Mariel leads Youth Impact's work scaling mEducation and Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) in the Philippines. She brings nearly 15 years of leadership in the Ministry of Education, where she spearheaded disaster risk reduction initiatives, including the development of the country’s comprehensive DRRM in education framework, coordination and information management protocol, and related policies. As Division Chief of Policy Research and Development, she oversaw the implementation of the national policy development process, research management systems, and DepEd’s Basic Education Monitoring and Evaluation Framework. Mariel holds a Master’s in Policy Studies from the University of New South Wales (Australia) and a BA in Social Sciences (Economics and Psychology) from the University of the Philippines – Baguio. She is a Licensed Professional Teacher, Career Executive Service Eligible, and a former Gurong Pahinungod volunteer.