dissemination of results from the PISA 2025 optional Foreign Language Assessment. She has been at the OECD since February 2019 working predominantly on the Education Policy Outlook as well as contributing to work on country reviews, early childhood education and care and teacher development. Prior to joining the OECD she worked with UNESCO following several years in teaching and school leadership in England and France. Christa holds Master's degrees from Sciences Po Paris and the University of Edinburgh. She speaks English and French and continues working on her Spanish.

Giannina Rech
Statistician

Giannina is mainly in charge of the analytical, statistical and editorial support of the PISA Reports. She also contributes to support the implementation of the PISA programme, particularly in country oversight and support. Giannina joined the OECD in 2011 as an intern for the Education at a Glance team. She then joined the PISA team as a statistician. Giannina holds a Master's degree in Coopération Internationale en Education et Formation from the university of Paris 5-Descartes. She speaks French, Spanish and English.

Daniel Salinas
Analyst

Daniel joined the PISA team as a policy analyst in September 2014 and is currently working on the PISA Thematic Reports series. He holds a PhD from The Pennsylvania State University, with a dual-title in Educational Theory & Policy and Comparative International Education. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a Master's in Literature from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Prior to coming to PISA, Daniel was a visiting scholar in the Population Research Centre at the University of Texas at Austin and a recipient of the Fulbright fellowship. Daniel is originally from Chile and speaks English and Spanish.

Ricardo Sanchez Torres
Project Assistant

Ricardo joined the PISA team in October 2022 to support administrative tasks in the PISA programme: from communications with the PISA Governing Board to event organisation, etc. Before joining the OECD, he worked for the Mexican Government and two UN agencies. Ricardo holds a dual degree in International Relations from Sciences Po Paris and the Mexico Autonomous Institute of Technology (ITAM). He speaks Spanish, English and French.

Inés Saguino Martínez
Analyst

Inés is supporting the development of the PISA 2025 Foreign Language Assessment since April 2023. She joined the OECD in 2022 as part of the Implementing Education Policies team. She had previously collaborated with organisations such as Unlocked Graduates and What Works for Children’s Social Care. Inés holds a MPhil in Evidence-Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation from the University of Oxford.

Chi Sum Tse
Analyst

Chi Sum TSE joined the Directorate for Education and Skills in 2016. In the PISA team, he supports the development and implementation of PISA. Before working on education policies at the OECD, Chi Sum gained experience in policy fields such as social policy at UNESCO (France) and CIPPEC (Argentina); and local community development with Un Techo para mi País (Argentina) and a local NGO in Peru. Chi Sum read Educational Assessment for his Master’s degree at the University of Oxford (UK). Previously, he was an Alexandre Yersin scholarship recipient at Sciences Po Paris (Institut d'études politiques de Paris, France) where he completed an MA in International Development. He has also pursued Master-level courses on Mercosur at the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina). He graduated with a BA in English Studies at the City University of Hong Kong (China). He speaks Cantonese, English, French, Japanese, Mandarin, Portuguese and Spanish.

Hannah Ulferts
Analyst

Hannah joined the PISA team as a policy analyst in January 2023 to lead Volume II of PISA 2022. Previously, she was an interim lead of the OECD’s Survey on Social and Emotional Skills (SSES) as well as an analyst of the Teacher Knowledge Survey (TKS) and the New Professionalism and the Future of Teaching project. Before joining the OECD, Hannah worked in Germany as a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the Department of Early Childhood Education at the Free University in Berlin as well as a researcher at the Humboldt University in Berlin and the University of Potsdam. She was involved in two European projects as well as two evaluation studies and a survey in Germany and conducted several secondary analysis and meta-studies. Hannah has a doctoral degree in psychology from the Free University in Berlin and speaks German, English, French and Spanish.

Sophie Vayssettes
Analyst

Sophie joined the OECD in 1991 and the PISA team in 2003. Through her various roles in the PISA team, first as a statistician, then as an analyst before moving to project management, Sophie has gained a global overview of the project which she uses to support participating countries in the development and implementation of PISA in their national context. Sophie holds a Master's degree in Econometrics from the University of Paris-Panthéon-Assas and a Master's degree in Modelling, Optimisation, Decision and Organisation from the University of Paris-Dauphine. She speaks French and English.