Paola Petrić was born in Belgrade, Serbia. She studied German language and literature at the University of Belgrade, where she also completed her master's degree. During her studies, she attended a one-year professional training at the University of Hannover. She successfully completed the Diplomatic Academy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia and Montenegro and is currently in her final year of training in cognitive counselling. She worked as a teaching assistant for German language and culture at the Faculty of Law of the Union University in Belgrade. 

Since 2007, she has been working at the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Belgrade as the program coordinator for democracy and human rights, and since 2012 as the deputy director of the office. She is currently Director of the Heinrich Bell Foundation Office in Sarajevo.