Staff

Cristian Ghinea - Director of CRPE

After eight years of writing for the Romanian media, Cristian went abroad in 2007 – 2008 to study EU Governance at the London School of Economics. He was previously involved in civic projects with the Romanian Academic Society, the Center for Independent Journalism Helsinki Committee and Freedom House - Romania. Mr. Ghinea has written chapters on Romania in prestigious international reports such as “Media Sustainability Index” (IREX) and “Nations in Transit” (Freedom House).  Upon his return to Romania he set out to combine academic approaches and new-found connections to shape a credible and influential public discourse on EU-related issues.
 
Area of expertise:

• EU institutional design
• democratization
• media studies
• transparency and accountability in public administration
• Republic of Moldova

Ciprian Ciucu- Programs Director

Ciprian is invited professor at Bucharest University, where he teaches project management in the European Studies Department. He has had rich experience in the not-for-profit sector, working for renowned organizations such as “Civil Society Development Foundation” and “Centre Education 2000+”. During time he was a consultant in several technical assistance projects (European Union, UNICEF, WB) for various agencies and ministries. His main area of expertise is educational policies, a topic on which he had published extensively in well known journals such as “Observator cultural”, “Dilema Veche”, “Cotidianul” and others. He is a founding member of CRPE.

Areas of expertise:

• educational policies
• Structural and Cohesion funds
• project management
• the non-for-profit sector

• Public administration
• Strategic planning and functional review of public institutions

Claudia Silaghi - Researcher

Claudia is a graduate of the “Interdisciplinary European Studies. European Union as a regional player” Master of the College of Europe and of the Economic, Political and Social Communications Master of the University of Oradea. Previously, she completed a research internship at the European Documentation Centre at the University of Alicante and gained professional experience in academia.

Research interests:

• EU Neighborhood Policy;
• Enlargement and European construction;
• European Law and Human Rights.

Alexandra graduated in 2010 from the Master in Advanced European and International Studies at the Institut Européen des Hautes Etudes Internationales in Nice, the trilingual programme. She previously worked as research analyst on the European energy sector and was an active member of various NGOs. Alexandra majored in both Finance and Banking, at the Academy of Economic Studies, and Communication and Public Relations, at the National School of Political and Administrative Studies in Bucharest, obtaining her BAs in 2008 and respectively 2009.

Interest areas:

• social entrepreneurship
• European regional cooperation
• civil society and advocacy

Ioana Traista

Communication Coordinator

Ioana worked and volunteered for various NGO's: RIME România, MaiMultVerde, Chance for Life, GRASP, designeing and implementing communication activities and programs. In 2010 she majored in European Communication Studies at Amsterdam University and she worked as a stagiaire for the European Agency for Human Rights, Communication Department.

Roxana Albișteanu - Intern

Roxana majored in International Relations and European Studies at Bucharest University and obtained a Master’s degree in Military and Intelligence Studies. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in foreign languages (Russian and Farsi), from Bucharest University, and a postgraduate interdisciplinary course in International Relations, from the Romanian Diplomatic Institute. She has gained work experience in the private sector, in nongovernmental organizations, as a volunteer, and - between March and June 2011 – within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania, as an intern.

Research interests:

• The Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union;
• EU energy policy;
• Romania’s Foreign Policy