Education

MOE Staff

Olivera Janovska, Director

Olivera Jankovska is the Director of the Mayor's Office of Education and Youth and Engagement, playing a pivotal role in shaping the city's future. She coordinates, communicates, and collaborates with local organizations, businesses, schools, and other resources and supports, serving as a connector for children, families, and communities in the education space. Jankovska works with the City of Houston and partners to prioritize collective impact partnerships to develop city-wide educational strategy as they strive to analyze research and data to identify and support best practices and align policies and resources. With a commitment to empowering Houston’s youth from cradle to career, she focuses on fostering a safe, equitable, and inclusive environment. Her approach involves integrating the voices of young people into policies and programs, ensuring that Houston's development aligns with their needs and aspirations.

Jankovska, who speaks eight languages, is a native of Kriva Palanka, Macedonia. Prior to coming to the mayor’s office, she has been an organizer, a leader, an economist, a published children’s book author, a researcher, and an innovator, leading change through engagements with faith-based organizations, academic communities, independent volunteers, political appointees, and other advocates. She is a champion of children’s rights and  has served as the UNICEF USA Community Engagement Associate for the Southwest Region where she empowered youth with the resources and skills to be effective global citizens - thinking globally and acting locally for the world's most vulnerable children. Jankovska is a published economist and brings ten years of international development work experience and serves as the Nonresident Fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy where she conducts research on energy topics.

Jankovska has received numerous recognitions for her contributions to the non-profit, academic and private sectors. She has been recognized as one of the 2024 “Public Official of the Year” by the University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs, the 2023 “All-America Leader” by the National Civic League, a recipient of the United States of America President’s Volunteer Service Award, one of the Top 30 Influential Women of Houston, one of the 2015 United Macedonian’s Diaspora “40 under 40”,  the recipient of the Outstanding Young Alumna Award for 2018 at Virginia Tech and 2020 at University of Arkansas, and a winner of the 2009 Wall Street Journal Academic Achievement Award.

All of Olivera Jankovska’s experiences-life, career, education, and volunteer- align with her drive and passion for education, to make her an effective and productive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Education and Youth Engagement.