Board of Directors
Gena O’Keefe
Board Chair
Gena O’Keefe is a Baltimore, Maryland-based independent consultant, with experience and interest in maternal and child health, early childhood care and education, networks of support for young parents, and public-private funding partnerships. She has held long-term positions at The Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Baltimore City Health Department, and on numerous governing boards for nonprofit and publicly funded organizations. Gena has also been an advisor to Baltimore City's strategy to improve birth outcomes, B'more for Healthy Babies, Gena was a 2022-23 US Fulbright Scholar in Bulgaria and is on the U.S. Fulbright Specialist roster for 2023-2026. She earned her medical degree from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and her undergraduate degree in English Language and Literature from Harvard University.
Aljosa Rudas
Board Member
Aljoša Rudaš is an early childhood specialist of Roma background with more than fifteen years of experience advancing inclusive, equitable, and child-centred education across Europe. His work bridges practice, research, policy, and advocacy to create transformative pathways for system-level change, ensuring that early childhood ecosystems respond to the needs of all children and communities. He currently serves as Programme Manager at International Child Development Initiatives (ICDI), where he leads initiatives focused on child well-being, transformative professional learning, and inclusive pedagogical innovation. His portfolio integrates evidence, emerging trends, and field practice to strengthen professional learning ecosystems and support sustainable quality improvement in diverse contexts. Previously, Aljoša held progressive program management roles at the International Step by Step Association (ISSA), managing complex multi-country programmes, facilitating international learning networks, and designing knowledge-mobilisation and capacity-building frameworks. His work consistently connected grassroots practice with strategic policy dialogue, supporting practitioners, organisations, and systems to translate innovation into measurable impact. His professional foundation lies in direct practice as a preschool educator counsellor and unit manager in Slovenia, where he worked closely with children, families, and communities. This grounding continues to shape his approach: practical, relational, evidence-informed, and deeply responsive to lived realities. Aljoša holds a Master’s degree in Child Development and a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education and Care. Passionate about equity, play-based learning, and democratic participation from the earliest years, Aljoša contributes to global dialogues and to the innovation of practice in the early childhood ecosystem. He also serves as an expert for the Council of Europe and as an evaluator for European civil society networks, contributing to international efforts to advance equity, inclusion, and community-led change across the educational continuum. Rooted in his Roma identity and lived experience, Aljoša brings a unique perspective that integrates cultural understanding with professional excellence. His work consistently connects evidence, innovation, and policy into coherent, transformative strategies, enabling early childhood systems not only to improve, but to thrive.
Ivanka Tzankova
Board Member
Ivanka Tzankova is an independent consultant specializing in Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) and impact assessment, with extensive expertise in strategic planning, project development, and program evaluation. With a career spanning over three decades, she has played a pivotal role in shaping and assessing impactful initiatives across various sectors. For 15 years, Ivanka was a driving force at the America for Bulgaria Foundation, where she established the organization's M&E function and spearheaded the launch and management of its educational portfolio in its formative years. Prior to that, she dedicated 16 years to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission in Bulgaria, serving as Director of the Program Office. In this role, she was instrumental in designing, overseeing, and successfully closing out the USAID assistance program in Bulgaria. In addition to her work with major donor organizations, Ivanka has collaborated extensively with NGOs, supporting their capacity building, impact measurement, and strategic growth. Ivanka holds a Master’s degree in Electronics and a PhD in Computer Sciences from the Technical University of Sofia.
Kamen Slavov
Board Member
Kamen Slavov has 25 years of professional experience spanning the private and public sectors, including senior roles in banking, corporate finance advisory, development finance, and a ministry. He is the co-founder of FINGROW, a consultancy specializing in governance and strategic finance and of SCION Society, an investment platform connecting nature and finance. Kamen serves as a member of the Investment Board of JEREMIE Bulgaria, managed by the European Investment Fund, and the Innovation Council of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce. He holds an MBA from INSEAD and is graduate of American University in Bulgaria’s Advocacy Academy.
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Konstantin Dzhengozov
Board Member
Konstantin Dzhengozov is Payhawk’s co-founder and Chief Financial Officer — a strategic thinker and leader focused on helping companies build sustainable models to grow their business. Since launching Payhawk, he has steered the company to a $1 billion valuation, making it the first company with Bulgarian roots to achieve unicorn status, while spearheading capital efficiency, growth strategy, risk and sound unit economics. Konstantin pairs a finance and operations background with hands-on operational FP&A know-how. He is a leading advocate for the transformation of the CFO role to a strategic partner advising on data-driven solutions that empower team and company performance. Konstantin is active in sharing his insights and experience on global finance events and podcasts. Konstantin has earned the prestigious title of CFO of the Year in EY's awards and is also a CFA charterholder. He is participating in the Owner/President Management (OPM) program at Harvard Business School, joining a select group of global entrepreneurs focused on mastering further and challenging leadership, scaling innovation, and strategic deal-making in today’s fast-moving environment. Outside the boardroom, he delights in tennis, snowboarding, mountain biking, and quality moments with friends, family and his two kids.
Petia Whitmore
Board Member
Petia Whitmore is the Founder of My MBA Path, an education-focused advisory firm supporting ambitious professionals as they navigate academic and career transitions. She previously served as Dean of Graduate Admissions at Babson College, where she led admissions strategy and operations, and later as Managing Director of The MBA Tour, overseeing global programs and partnerships across Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the United States. Petia brings deep experience in organizational leadership, program development, and evaluating educational impact. Having lived and worked between Bulgaria and the U.S. for much of her career, she offers a cross-cultural perspective on opportunity, access, and social mobility. She is committed to strengthening systems that expand educational and economic pathways for underserved communities in Bulgaria
Veneta Ilieva
Board Member
Veneta Ilieva has worked as an executive in finance and banking for over 20 years. She was among the key players working on the launching of two successful organizations, Pension Insurance Company Rodina and Trust for Social Achievement Foundation (TSA), as well as on the initial public offering of the Bulgarian-American Credit Bank and the ERG Capital series of REITS. Veneta has also worked on the design, negotiation, and implementation of a significant number of projects, building teams and alliances,corporate infrastructure and processes, and continuous improvement. Currently Veneta serves as Chair of the Audit Committee of Tokuda Bank AD and member of the boards of directors of the CFA Society Bulgaria and TSA. She is a consultant in the areas of scaling up, succession planning, and corporate finance, and she holds an MBA from Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley.
Viktoriya Blazheva
Board Member
Viktoriya Blazheva is First Vice President in UniCredit Bulbank. She is Marketing and Communications Director for Central and Eastern Europe at UniCredit. Viktoriya is a member of the board of directors of Trust for Social Achievement and a member of the board of Harvard Club of Bulgaria. She is Head of the Workgroup for Communication Strategy of the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria and a member of the European Association of Communication Directors. She is the founder of The C-Suite Minimalists initiative as part of her MBA dissertation at Warwick Business School, and she is the author of a related blog and podcast, where she shares practical science-backed ideas on innovations in management, entrepreneurship, productivity, and wellbeing. In addition, she lectures in the Bulgarian representation of the London School of PR. Viktoriya has completed the Harvard Business School’s CORe business program and the Stanford University, Stanford Graduate School of Business professional certification program in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. She is analumna of Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Executive Education, SFNO program. She has a BS (Honors) from OU Business School, UK, and she is certified in Social Entrepreneurship from Oxford University and in Executive Coaching from Cambridge University. Currently she is completing a Data Science for Executives professional program at Columbia University, USA.
