Dr. Nurper Ulkuer is currently a Program Officer for Early Childhood Development (ECD) at UNICEF Head Quarters, New York .

Dr. Ulkuer has worked as UNICEF Area Advisor in Central Asian Republics and Kazakhstan (CARK), providing technical and professional support to the UNICEF Country Offices and their national counterparts in Turkmenistan , Uzbekistan , Tajikistan , Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan . Among her accomplished tasks were establishment of CARK Education Forum, national tasks forces for ECD, Child Rearing Studies, Parenting Programs, Communication Materials, and ECD Training Programs for the front-line health workers. She started her career with UNICEF in 1989, as a National Education and Child Development Officer in Turkey , and gradually taking additional program responsibilities in the areas of Communication for Women, Research and Monitoring, Policy Planning and Advocacy.

Prior to UNICEF, she was as an Associated Professor and the Chair of Child Development at Gazi University , in Ankara - Turkey .

Her professional interest is mainly in policy planning and advocacy for quality child development programs for children and families, especially the ones in need of immediate support.

She has a B.Sc. in Child Development ( Hacettepe University , Turkey ), MA and Ph.D. in Comparative Education ( Institute of Education , University of London ).