Director

Ambreena Ahmed is the Director of Teachers’ Resource Centre (TRC), a pioneering and prestigious teacher education institution in Pakistan working to empower teachers through professional development for the last 33 years.

Ambreena joined TRC six years ago when the organisation was struggling financially to retain its niche. She, along with an able team, managed to turn around the financially distressed operation through innovative programming, strategic collaborations and cultivation of donor/philanthropic support.

She firmly believes that teachers have the power to transform education and, if motivated and empowered, can be the catalysts of much-needed change. Her conviction in the power the teachers hold drove her to establish a scholarship fund for underprivileged teachers. She was able to convince donors (including corporates, philanthropists and individual givers) to support the cause and since then, the fund has grown steadily offering freeships to deserving teachers. Ambreena has also been able to secure international accreditation for TRC’s flagship Early Childhood Education Programme for pre-service and in-service teachers. In addition to TRC’s core portfolio of teacher training, curriculum enrichment and development of learning resources, she is currently leading a range of education projects including the Thinking Classroom project, Citizenship Education for Schools, Early Childhood Education – all aiming to contribute a little towards uplifting the standards of education in Pakistan. She also ensured TRC’s certification from Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy.

Ambreena joined the education sector as a novice 18 years ago. A business graduate by degree, she was extremely fortunate to start her career under the phenomenal and larger-than-life mentorship of Professor Anita Ghulam Ali (late). Ambreena spent 12 years out of her 18-year career with the Sindh Education Foundation (SEF), a leading public sector agency in Sindh, and led many educational projects for the marginalised communities of Sindh. She held various senior-level positions during her tenure with SEF. She was responsible for managing a portfolio of diverse educational initiatives and schooling models which included community-based non-formal schools, learning centres for working and street children and adult, marginalsed rural women, low-cost private schools and public schools. In addition to project planning and management, she was also responsible for internal and external communications with stakeholders including the government and international donors. She was editing institutional, project and advocacy content for print and online media.

Ambreena has worked closely with both the public and private sector in Pakistan. Examples of government level engagement include working with the National Curriculum Council, Education Ministries and Departments of all provinces and areas and other key government institutions responsible for education policy and implementation. Through donor projects, she has collaborated with agencies like UNICEF, UNESCO, The World Bank, DFID, Global Partnership for Education, USAID-DAI, Child to Child Trust, UK, Open Society Foundations, British Asian Trust, The British Council, US Embassy and the Aga Khan Foundation, Pakistan. She has managed to forge partnerships with various CSR functions of corporates for resource mobilisation. She has also worked with a range of NGOs, research agencies and academic institutions for education projects.

Ambreena has a deep admiration for people who are compassionate and intelligent. She believes kindness alone can solve most of humanity’s problems. She also made it to the Ponds’ 100 Miracle Women list of 2015.