Core team

Perangua is an independent initiative developed by a group of friends coming from a range of backgrounds and countries including Canada, Bulgaria, Spain, France, Poland and the Netherlands. What unites them is a passion for the world and its diversity, a deep-rooted need to contribute to preserving its natural heritage and communities, and a core belief that, by uniting behind shared values of sustainability, diversity and inclusivity, we can create a movement powerful enough to drive positive change for all.

TEAM MEMBERS

Andrey Ralev

Co-founder and Environmental Expert — Bulgaria

Andrey is an ornithologist and environmentalist from Bulgaria. Since 2002 he has been working in nature-conservation projects with different NGOs. He has experience living in Bulgaria, Venezuela, Spain, Armenia and Georgia. He is the main environmental expert in Perangua and is in charge of strategic planning and networking.

Areas of expertise:
– Environmental science (conservation and zoology)
– Campaigning (project management, networking and fundraising)
– Communications (social media)
– Sports (rock climbing)

Andrzej Jarzyna

Co-founder and database manager — Poland

Andrzej is a software engineer specialized in the area of APIs and distributed systems. His work is focused around the design of APIs and the systems using them. He is very involved in the IT community organizing Hackathons and hosting an API Meetup in Barcelona as well as API Days Barcelona conference. He was also involved in a project at the Health Research Center in Manhiça (CISM), Mozambique.

Areas of expertise:
– IT and web (software engineering and database management)
– Sports (Mountaineering)

Gordon Israel

Co-founder and Communications expert — France

Gordon is a young professional with experience in economic and social development along with communications management in multiple organizations. He gained an in-depth knowledge of project and event management as well as communications development while working as Project Manager in the United Nations ESCAP in Bangkok, and as Managing Partner of the Howe International Consulting Group and its subsidiary the Friendship League.

Areas of expertise:
– IT and web (web development, platform development, web design)
– Communications (event management, strategy development, graphic design and social media)
– Campaigning (project management, networking and fundraising)
– Sports (rock climbing)

Magdalena Kircheva

Co-founder and graphic designer — Bulgaria

Maggie always had a passion for nature. Working in the professional field of urban planning she learned how important it is to think about people, and their needs, but also to protect their environment. Today she works as a freelancer, with many different projects and campaigns behind her back; most of them part of NGOs and organizations protecting nature and its indigenous people. She has expertise in GIS analysis and mapping, but also graphic design. The diversity of work she has done and people she has collaborated with made her the person she is now – happy, curious, determined and always ready to help. “And I know I don't know everything... but I enjoy learning."

Areas of expertise:
– IT and web (web design and data analysis)
– Natural science (GIS mapping)
– Communications (graphic design and social media)
– Campaigning (networking)
– Sports (rock climbing)

Maite Vroom

Co-founder and arts expert — Spain - Netherlands

Maite is an illustrator, artist and researcher. She has a Master in Art Production and Research and a Master in Compulsory Secondary Education, Baccalaureate, Vocational Training and Language Teaching. Combining visual arts and education, her knowledge is very useful for environmental campaigns. She coordinated a series of courses that rethought natural spaces from an artistic perspective. In 2017 she began working in the creation of Perangua and collaborates in creating the visual identity of the project, including illustrations, social media content, videos.

Areas of expertise:
– Arts and creativity (arts, design, photography and videography and multimedia editing)
– Social science (research)
– Campaigning (strategy development and networking)
– Communications (social media)
– Sports (motorcycling)

Raimon Grau

Co-founder and technical support — Spain

Raimon is a software developer. Worked in the startup environment for the last decade and is excited to find collaboration opportunities between technological and social issues. He's a Free Software advocate and contributor and is looking to step up his involvement in social causes, by teaching, programming, or providing consultancy on software development/IT on sustainable projects.

Areas of expertise:
– IT and web (software engineering, database management and web development)
– Campaigning (project coordination)

Rosa Vroom

Co-founder and Multimedia storyteller — Spain - Netherlands

Rosa has experience working in social and environmental campaigns for NGO’s in different countries (Spain, Nepal, Paraguay, Bulgaria, Georgia, Thailand, Armenia) and as Communications Officer in international organizations. Rosa diagnoses the communication needs of each campaign and applies the adequate tools, channels and formats - creation of a video for online dissemination, execution of a photography exhibition with young people, etc. She has often taken on coordination, PR, and marketing roles. But first of all she has learned to tell stories that matter: about human, social and environmental rights.

Areas of expertise:
– Communications (journalism, reporting, social media and blog writing)
– Arts and creativity (photography, videography and multimedia editing)
– Campaigning (strategy development and networking)
– Sports (rock climbing)

Stefan Curtis

Co-founder and environmental expert — Canada - Bulgaria

Stefan is always pulled by the promise of new experiences. Whether it is riding bicycles across continents, working with local grass-roots farmers, or spending months on end in tropical rainforest helping scientists, he excels in reaching out and connecting with others. With a firm passion for Life on our planet he has worked in rainforests all over the world helping ecologists collect their data. From the Guyanese Plateau to the jungles of China, the sub-tropics of Australia to the savanna gallery forests of Cameroon, he has been there “-collecting clues and delighting in the miniscule, minute, and interconnectedness of our world”. With years of experience living in different locations synthesising the "developed" with the tradition, he brings with him a network of academics across continents, and a long-term love affair with wild places and their protection.

Areas of expertise:
– Environmental science (biology, ecology and forestry)
– Campaigning (consultancy an community engagement)
– Sports (tree climbing)

GET INVOLVED

How can I participate in the Perangua community?

GLOBAL NETWORK OF LOCAL ACTIVISTS

You are an individual, a community or an organization committed to supporting a greener and more sustainable future? You share our values and want to connect with us? Get in touch!