Dr Nina Ferencic, MA, PhD, is the Senior Regional Adviser on Adolescent Health, Development and Participation, UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Development and Participation at the UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia, based in Geneva, Switzerland. She has over thirty years of experience working on influencing policies and programmes designed to improve equity, resilience and health outcomes among marginalized, socially excluded populations, including women, children and youth. She has expert knowledge on working with young people as partners in co- creating change by building on their strengths and resilience. Prior to joining UNICEF, she held senior positions with the World Health Organization, in areas of health promotion, community engagement and monitoring & evaluation; with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) as Coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean and as Team Leader for Financial Initiatives responsible for collaboration with financing partners such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Nina holds a PhD in Communication, Arts & Sciences from the Annenberg School of Communications, University of Pennsylvania, USA; a Master’s Degree in communications for development and a BA in Sociology from the City University of New York. She is fluent in English, Spanish, French, Croatian and has basic knowledge of Russian.