Maria Barron is an Education and Technology Specialist and Co-lead of the EdTech Team at the World Bank. A leading expert with over 14 years of experience, she specializes in designing and implementing evidence-based educational technology and AI programs for the Global South.
A central focus of Maria's work is pioneering the responsible use of generative AI in education. In Nigeria, she designed a groundbreaking program combining AI tutoring with teacher guidance, one of the first Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) on the topic. Maria personally led the teacher training and developed the classroom materials and responsible AI guidelines for the pilot. This successful model is now being scaled to other regions as part of the World Bank’s “From Learning to Earning” program.
Drawing from this cross-country experience, she developed "The 5Ps," a people-centered framework for responsible AI integration published by the University of Oxford and the World Bank. As a sought-after thought leader, Maria delivers keynotes at global forums, engaging policymakers and academic leaders on the future of EdTech.
Maria’s leadership also extends to co-leading the EdTech Policy Academy, which has trained over 1,000 policymakers across 30+ countries, and the $7.5 million CAL initiative with UNICEF, which distilled critical lessons from multi-country remote learning. She has authored or co-authored over 25 global EdTech knowledge products and supported projects across Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and East Asia Pacific.
Her work is grounded in direct public sector experience, including implementing national EdTech programs for Peru’s Ministry of Education and contributing to the groundwork for the UK's EdTech Hub at the Department for International Development.
An Oxford-Weidenfeld Scholar, Maria holds two master’s degrees in public policy and Evidence-Based Social Intervention from the University of Oxford, and a Bachelor in Law with a focus on International Development (summa cum laude) from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.