Dr. Laya Boquiren-Gonzales has a Ph.D. in Philippine Studies from the University of the Philippines Diliman Tricollege Program with a dissertation on the wood-carved heritage of Betis, Guagua, Pampanga. She acquired her Master of Arts in Art History and Bachelor of Arts in Arts Studies from the same university. She was a scholar under the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Initiative and completed short-focused programs in Managing the Creative Industries at Keio University (Kanagawa, Japan) and the Advanced Media Program at the Institute of Media and Entertainment (Manhattan, New York). She was a 2021 Fellow at the People-Centered Approaches for the Conservation of Nature and Culture of the World Heritage Leadership Program of ICCROM and IUCN.