Mihaela Ungureanu - Chair/President

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Mihaela is a highly accomplished business leader with a strong background in finance and corporate strategy, with leadership experience across multiple sectors. Currently serving as CEO of a group of companies under Winklevoss Capital, she has driven significant growth in sports, wellness, and hospitality.

A Harvard Business School alumna, Mihaela also holds an MBA from the University of Ottawa and HEC Montreal. She has been recognized as one of Forbes' Top Most Influential Women in Romania for several years and was ranked among the Top CEOs in Romania, underscoring her leadership and impact on the business landscape.

Relocated to the U.S. based on her "Extraordinary Ability in Business," Green Card-visa category, Mihaela continues to champion transformative leadership and sustainable growth through her role at the FORA Organization. She is also a board member at Rom Am Pro, further expanding her influence in both business and community development.

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Cezar-Mihai Ungureanu - Secretary

 

Cezar-Mihai Ungureanu (Marist ’22) is a JD/MPA candidate in the dual-degree program at CUNY Law and John Jay College of Criminal Justice. A double major in Political Science and Criminal Justice from Marist College, Cezar’s academic journey is marked by a commitment to interdisciplinary studies that foster community, state, and global advancement. Driven by a profound interest in politics, justice, and diplomacy, he approaches complex issues through a multifaceted lens, seeking solutions that harmonize perspectives from adjacent or distinct fields. Cezar’s work embodies a community-centered, innovative, and critically analytical approach to problem-solving. His international academic pursuits have earned him recognition, including the Emerging Leaders Award from the Romanian Diplomatic Community and the Breaking Barriers Scholarship, awarded for his trailblazing role as the first international student to undertake a legal dual degree at CUNY.
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Mihai Lehene - Vice-Chair/Vice-President

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Mihai Lehene serves as the President and Founding member of Romanian United Fund, one of FORA’s founding member organizations based in Chicago, Illinois. He was born and raised in Romania and came to the US in 2002. After having spent two decades in finance, as a trader, senior strategist, and former Partner at Allston Trading, Mihai retired in 2019 to focus on community building and contributing to the success of the Romanian diaspora. Mihai’s passion for contributing to and bringing together the Romanian diaspora started the year following his arrival to the US and led to the founding of Romanian United Fund and the Federation of Romanian-American Organization.  Mihai’s ability to bring people together is founded in his strong  belief in people and their ability to work together for the common good.  “I know Romanians are smart, intelligent, conscientious, creative, and highly dependable individuals. As teachers, doctors, construction workers, businesspeople, or IT professionals, we touch the lives of so many, ab-so-lu-te-ly e-ve-ry day. We are our own ambassadors, as well as the ambassadors of our communities and of our country. We have a uniquely interesting heritage, and we carry the flag of previous generations of illustrious Romanians that left their mark on history. But individualism will only take us so far. In order to achieve greatness, we need to learn to work better together and trust each other more.”

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Raluca Bucur - Board Member

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Raluca Bucur is the owner of TransConcentric, a cutting-edge digital consultancy firm which caters to an esteemed clientele that encompasses cultural institutions, diplomatic entities, educational organizations, burgeoning technological startups, and prominent figures in the fashion industry. TransConcentric's portfolio includes collaborations with The Romanian Cultural Institute NY, The Romanian Embassy in the US, College Park Academy in Maryland, EUNIC New York and EUNIC London, FORA and more.

Since 2019, Raluca Bucur serves as the Director of Communications at Alianta, orchestrating a multifaceted spectrum of communication and marketing endeavors, ensuring the brand's coherent voice across all platforms. Ralucas responsibilities include external communications, social media management, email marketing, advertising, and the creation of engaging marketing materials. Additionally, she is instrumental in event planning and management, particularly in organizing the annual Gala. Raluca has proudly produced every installment of "Alianta Conversations," a livestreamed interview series featuring high-profile guests. Managing Alianta's website along with FORA's website and digital platforms like Constant Contact, Hootsuite, and Google Workspace, she guarantees a unified and efficient digital ecosystem. Raluca is also a founder of cefain.com - a marketplace for high-end Romanian designers, and owner of rae-atelier.com - a jewelry design company.

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Teodor Stan  - Board Member

 

Teodor Stan is the founding President of the Immigration Research Forum (IRF), one of FORA’s founding member organizations based in Washington, DC. He is an experienced journalist and social scientist, a contributor to the Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs on the nexus of migration and democratic governance in Southeast Europe and the wider Black Sea region. Teodor previously guided the Horatio Alger Association as National Programs Coordinator and was a program associate at the International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX). As a naturalized Romanian-American he is the convener of the first conference of Romanian American professionals in Washington, DC and established nation-wide field-specific diaspora councils in order to initiate the mapping of current expertise and peer support mechanisms that nurture the integration and positive visibility of immigrants’ contributions to their host communities.

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Mirela Panaitisor – Board Member

 

Mirela Panaitisor serves as the Vice-President of Romanul Corp, a Connecticut based organization and one of the founding member organizations of FORA. Mirela is the owner and artistic director of the New Old School of Music, serves as a member of the Commission on the Arts by the West Hardford Town Council and a Principal 2nd for the West Hartford Symphony Orchestra. Actively engaged in the Romanian community, Mirela loves promoting Romanian music and culture any chance she gets. Her other main passion and interest include researching the benefits of learning music in children with autism. 

 

Simona Vasile – Treasurer

Simona  Vasile  is a RomAmPro board member and a proud founding member of FORA.  Simona has supported the Romanian American community in New York Metro since 2000. She is a KPMG Tax & Legal Partner and the Head of Technology & Innovation for KPMG Law Norway, responsible for the Tax and Legal Digitalization services related to Emerging Technologies and Digital Transformation. With over 20 years of consulting experience cross Industries and in the Global Employer Services space, Simona is a Global citizen who before moving to Norway in 2021, lived and worked in the US, UK, India and Romania. Simona and her family call Connecticut home.  

 

Dana Bucin – Board Member

Dana Bucin is the Honorary Consul of Romania to CT, running diplomatic programs that assist the reunification of families separated at the border (Roma populations) and coordinating assistance for vulnerable Romanian citizens in Connecticut. In this capacity, Dana assisted the transfer of Ukrainian refugees from Romania to CT. She is an immigration attorney with Murtha Cullina Attorneys at Law where she serves as the chair of the Immigration Practice Group and the Murtha Cullina's Diversity Committee chair. Dana is responsible for the oversight of the firm's diversity and inclusion strategy and initiatives, ensuring that the firm’s core principles of inclusiveness and diversity are reflected across its internal and external policies, work and practices. Dana received her J.D. from Boston University and her B.A. from Ohio Wesleyan University.

 

Iulian Calinov – Board Member

Iulian Calinov serves the Romanian community in Seattle as an Honorary Consul of Romania to Washington State as well as the Secretary of  American Romanian Cultural Society a Seattle based organization and one of the founding members of FORA. Iulian was born in Bucharest Romania and moved to the US in 1998. Iulian holds a masters degree in Electrical Engineering from the Politehnica University of Bucharest and a Masters of Business Administration in Corporate Finance jointly from Bucharest School of Economics and Université du Québec à Montréal. Iulian has worked as an Assistant Professor with the Politechnica University of Bucharest for 6 years after graduation. After a brief stint as a Treasurer for Philip Moris in Romania, Iulian moved to the United States to work for Microsoft. Currently, Iulian is a Program Manager with Facebook. 

 

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Dana Voller - Board Member

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Dana Voller is the president of HORA Minnesota. She came to the US in 2003. She has a French and English teaching degree from the University of Pitesti and a Masters in ESL from Hamline University, Minnesota. Her first job was with Peace Corps, Romania, and that is where she discovered her passion about sharing her cultural and linguistic heritage. She is currently a business execution consultant for Wells Fargo. Dana has been happy and proud to volunteer and share her knowledge of Romanian history, culture and language through the HORA language classes and events since 2013. She believes that the more we share and know about diverse backgrounds, the more likely we are to be understanding and open towards other people around us, which in the long term will build stronger communities.