Cyrilla holds a Masters degree in development studies, a Bachelors degree in law and social sciences. She is a research director and coordinates different programs at ACE Africa Kenya focusing in the areas of child development, community health and wellbeing, community livelihoods and research which are embedded under each program area. She has conducted research with orphaned and separated children for over 14 years, and now focuses on task sharing mental health care in low resource settings and in middle income countries. For the current teacher wellbeing study, she spearheaded data collection from teachers and education policymakers in Kenya.