Organizing Team

Aspire Steering Committee

The Steering Committee handles the long-term strategic planning and decision-making for the Aspire organization according to the mission, vision and values of the organization established in the first years of existence.

Ana-Maria Ciobanu

Ana-Maria graduated magna cum laude from the American University in Paris, specializing in Political Science and International Economics. She also holds a Master’s in Public Administration, from the University of Bucharest, as well as a certificate in International Relations, from the Romanian Diplomatic Institute. Currently, Ana is working for the American Chamber of Commerce in Romania as Advocacy & External Relations Coordinator.

Alex Lazar

Alex graduated from London Business School and is a former Co-President of Aspire (2011-2014), currently seating on the Board of Aspire. He previously worked in London in strategy consulting and currently resides in Bucharest where he is managing new product launches in the water industry.

Dinu Gheorghe

Dinu Gheorghe is leading the online operations for RCS&RDS, the leading telekom operator in Romania, managing both the ecommerce and the media platforms. Previously he worked as a financial consultant for Hidroelectrica and Electrica S.A, the two largest energy production and distribution companies in Romania. Dinu’s passion for entrepreneurship lead him to create 2 succesful startups in the IT and agriculture sectors. Dinu holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Warwick Business School and a Master in Finance from Instituto Empresa.

Dani Oros

Dani is leading the Marketing department at Google and YouTube in Romania. Dani was a participant at Aspire Academy 2011 and has been involved in various roles ever since: Finance Manager, Co-President and Board Member. Prior to joining Google, he was a Country Manager for BlaBlaCar, the world largest’s carpooling platform, in Romania, Hungary and Croatia. Before that, he worked as a management consultant for A.T. Kearney and as Head of Special Projects for Ana Holding / Ana Imep.

Ana Sarbu

Ana Sarbu graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University in 2012, with a double degree in Government and Russian. She is currently working in business development for Palantir Technologies, a software company co-founded by Peter Thiel. Previously she was employed with Richard Attias & Associates, a New York-based international strategic communications consulting company.

Alex Radu

Alex graduated Harvard University in 2008 with a degree in Economics and Government and received an MBA from Harvard Business School in 2012. He is currently working in London and New York. He is passionate about transforming education and enjoys sailing, flying and traveling.

Ana Voicilă

Ana joined Aspire High School in 2014 and ever since she has been part of the Aspire organising team. She graduated with first class honours from an Economics and Business program at UCL and now continues her studies in Finance at Harvard Extension School, while working in investment banking in London. Ana joined Aspire’s Mission Circle for 2 years, lead the Incubator, acted as Aspire Co-President and has been part of the Aspire Strategic Board. She is currently sitting on the Aspire Steering Committee.

 

Aspire EXECUTiVE DIRECTORS

The Aspire Co-Presidents are leaders from the Aspire community that guide the organizing team on decisions and business matters ranging from strategy planning, risk and growth of organization, fundraising and brand.

Maria Drăgoi

Maria is Co-President of Aspire, former Recruiting Co-Lead and graduate of the 2021 Academy cohort. With a BA in Film Directing and a glorious career in youth non-profits, Maria loves creating a good video campaign at Rogalski Damaschin PR. She is also smitten with quality education, which is why she founded her own NGO, Zece Muze, that aims at creating immersive and interactive learning experiences for learners of all ages. Maria also writes theatre plays, binges series, tries a new bachata move every other week and can be frequently seen strolling in IOR for fun and clarity of mind. 

Octavia Maria Vereșteanu

Octavia is Co-President of Aspire, former Community Lead and part of the 2021 Young Professionals Aspire generation. Freelancer linguist at her own PFA and part of the Google Romania team as a vendor, where she is also Champion of Culture, Octavia is passionate about people, equity and education. She is the mother of 10-year old Matei and has three cats: Cici, Charlie & Goku. To keep herself energized, she writes children’s stories, reads about reforming the economy, and takes long walks in nature. She is also the Vicepresident of “Creștem copii fericiți”, the parents association at Ferdinand I school.

Using an innovative system for self organization entitled holacracy, our team is organized in Circles:

Finance Team:

  • Alexandru Rădulescu
  • Iulia Ciobanu
  • Ilinca Suciu

Logistics & Community Team:

  • Ami Calancea
  • Alyssa Ungureanu
  • Luca Onică
  • Sabin Prunău
  • Maria Neagu
  • Tudor Aldea
  • Amina Panduru
  • Ingrid Gant
  • Violeta Bănică
  • Gabriel Zvâncă
  • Diana Dinu
  • Carmen Sofronici
  • Delia Dumitrescu
  • Delia Apetroaei
  • Matei Ghincea
  • Maria Bozga
  • Robert Ruica

Marketing Team:

  • Mara Borda
  • Emaa Iordache
  • Flavia Leu
  • Ioana Mitea
  • Daria Simionescu
  • Daria Bobe
  • Eduard Zippenfenig
  • Raluca Mihoci
  • Răzvan Negru
  • Teodora Malacopol
  • Victoria Ecaterina Moraru
  • Sara-Maria Dogaru
  • Alexandra Mihailopol
  • Alia Tănăsoiu
  • Andrada Ilie
  • Ana Caragață
  • Ana Cîrlogea
  • Andrada Pariza
  • Carina Argatu
  • Andreea Coroian
  • Irina Șerban
  • Rucsandra Gîrliceanu
  • Bianca Bălășoiu
  • Șerban Dulce
  • Teodora Păcioianu
  • Mihaela Begeac
  • Rebeca-Elena Crețu
  • Maria Honțaru
  • Marta Crețu
  • Luca Marcu

Recruitment Team:

  • Alex Mosinschi
  • Nicole Tănase
  • Juliana Wells
  • Luca Onica
  • Oana Meilie
  • Ruxandra Sorocianu
  • Delia Mera
  • Sonia Adorean
  • Bianca Mirica
  • Diana Ardelean
  • Tudor Galan
  • Tudor Gaitan
  • Cristiana Tepes
  • Mile Krstev
  • Matei Scarlatescu
  • Elena Cobianu
  • Cristina Andrei

Team Leaders

, the ones that will be leading all Aspire’s projects for the year that comes:

Ami Calancea

Ami graduated from the Academy 2021 program and has since been part of the organizing team in the Logistics & Community department, now acting as a department co-lead. She studied Sociology and Political Sciences at the University of Bucharest, and graduated summa cum laude from the former with a BA thesis focused on cancel culture. At the moment, she is pursuing a Master’s degree in Film Studies at UNATC. As a way to give back to this amazing community, Ami loves to organize and coordinate a wide variety of events and programs for the Aspire alumni.

Alyssa Ungureanu

Alyssa graduated from Aspire High School in 2022 and joined the organizing team soon after, now acting as a Logistics & Community co-lead. Passionate about activism, as a member and leader of multiple NGOs, she is contributing to supporting the education rights of low–income children and fighting for equal chances for everybody. She is a MUN enthusiast, exploring international relations, politics, and economics while participating in and organizing debating conferences.

Alex Mosinschi

Alex has been a permanent member of the organising team since he joined Aspire High School in 2018. He is a graduating student at UCL with a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE), and looks forward to returning to Romania in the spring. This year, he has his eyes set on learning Spanish, travelling to the United States, and seeing Taylor Swift in concert.

Nicole Tănase

Nicole has been a member of the organizing team since she joined Aspire High School in 2021. She is currently in her second year of studying International Business in the Netherlands. Next year she’ll be moving to France for her exchange program. For now, Nicole keeps being involved in various extracurriculars while making time for traveling and discovering new passions.

Emma Iordache

Emma has been a member of the Aspire Marketing Team since 2022, currently improving our LinkedIn profile, post by post. She is a student at Gheorghe Lazăr National College, and she is always looking to improve her marketing skills. She is deeply committed to a variety of educational and scientific projects. Emma’s natural ability to effectively communicate and inspire others makes her a valuable asset in any setting. She possesses strong analytical abilities, meticulous attention to detail, and the ability to think strategically.

Mara Borda

Mara is a junior at Liceul de Arte Oradea, where she studies music: violin and piano. On top of that, she is a self-taught drummer. Her experience in leadership started in her freshman year, when she became the president of the schools’ Students Council with a two year mandate. In her free time, she likes traveling, organising events and writing. Her academic interests include: philology, psychology and criminology. For Aspire, Mara comes up with all the strategies regarding our Facebook page.

Ioana Mitea

Ioana is dedicated, hardworking, and driven by a desire to make the world a better place. She is interested in law and has a flair for diplomacy, so she aspires to pursue a career in this field. She also enjoys volunteering and supporting worthy causes, therefore she started alongside a dear friend, a project about human rights, Your Rights Romania. For Aspire, Ioana manages the Instagram account.

Flavia Leu

Hardworking, brave and spontaneous, Flavia sees herself as a caring and funny teenager. Singing is one of the reasons why she became the person she is today, teaching her how to express herself in more ways than just words, and showing her that she doesn’t have to be afraid of public speaking. She wants everyone to see how important their voices are, and that’s why, alongside another good friend of hers ,who is also a law enthusiast, she started “Your Rights Romania”, a project about human rights. Beside law, leadership and music, she also enjoys reading, traveling and dancing. For Aspire, Flavia curates the TikTok account, staying on top of friends and showing to the world how beautiful our community is.