Siri Tellier holds an Master's from Harvard School of Public Health, 1970, with a specialization in public health demography.

She has 40 years of experience in international health, including as Director of International Department of Red Cross in Denmark (1992-2001), as well as long term field postings as representative of UNFPA in Afghanistan, China, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Programme Director for Community Participation in Water and Sanitation with the UNDP, and Chair of the UN Theme Group on HIV/AIDS in China.

Siri has 20 years of teaching experience, and since 2009 she has been responsible for the module Health in Emergencies and Refugee Health on the University of Copenhagen's master's programmes in Disaster Management and International Health.