Paula Gaviria is the Director of Childcare for the Office of Early Childhood. She is a psychologist specializing in early childhood development and education from the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City. She has a master’s degree in Public Policy (MPP) from the University of Chicago with a certificate in Data Analysis and a master’s degree in Psychoanalysis from the Mexican Psychoanalytic Society. At the University of Chicago, Paula worked as a Research Assistant at the Behavioral Insights and Parenting Lab to evaluate the impact of technology use on preschool children’s learning.

In addition, she was the Head of External Relations at Latin American Matters, a student organization that aims to promote discussion about public policy in Latin America. She was also a volunteer at The Bridge Writing Workshop, designing and facilitating virtual writing workshops at Illinois Youth Center-St. Charles.

Before studying her MPP, she worked in the design and implementation of Jugar y Criar, a project in prison working with incarcerated women and their children, as a psychotherapist in her private practice, and as a professor in the psychology department at the Universidad Iberoamericana. She’s also worked as a preschool teacher, an elementary tutor, and teaching middle school lessons to adults.

Paula joined the City of Boston as the Childcare Program Manager for the Office of Women's Advancement, where she lead the Childcare Entrepreneur Fund before the Office of Early Childhood in 2022. 

Before her time with the City of Boston, she worked as a Data Analyst at the Mexican Secretariat of Economy. Paula is passionate about building community through education and transforming learning settings to be more conducive to and supportive of an individual's well-being.