DR. ERLINDA C. PEFIANCO

She is currently Center Director of SEAMEO INNOTECH upon appointment by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Council President.   Prior to joining SEAMEO INNOTECH, she was Secretary of the Philippine Department of Education, Culture and Sports in 1998 where she earlier served as Undersecretary for Programs from 1990 to 1997.  She once served as Vice President for Finance and Business Enterprises,  Dean of the College of Business Administration and member of the faculty of the University of the East, one of the leading and largest institutions of higher learning in the Philippines.

At present, Dr. Pefianco is a Commissioner of UNESCO of the Philippines and serves as chairperson of the education committee.  She is a member of the advisory council of the Summer Institute of Linguistics and also serves as member of the board of trustees of Angeles University Foundation and St. Paul University System, both in the Philippines.   She is a professorial lecturer at the Philippine Normal University, the country's leading teacher education institution.

Dr. Pefianco received a Presidential Academic Award given by then Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos in June 1998 for her distinguished and exemplary service in the field of basic education.  She was conferred the rank of Chevalier dans l'Ordre National du Merite (Knight of the National Order of Merit) in December 2002 for her contributions in strengthening relations between France and SEAMEO member countries.  She is a member of various international professional and academic organizations including the Phi Lambda Theta Honor Society of Women Leaders in Education where she received recognition as an Outstanding Thetan.

She has a Baccalaureate (Cum Laude) and Master's degree in Business Administration and a Doctor of Education degree (Honoris Causa) conferred by the Wonkwang University of Korea. She is an alumna of the Senior Executive Fellows Program of the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University, U.S.A. She is a Certified Public Accountant with specialization in business education. She is a member of the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) and the Association of Certified Public Accountants in Education (ACPAE) where she once served as PICPA vice president and ACPAE president.  She holds the highest rank of Career Executive Service Officer I (CESO I)  in the Philippine Government.

Dr. Pefianco is currently chief editor of the Southeast Asia Journal of Education.   She has written a number of scholarly articles and papers in the fields of education, accounting and business administration. Among her major publications are textbooks in basic accounting and in theory of accounts.