LUIS LOMELI
California, USA
Director
Yordan Tsanev
Sofia, Bulgaria
Director of the “Minorities Matter” Project
Project Manager of “The Young Scientist Project 3”
Teodor Penchev
Bistritsa, Bulgaria
Director of the Project
“The Dance of Martial Arts”
Iva Radoeva
Pernik, Bulgaria
Co-director for Project “The Little Gardeners”, Project Manager for “The Young Scientist Project 2” and “The Young Scientist Project 3”
Nikol Savova
Sofia, Bulgaria
Project Manager and Volunteer for “The Young Scientist Project 2” and “The Young Scientist Project 3”
Steven Spasov
Sofia, Bulgaria
Project Manager and Volunteer for “The Young Scientist Project 2”, Project “Empowering Communities through STEM” and “The Young Scientist Project 3”
Aleksandar Georgiev
Sofia, Bulgaria
Project Manager and Volunteer for “The Young Scientist Project 2” and “The Young Scientist Project 3”
Natalia Borisova
Sofia, Bulgaria
Co-director for Project “The Little Gardeners”, Volunteer for “The Young Scientist Project 3”
Dimitar Lazarov
Sofia, Bulgaria
Volunteer for “The Young
Scientist Project 3”
Teodor Malchev
Sofia, Bulgaria
Volunteer for “The Young Scientist Project 3”
Bilyana Dimitrova
Sofia, Bulgaria
Volunteer for “The Young
Scientist Project 3”
Erik Paskalev
Sofia, Bulgaria
Volunteer for “The Young Scientist Project 3”
Victor Angelov
Sofia, Bulgaria
Volunteer for “The Young Scientist Project 3”
Mihail Shekerdjiev
Sofia, Bulgaria
Volunteer for “The Young Scientist Project 3”
Antonia Ganeva
Sofia, Bulgaria
Volunteer for “The Young Scientist Project 3”
LUIS LOMELI
California/USA
Founder/Director
Luis Lomeli is from San Francisco, California. He was born in Guadalajara, Mexico and has lived in the USA for most of his life . He identifies as Mexican-American. Luis has two bachelor degrees in International Relations and Spanish. For over ten years Luis worked in the banking, education, social work, and property management industries at a corporate level. Luis was also a Peace Corps volunteer in Gorna Oryahovitsa, Bulgaria from 2011 to 2013, where he was an English Teacher in a high school and project manager for a non-profit Romani organization. His experiences in Bulgaria broadened his perception of the importance of education, diversity, and social activism as a gateway to economic and social equality. In May of 2016 Luis co-founded Camp Golden Gate, the first international American summer camp on the Black Sea coast. He believes camps like his are a fundamental part in the educational development of teenagers. He hopes for education to become more centered on a life-long-skills approach that fosters freedom of choice. He truly believes that we as a society have a moral and ethical responsibility to provide a strong foundation for future generations that enables them to reach their full potential.
MOMCHIL BAEV
Sofia/Bulgaria
Founder/Board of Directors
Momchil Baev holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences and master’s in Public Health and Health Management. He is currently completing his PhD in Social Medicine. His education in social work and health management gave him a good sense of the social determinants of health inequalities in access to healthcare. Throughout his entire career in different places he has worked with volunteers. He started as a volunteer himself in his high school years, supporting different events, communities and causes. He has devoted many years to youth development and sexual and reproductive health education, to public events and has been devoted to people in need – supporting, training and teaching. A big part of his work and beliefs is close to the ideas of cultural diversity and equality. He worked for the most influential Romani organization in Bulgaria between 2010 and 2015. After that, he focused on patients’ rights in healthcare. Besides his devotion to public service and young people, his great passions are history and cultural heritage.
DIMITAR PIZHEV
Sofia/Bulgaria
Founder/Board of Directors
Dimitar Pizhev is a Project Manager for GLAS Foundation. He is from Sofia, Bulgaria. He studied and lived in Italy for over 5 years where his passion for fashion and art grew and inspired him to push his creative boundaries. Dimitar is a very active LGBTIQ+ activist and he is currently pursuing a master\\\\\\\\\\\\\\’s in Gender Studies at Sofia University. He has more than 10 years of experience in all fields of communication: Advertising (both as an account executive and copywriter), Public Relations, Journalism, and Social Media Marketing. As a journalist he has worked for Capital, the biggest and most influential business newspaper in Bulgaria. As an advertising executive he was part of the team that, in 2011, created and produced the “We Create Together” national advertising campaign, aimed at promoting the benefits of EU funding in Bulgaria. As a Digital Marketing Specialist, in 2014, he was the person behind the digital communication of DOMA Art Festival – one of the most important contemporary art events in Sofia.
MARTIN KRASTEV
Pleven/Bulgaria
Founder/Project Manager
Martin grew up in Bulgaria and was already on track to an interesting life in a solid local community when everything suddenly changed. By winning a full scholarship to finish his high school studies in United World College – USA he quickly embraced its ideals of making “education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.” Throughout his university studies of Politics, Economics and Journalism in Earlham College in Richmond, IN, USA, and the American University in Bulgaria, he grew to value diversity highly and saw the empowering perspectives living with people from various backgrounds can bring to any situation.
Martin is now committed to making a change in the world one step at a time, whether it be through local active engagement in various causes or through his work for the Bulgarian National Committee of the United World Colleges network. Most of all, Martin drives change through his work for Camp Golden Gate, where he has been integral to the organization of educational camps for international youth since October 2017. Martin has worked in a range of sectors: Sales, Technology, Journalism, and Youth Development that have allowed him to put his skills into action to enact social change in under-represented communities.
Martin is now committed to making a change in the world one step at a time, whether it be through local active engagement in various causes or through his work for the Bulgarian National Committee of the United World Colleges network. Most of all, Martin drives change through his work for Camp Golden Gate, where he has been integral to the organization of educational camps for international youth since October 2017. Martin has worked in a range of sectors: Sales, Technology, Journalism, and Youth Development that have allowed him to put his skills into action to enact social change in under-represented communities.
VLADIMIR LALOV
Sofia, Bulgaria
Founder
Vladimir Lalov is especially committed to the cause of educating, supporting and developing youth. Youth, which in turn, is to become engaged in protecting and promoting equality, quality of life, diversity and socio-economic growth in their respective communities. Born in Sofia and brought up in a family of teachers, he fell in love with learning and volunteer work as a child. Vladimir has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the American University in Bulgaria. He continued his business education in the University of Amsterdam and Charles University in Prague. He has spent several summer holidays in the USA as a student and has worked on various different projects in different fields. His experience helps him apply his knowledge and skills to different NGOs and education programs, aimed at innovative ways of teaching and learning. He firmly believes that education and culture play an extremely important role in the development of a person, and that meeting people of various backgrounds, cultures and religions enriches people and helps them to be a part of a global network.
ALEXANDER PETROV
Sofia, Bulgaria
Founder
Alexander is from Sofia, Bulgaria and has a master’s degree in Finance. He worked several years during his academic education as an internal auditor, but then took a sharp turn in his professional development and started a new career in the field of game development. He is a level designer for Ubisoft, helping reality and fantasy meet. He believes that gaming is more than fun. Gaming teaches you that failure is OK. A lot of the play consists in failing to reach the goal. This encourages persistence and grit. Furthermore, Alex understands that gaming has complex rewards from an educational point of view. For example, gaming increases problem-solving skills, keeps your mind active, sharpens visual processing skills, increases processing speed, and enhances your multitasking abilities. All these are valuable skills that make a better person on a personal and professional level. Other interests of his are: philosophy, medicine, psychology, international politics and early modern art. Alexander believes in social equality and has a strong desire to help marginalized groups and minorities, by promoting understanding and tolerance, and by supporting their effective integration in the community as a whole.
ANGEL ANGELOV
Sofia, Bulgaria
Founder
Angel Angelov graduated with a BS from the Mathematics Academy in Sofia and has been teaching math for the last 6 years. Working with students is his inspiration and calling, which he discovered in his teenage years. In his everyday life he aspires to be the best possible example for his students, and inspire them to find a love for science, to be good people and to have a respect for oneself and for the others. He is constantly trying to motivate them to believe in themselves and their abilities, and to not give up in the face of adversity, which we encounter every day. Angel, for many years, has been a part of various volunteer initiatives and social work. He values sincerity the most, and enjoys partaking in sports and photography