Fulbright Grantees

We present the Fulbright grantees for academic year 2022-23. See the networking opportunities of the Fulbright Alumni, too.

Grantees from Bulgaria

Grantees from the USA

Resources for U.S. grantees

Special care for all Fulbright grantees

Assistance with application processes

Assistance with on site integration

Events and networking opportunities

Academic and professional growth

Grantees from USA

University lecturers

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Dr. Virginia O’Keefe

Field of Specialization: Public Health
Home Institution: The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Baltimore, MD
Host Institution in Bulgaria: Trust for Social Achievement, Sofia

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David Sandson

Field of Specialization: Communications
Home Institution: US Department of the Air Force, Washington, DC
Host Institution in Bulgaria: Sofia University and Center for the Study of Democracy, Sofia

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Matthew Cronin

Field of Specialization: Law
Home Institution: Office of the National Cyber Director, Washington, DC
Host Institution in Bulgaria: American University in Bulgaria and Sofia University, Sofia

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Dr. Natalia Velikova

Field of Specialization: Business
Home Institution: Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
Host Institution in Bulgaria: University of Food Technologies, Plovdiv

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Dr. Tanya Ivanova-Sullivan

Field of Specialization: Linguistics
Home Institution: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
Host Institution in Bulgaria: Sofia University, Sofia

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Charles Murdock Lucas

Field of Specialization: Theater
Home Institution: San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
Host Institution in Bulgaria: Sofia Puppet Theatre and National Academy of Arts, Sofia

GRADUATE STUDENTS

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Elizabeth Meshel

Field of Specialization: Archaeology
Project Title: Comparing Funder and Institutional Heritage Conservation Priorities in Bulgaria
Host Institution in Bulgaria: Balkan Heritage Foundation, Sofia

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Ryan Grieser

Field of Specialization: Music
Project Title: Digitally Preserving the Folklore and Melodies of Traditional Bulgarian Chordophones
Host Institution in Bulgaria: Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, and Academy of Music, Dance and Fine Arts, Plovdiv

ENGLISH TEACHING ASSISTANTS

Alexander Levine

Field of Specialization: History

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Shumen, Bulgaria

Amanda Adinolfi

Field of Specialization: International Relations

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Galabovo, Bulgaria

Ana Klicic

Field of Specialization: Education

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Gotse Delchev, Bulgaria

Andrea Childs

Field of Specialization: English and Creative Writing, English Education, French

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Razgrad, Bulgaria

Anna McIntyre

Field of Specialization: English and Secondary Education, Philosophy

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria

Anne Bruebach

Field of Specialization: Elementary Education, Teaching English as a Second Language

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Sofia, Bulgaria

Ashlyn Freemyer

Field of Specialization: English, Philosophy

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Yambol, Bulgaria

Benjamin Custer

Field of Specialization: Communication

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Brianna Lopez

Field of Specialization: Psychological Science, Women and Gender Studies, Philosophy

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Lovech, Bulgaria

Grace Evans

Field of Specialization: Organismal Biology and Ecology

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Grace Shevchenko

Field of Specialization: International Politics, Diplomatic Studies

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Haskovo, Bulgaria

Dante Ankney

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria

Field of Specialization: Journalism, Wilderness Studies

Devon Rancourt

Field of Specialization: History and Slavic Studies

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Pernik, Bulgaria

Jack Corby

Field of Specialization: Policy Studies, Political Science

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Kardzhali, Bulgaria

Julia Lynch

Field of Specialization: Finance, Legal Studies

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Dobrich, Bulgaria

Ekaterina Kovatsenko

Field of Specialization: Bioengineering, Chemistry

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Ruse, Bulgaria

Emil Zakarian

Field of Specialization: Economics, Public Policy, Political Science

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Pravets, Bulgaria

Aeriel Burtley

Field of Specialization: Political Science, International Relations, Communications

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Sofia, Bulgaria

Camilla Martinez

Field of Specialization: Acting, Theatre Design, English

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Smolyan, Bulgaria

Kadia King

Field of Specialization: Political Science

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Burgas, Bulgaria

Katie Cones

Field of Specialization: Mathematics, Classics, Computer Science

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Dimitrovgrad, Bulgaria

Courtney Haubert

Field of Specialization: Philosophy and Psychology

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Gabrovo, Bulgaria

Michael Smith

Field of Specialization: Communication

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Kyustendil, Bulgaria

Morgan Rowe

Field of Specialization: Political Science, English

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria

Nimra Zubair

Field of Specialization: Public Administration, Political Science

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Panagyurishte, Bulgaria

Olivia Cashman

Field of Specialization: Visual Media Arts Production

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Varna, Bulgaria

Pilar Monfiletto

Field of Specialization: Social Work

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Sofia, Bulgaria

Pearl Morttey

Field of Specialization: International Studies

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Sofia, Bulgaria

Rosasharn Brown

Field of Specialization: English, International Affairs

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Burgas, Bulgaria

Sonja Haakonsen

Field of Specialization: Applied Linguistics

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria

Sophia Brewer Thompson

Field of Specialization: Religion & Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Montana, Bulgaria

Sofia Syed

Field of Specialization: Philosophy, Russian and European Studies

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Tessa Stolz

Field of Specialization: Psychology, Anthropology

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Sliven, Bulgaria

Forough Askarirad

Field of Specialization: Psychology

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Sofia, Bulgaria

Finlay Adamson

Field of Specialization: World Politics, Anthropology

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Varna, Bulgaria

Hannah Gilson

Field of Specialization: Political Science and Economics

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Silistra, Bulgaria

Hannah Petersen

Field of Specialization: Sociology, Music, Theatre

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Dobrich, Bulgaria

Charlotte Kramer

Field of Specialization: Anthropology

Project Title: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Ruse, Bulgaria

Resources for US grantees

Fulbright Bulgaria Grantees at Rila Monastery

Join Fulbright Alumni Network Facebook group

Grantees from Bulgaria

Graduate Students

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Maria-Magdalena Markova

Field of Specialization: Law
Host Institution: Harvard University, Law School
Degree: LLM

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Alexander Leshev

Field of Specialization: Law
Host Institution: Harvard University, Law School
Degree: LLM

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Trayana Kaleycheva

Field of Specialization: Media and Communications
Host Institution: Florida State University, School of Communications
Degree: Master of Arts

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Boris Alexandrov

Field of Specialization: History
Host Institution: Missouri State University
Graduate School Degree: Master of Arts

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Botyo Dimitrov

Field of Specialization: Materials Science
Host Institution: Georgia Institute of Technology
Graduate School Degree: Master of Science

Visiting Researchers

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Gabriel Georgiev

Field of Specialization: Aerospace Engineering
Project Title: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Aerodynamics
Home Institution: Technical University, Sofia
Host Institution: University of Maryland, College Park

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Desislava Nikolova

Field of Specialization: Data Science
Project Title: Human Action Recognition for Pose-based Attention
Home Institution: Technical University, Sofia
Host Institution: Carnegie Mellon University, The Robotics Institute

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Sevar Ivanov

Field of Specialization: Cultural Economics
Project Title: Financial Policy of the State Cultural Institutes in Bulgaria in the Performing Arts
Home Institution: University of National and World Economy, Sofia
Host Institution: City University of New York, Baruch College

Visiting Scholars

Vesela Chalova-Zhekova

Field of Specialization: Food Science

Project Title: Protein Mediated Encapsulation of Biologically Active Substances

Home Institution: University of Food Technologies, Plovdiv

Host Institution: North Carolina State University

Ivan Landzhev

Field of Specialization: Slavic Literature

Project Title: Artist vs Preacher: Tolstoy’s Poetics of Self-Overcoming

Home Institution: Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”

Host Institution: University of Chicago

Vladislav Slavov

Field of Specialization: Engineering (Education)

Project Title: Ethical Principles on AI in Education/PBL

Home Institution: Technical University, Sofia

Host Institution: University of Western Carolina

Todor Lazarov

Field of Specialization: Computational Linguistics

Project Title: Domain Specific Corpus Annotation

Home Institution: New Bulgarian University

Host Institution: Indiana University – Bloomington

Stefan Lalkovski

Field of Specialization: Nuclear Physics

Project Title: Nuclear Data for Astrophysics and Applications

Home Institution: Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”

Host Institution: Argonne National Laboratory, IL

Alexander Petkov

Field of Specialization: Mathematics

Project Title: String Theory and Related Geometries

Home Institution: Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”

Host Institution: University of Miami, Institute of Mathematical Sciences of the Americas

Milena Bozhikova

Field of Specialization: Musicology

Project Title: Research of the Archive of Boris Kremenliev

Home Institution: Institute of Art Studies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

Host Institution: University of Rochester

Civil Society Researchers

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Rumyana Grozeva

Field of Specialization: Economic Development

Project Title: Paving New Paths for Development and Sustainability

Home Institution: Regional Economic Development Agency of Stara Zagora

Host Institution: International Economic Development Council, Washington DC

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Hristina Katsipidu

Field of Specialization: Sign Language

Project Title: Building Bridges of Deaf Leaders of Tomorrow

Home Institution: Listen Up Foundation

Host Institution: Gallaudet University, Washington DC

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Kristina Hristova

Field of Specialization: Journalism

Project Title: Civil Society’s Active Involvement Against the Disinformation Campaigns

Home Institution: Factcheck.bg

Host Institution: Poynter Institute, St. Petersburg FL

Hubert Humphrey Fellowships

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Ana Bachurova

Field of Specialization: Sustainable Development

Home Institution: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Host Institution: University of California – Davis

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Konstantina Kalaydzhieva

Field of Specialization: Economic Development

Home Institution: Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry of Bulgaria

Host Institution: Michigan State University

Nominations for AY2023-24

Bulgarian Scholars: Principals

Svetoslav Koynarski: Veterinary Medicine; Trakia University, Stara Zagora

Atanas Gotchev: Computer Science/Optics; Tampere University, Finland

Katerina Zlatkova-Doncheva: Special Education; Veliko Turnovo University

Aneta Vasileva: Architecture; University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, Sofia

Gergana Yordanova: National Security; Rakovski Defense College, Sofia

Radostina Angelova: Entrepreneurship; Sofia University

Alternates:

Angela Popivanova: Applied Math; Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

Albena Bakracheva: Literature; New Bulgarian University

Civil Society Scholars

Principal:

Stefan Krastev, Anti-Corruption Fund

Alternates:

Veneta Novakova, Façade Engineering Association

Daniel Simeonov, Arte Urbana

Visiting Researchers:

Principals:

Niya Toshkova: Evolutionary Biology; National Museum for Natural History (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)

Gyulten Hyusein: Cognitive Psychology; Koç University, Turkey

Alternates:

Veselina Dzhumbeva: Comparative Literature; Queen Mary University of London, UK

Diana Manchorova: Reproductive Biology; Institute of Biology and Immunology of Reproduction (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)

Grants for Bulgarians citizens

Up-to-date information about Fulbright grants, application deadlines and a full list of eligibility criteria.

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Grants for US citizens

All programs which can be used by American citizens to apply for a grant and collaborate with prominent Bulgarian institutions.

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Advisory services for students

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Testing center

Administering of iBT TOEFL, SAT, GRE and tens of other standardized American tests in Sofia.

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