Evgenia Peeva-Kirova takes up the position of Chairperson of the Board of Directors

Trayan Trayanov is the new Chief Executive Officer of Teach For Bulgaria. He takes over from Evgenia Peeva-Kirova who takes up the position of Chairperson of the Board of Directors – a position previously held by Tsvetan Lazhanski. 

This transition was officially announced on September 18, 2019, at a special event attended by current participants and alumni of the program, business partners, and partners from the civic and public sector. 

Trayan has been an integral part of the organization since its very beginning in 2010. In his new role as a CEO he will be responsible for Teach For Bulgaria’s overall strategic development and sustainability. In his previous role as a Chief Program Officer Trayan oversaw the teams responsible for admissions, selection, teacher training, and alumni development. He was also responsible for the overall monitoring and impact assessment of the program. 

“We’ll continue working towards empowering as many Bulgarian children as possible; teaching them how to set ambitious goals for themselves and how to accomplish them. We do this by recruiting, training, supporting, and creating professional communities where new and experienced teachers are ready to work towards a much coveted change. We’ll also keep stressing the fact that way too many Bulgarian children are born and live in poverty; they grow up in a hostile environment with no support or encouragement. We believe this problem can be solved, but it requires loads of work. We’ll continue our partnerships with people and organizations who share our deep conviction that Bulgarian children deserve more. The problem we are trying to solve is too big to be tackled by a single institution or organization. It takes a collective effort,” shared Trayan in his speech at the event on September 18.  

“Trayan has a unique combination of rare qualities which not just any team or organization, but any community with a long-term and challenging mission as our own, should strive to personify first and foremost through their leader. He is wholeheartedly dedicated, faithful and loyal to our mission and community, someone who would go through fire with you, constantly learning and growing, an entrepreneur, and an explorer,” commented Evgenia Peeva-Kirova. 

Trayan and Evgenia came back to Bulgaria in 2010 because of Teach For Bulgaria. Evgenia was invited to be Teach For Bulgaria’s founder and CEO by the America for Bulgaria Foundation and Trayan became one of the very first team members of the new organization. Both of them have a degree in Social Studies from Harvard University and previous professional experience at big international consulting firms. Trayan has a master’s degree in Sociology from the University of Cambridge and Evgenia has a master’s degree in Educational Management from Plovdiv University. Both of them are alumni of the American College of Sofia.  

More about Teach For Bulgaria:

Teach For Bulgaria’s vision is that one day all children will have access to quality education – regardless of where they live, which school they go to, or how much their parents make. The organization was initiated and financially supported by the America for Bulgaria Foundation. Teach For Bulgaria’s mission is to recruit, train, and develop talented and motivated professionals from diverse backgrounds who are willing to work towards making Bulgarian education better. The participants in Teach For Bulgaria’s program work as teachers at underperforming state schools for a period of two years. They continue to contribute towards better quality education in Bulgaria by pursuing a variety of careers.

Over 100 Teach For Bulgaria teachers are going to teach at 55 schools in 11 regions of Bulgaria during the 2019/2020 school year. 308 participants have successfully completed the program so far. Nearly 80% of them are still professionally engaged in education as teachers, social entrepreneurs, or by working at civic and advocacy organizations, etc. 

Teach For Bulgaria has built a strong community of current participants, alumni, and key partners from all sectors in order to support and sustain the long-term access to quality education for all children in Bulgaria.  

The organization is part of the global network for equal access to quality education Teach For All.