John Low, President, Euclid Network / CEO, Charities Aid Foundation
John Low was appointed President of Euclid Network in September 2015. Prior to joining CAF, he was Chief Executive at the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID). John moved to the voluntary sector after pursuing a 20-year career in the technology industry. He was awarded a CBE for services to the voluntary sector and to deaf people in 2008, and was previously an Independent Member of the House of Lords Appointments Commission and Chair of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO). John is also a Non-Executive Director of Charity Bank and an Independent Member of Council at City University London. He holds a PhD in Bio-Medical Physics, is a Chartered Engineer, a Companion of the Institute of Management and a fellow of the RSA.
Gojko Bežovan, Institute for Social Policy, Faculty of Law Zagreb
Gojko Bežovan is Professor of Social Policy and head of the Third Sector Impact Croatia team. He is director of the master and PhD programmes in Social Policy and Head of the Institute for Social Policy. He is informal head of network of academics dealing with research and lectures on civil society/third sector in Croatia and in the region of SESPI- South East European Social Policy Initiative. He is a member of several expert groups dealing with the role of civil society/ third sector in social development issues and also founder and president of CERANEO – Centre for Development of Non-profit Organisations, a Croatian think tank dealing with action oriented research and advocacy on the role of civil society and the third sector in social policy. isi.
Wojciech Rustecki, Director of Programs and Operations, TechSoup Europe / Poland
Wojciech Rustecki is Director of Programs and Operations at TechSoup Europe with significant Project and Program Management experience working for non-profit and in a private sector. He oversees program implementation and program development for TechSoup Europe, with a particular interest in technology-led social innovations and the implementation of ICT solutions to strengthen civil society organizations. Since graduating from International Relations and Management faculties at the University of Warsaw, he has lived and worked in Poland, Belgium, and Germany and successfully completed many international projects across Europe.
Assya Kavrakova, Director, European Citizen Action Service (ECAS)
Assya Kavrakova is the Director of the European Citizen Action Service (ECAS) where she supervises the EU Rights Clinic and the European citizens’ initiative’s (ECI) support centre. Before joining ECAS, she served for 12 years (2000 – 2012) as the Director of the European Policies and Civic participation Programme at the Open Society Institute (OSI) in Sofia, Bulgaria, where she was leading the analytical and research activity of the European Policies Initiative. Assya is also a Fellow of German Marshall Memorial Fellowship, USA and a Fellow of the International Fellowship Programme, Brussels.
Marko Zunić, Secretary General, European Universities Games 2016; Vice-President of the European University Sports Association Technical Commission
Marko Zunic is Secretary General of European Universities Games 2016 where he is responsible for the smooth delivery of the biggest sports in Croatia. With over 5.500 participants expected at the games, Marko relies on a strong network of volunteers (over 1500). He is also the Vice-President of the European University Sports Association Technical Commission where he is responsible for the legislative, logistical and technical of the EUSA Championships. With a strong interest in NGO Management, Marko holds a Master of Law from Rijeka University in Croatia and is part of the MBA cohort 2015 at Cortrugli Business School.
Milan Bandić, Mayor of Zagreb, Croatia
Natalie Ferber, Programme Officer, International Relations Europe and its Neighbors, Robert Bosch Stiftung
Natalie Ferber has been working at the Robert Bosch Stiftung since January 2011. She is Program Officer in “International Relations Europe and its Neighbours” for International Civic Cooperation and the foundation’s activities in Turkey and South-East Europe. Prior to joining the Robert Bosch Stiftung, she was a teacher at the Center for Area Studies of the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg and worked as an intern at the German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation (GIZ) for the project Supporting Administrative Reform and Decentralization in Cambodia. Natalie Ferber studied Political Science at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg and European Political Sociology at Högskolan Dalarna in Sweden.
Juliet Cornford, Social Enterprise advisor, British Council
Juliet Cornford is a Social Enterprise Advisor with the British Council on their Global Social Enterprise programme, which aims to promote the development of social enterprise and social investment to help foster a more sustainable, inclusive and prosperous future for us all. Juliet has been working within the Social Enterprise sector for over 20 years and is the former CEO and a founding member of Social Enterprise NI, the representative body for social enterprises in Northern Ireland. Prior to that, she led on Establishment of the first All Party working group for social enterprise within the Northern Ireland Assembly and has been active in lobbying for legislation around Social Value, social impact, social investment, procurement, co-design and collaborative supply chains
Andreja Rosandic, Sustainability Manager, Central and Eastern Europe, NESsT, Croatia
Andreja Rosandic is regional Sustainability Manager at NESsT, responsible for financial sustainability of the CEE region. Until 2013, she held the position of Enterprise Development Manager and was responsible for overseeing and managing planning, implementation, and evaluation of NESsT’s Portfolio in Croatia. Prior to joining NESsT, Andreja worked for five years at the Academy for Educational Development (AED) where she was responsible for managing a variety of small grants for various NGOs. She also worked on several EU projects, as an Evaluator for PHARE 2005 and 2006, as well as a Consultant in the field of Vocational Education. In addition, she worked for a year as an advocate of Children’s Rights
Risto Raivio, Senior Expert, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission
RistoRaivo works as senior expert in the European Commission's Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. He is part of a team focussing on social entrepreneurship. Previously Mr Raivio worked in the European Commission's DG Education and Culture, where he was successively in charge of the Europe for Citizens programme, vocational education and training policy and DG's cooperation with the OECD. He has also worked for the Committee of the Regions, an EU body representing local and regional authorities. Mr Raivio holds a PhD in social sciences from the University of Tampere in Finland. He has been an elected local councillor in his home town, Pirkkala (FI).
Eva Varga, Independent Expert in Social Investment; judge of the European Social Innovation Prize Competition and former member of the EU Social Business Expert Group
Eva Varga is an independent expert in social enterprise development and social investment. She is a Board Member of Euclid Network judge of the European Social Innovation Prize Competition and former member of the EU Social Business Expert Group. She has also held senior roles in NESsT, a major social enterprise funder and supporter operating in Central Europe and Latin America.