Executive Team

Mirela OPREA

President

E-mail: mirela.oprea@arcadianetwork.org

Mirela is a Senior Liaison Manager at World Vision International (the Middle East and Eastern Europe Regional Office). She holds a PhD in international cooperation and sustainable development policies from the University of Bologna. Her PhD thesis (that can be found online) is titled: Development Discourse in Romania: from Socialism to EU Membership. Mirela also holds an MA in EU integration policies, as well as a BA in psychology and behavioral sciences.

In the past Mirela held positions at the European Commission (internship at DG Development), the Romanian National Volunteer Center, Pro Vobis (training program manager), World Vision Romania (international relations expert), TRIALOG (intern in the lobby office in Bruxelles), Telefono Azzurro Italy (international relations officer), Osservatorio sui Balcani (event organizer), Cespi (researcher).

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Roxana NAN

Secretary General

Membership Coordinator

E-mail: roxana.nan@arcadianetwork.org

Roxana holds an MA in Development and Cooperation from the Institute of Advanced Studies of Pavia, School of Development and Cooperation and BA in Political Science from the University of Bucharest. Her areas of expertise include EU Development policy, project cycle management for development projects, project formulation within the EuropeAid and ECHO frameworks and development education, human rights, indigenous rights, children and youth. As of 2003 Roxana has been working in the NGO sector in Romania, Italy and Bolivia. In 2010 she also worked as a trainee in the European Commission DG EuropeAid.

Roxana joined ARCADIA because she believes Romania can and should play an active role in international development expanding its policy horizons beyond its immediate geographical proximity, building strong partnerships and delivering efficient aid.  It is ARCADIA’s role to contribute to the development of such an initiative by bringing people and ideas together and by constructing a knowledge web that can easily be translated into action.

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Corina CIAMBUR

Events Coordinator

E-mail: corina.ciambur@arcadianetwork.org

Corina holds a MSc in International and European Politics from the University of Edinburgh, UK and a BA in International Relations and European Studies from the Romanian-American University in Bucharest. Her areas of expertise include international trade, EU trade policy, regional trade agreements, EU trade agreements with Latin America, development related trade instruments. Before volunteering for ARCADIA, Corina has worked for a consultancy focused on energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, and has interned for the Department of External Relations of Brasov City Council.

Corina joined the association motivated by the belief that ARCADIA, through its activities and the expertise of its members, has the potential to bring a serious and valuable contribution to Romania’s development as an international actor. Apart from the role as Events Coordinator,  Corina plans to create an ARCADIA Working Group on Trade and Development, with the scope of ensuring a genuine debate in this field, and formulate a series of policy recommendations for Romanian authorities.

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Stefan CIBIAN

Censor

E-mail: stefan.cibian@arcadianetwork.org

Stefan is one of the founding members of ARCADIA. Stefan is a PhD Candidate at Central European University. His academic interests are international relations theory and development policy, development aid, international negotiations, and state building in sub-Saharan Africa. He is focusing in his research on the functionality of Western institutions in non-Western areas and more specifically on development aid negotiations between the European Union and the Sub-Saharan African states. Stefan holds an MA in Public Policy from Central European University. Stefan received a BA in Political Science and a BA in Law after studying at “Babes-Bolyai” University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; “1st of December 1918” University, Alba Iulia, Romania; University of Salzburg, Austria and University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.  Stefan has worked as teaching assistant at Central European University and as intern for DG Development, European Commission and for the EU Delegation in Senegal. Stefan is currently writing his PhD Thesis on the European Development Fund and its role in the Westernization of Sub-Saharan Africa. For his thesis, Stefan has carried out research in Brussels, Burundi, Kenya, Mali, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

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Andreea NOWAK

Communications Officer

E-mail: andreea.nowak@arcadianetwork.org

Andreea is a MSc candidate in International Development and Management at Lund University (2011-2013). She holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Bucharest. As a Junior Research Fellow at the Faculty of Political Science (Bucharest), she has written on socio-economic development in transitional societies, with a focus on Kenya and Uganda. Her areas of expertise include development cooperation policies (alignment & donor coordination), international agency, socio-economic rights and transitional justice in African countries. Andreea worked with various NGOs, such as Amnesty International Umeå/Sweden, UfP – Utrikespolitiska Föreningen Sweden / Foreign Policy Association Sweden, VoteWatch.eu Bruxelles and Romanian Forum for Refugees and Migrants and interned for UNDP Romania and Qvorum Institute Romania.

Through her involvement in ARCADIA, Andreea is interested in encouraging and generating debates on international cooperation and development in Romania, in promoting and creating an informed and responsible civil society, as well as in learning from the experience of the rest of the members of the community.

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Madalina PRUNA

External Relations Coordinator

E-mail: madalina.pruna@arcadianetwork.org

Madalina is a founding member of ARCADIA. She holds a BA in Communication and Public Relations at SNSPA Bucharest. Her areas of expertise are international and economic development, African economic development, international financial institutions, social entrepreneurship, NGO management, collaboration & network development tools. Madalina has gained NGO experience as project manager while working for AISEEC, ViitorPlus-The Association for Sustainable Development and Ballore Africa Logistics in Togo,Mali,Congo and Tanzania. She also worked as a Public Policy Junior Researcher at the European Commission, in DG Development.

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Diana TONEA

Research Coordinator

E-mail: diana.tonea@arcadianetwork.org

Diana is responsible for content research in ARCADIA. She holds a MSc in Development Studies from the London School of Economics. She  has professional experience in programme support and emergency response, most recently with the Emergency Response Unit in the European Commission Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (DG ECHO) in Brussels, Policy Centre for Roma and Minorities in Bucharest and UNDP/BCPR (Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery) in Geneva. In 2011 she will take part in the European Humanitarian Volunteer Corps Programme, coordinated by Save the Children UK.

Some of her areas of expertise are emergency response, early recovery, crisis prevention and recovery, humanitarian assistance, civil protection, donor practices, anthropology of development. Some of Diana’s extra-curricular activities have been: writing for a magazine, photography exhibitions and various volunteering activities.

Diana joined ARCADIA because she considers the organization as a means to do good, in a fairer, better and less paternalistic way.

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Alexandra Maria Galan

ARCADIA Review Assistant -Student Mobilizer

E-mail: alexandra.galan@arcadianetwork.org

Alexandra is currently enrolled in a Masters in Political Science, focusing on International Relations, Peace, Security and Conflicts at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. She holds a BA in Political Science in French from the University of Bucharest, Department of Political Science. She has a major interest for Russian foreign policy and contemporary issues of international security, especially in terms of building the new concept of European security. Currently she is also an intern at the Romanian Cultural Institute in Brussels, where she is studying the cultural diplomatic strategies for 2012, the year of China – EU cooperation.

She joined ARCADIA because she believes that security is intrinsically linked to international development and humanitarian aid. She believes studying current security and development issues in depth will  make Romania an important actor in the international arena.

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Teodora Zafiu

Research Assistant

E-mail: teodora.zafiu@arcadianetwork.org

Teodora is studying International Development within a master’s degree programme at Babes-Bolyai University. She holds a BA in Finance from the same university. During her studies, Teodora has interned for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and for the Peace Action, Training and Research Institute of Romania-PATRIR, and volunteered for World Vision Romania. Teodora is interested in the areas of peacebuilding and post-war recovery, good governance, civic participation, and development education.

Teodora joined the association because she believes that ARCADIA can play an important role in the expansion of the international development field in Romania, by bringing people together and generating discussions and debates in this field. As part of ARCADIA, Teodora is primarily involved in the research ‘Mapping Romanians in International Development’