Background

Work experience

2012-to present: Post-Doc Fellow at FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University

2005-2012: Executive Director of Romani CRISS -Roma Center for Social Intervention and Studies

2004-2005: Coordinator of Romani CRISS transnational activities: advocacy at the UN, OSCE, Council of Europe; implementing transnational projects

2003-2004 : Project officer  of the “Roma, use your ballot wisely!” project jointly coordinated by OSCE/ODIHR and Council of Europe:ensuring the management of the project in Balkan countries; working with Roma NGOs, intergovernmental organizations and authorities from Balkan countries;

2002-2005: Short Term Observer of elections for OSCE/ODIHR Missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina (local elections in 2002 and 2004) and Macedonia (local elections in 2005)

2001-2003: Project officer of  the “Roma and the Stability Pact in SEE” project coordinated by OSCE/ODIHR and Council of Europe: ensuring the management of the project in Balkan countries; working with Roma NGOs, intergovernmental organizations and authorities from Balkan countries;creating and developing Roma Women local NGOs

2000-2001: Trainer or youth worker involved in minorities youth activities in Austria, Italy, Finland, Hungary,Romania, Portugal

2000: Social worker for Romani CRISS project “Equal opportunities for Roma children’’: field work in Roma communities from Bucharest in order to identify and support Roma children and parents to register

1999-2000: Community worker with the Roma Students Association: mentoring activities for young children in a disadvantage community from Bucharest

My Roma heritage

I  grew up near Bucharest, surrounded by very few Roma families and friends, extensively exposed mostly to the Romanian culture. I started to become aware of my ethnic identity immediately after the Romanian Revolution, when my father became one of the first activists involved in the start up of the so called “Roma movement” in ’90s. In the activists’ environment, I learned about my heritage, but also about the inter-ethnic conflicts and anti-Roma violence that occurred in Romania. Being a Roma is an important part of my personal identity puzzle that sometimes becomes the center of it, other times it becomes vague, narrow due to the heritage losses of my ancestors, of myself.