Mariana is a Senior Project Expert with the Economic Policy Institute in Bulgaria. She is EPI’s in-house Asia expert, having acquired first-hand experience in the region during a 4 year-long sabbatical in South Korea and China. She joined EPI in 2009 and since then has conducted research and implemented projects on a variety of topics related to economic policy and EU affairs.

At present, her professional interests are focused on promoting e-government implementation and digital transformation in Bulgaria. She is a passionate believer in non-formal education as a tool for combating labour market imbalances, thus designing and conducting tailor-made youth trainings is an essential part of her work.

Mariana is no stranger to volunteering and youth activism, having chaired a studentled NGO – International Relations Research Student Association – and having served as EU Youth Ambassador with the KU-KIEP-SBS EU Centre in Seoul, South Korea.

She considers herself as a mental and cultural bridge builder. Thus, Mariana describes her field trips to conflict territories such as Nagorno-Karabakh and the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea as two of her most memorable accomplishments.