Staff

Ivan Ivanov
Executive Director

Ivan Ivanov is the Executive Director of the European Roma Information Office (ERIO).
Previously as an Attorney for the Budapest-based European Roma Rights Center, Ivan Ivanov was involved for five years in the research and building the legal strategy of ground-braking civil rights cases filed with the European Court of Human Rights and the domestic courts of several countries in Central and Eastern Europe. From 1996 to 1998 he has served as a legal adviser for the Human Rights Project a national human rights and legal defense organization based in Sofia, Bulgaria. In this period Ivan Ivanov has spearheaded the development of a number of strategic litigation cases and key advocacy initiatives.
Ivan Ivanov holds degrees in medicine and law. In 1999-2000 he was a visiting scholar at the Law School of Columbia University in New York, where he has specialized international human rights and anti-discrimination law. He has a number of publications focusing on issues related to discrimination and access to education and health care.
e-mail:ivan.ivanov@erionet.org

Guillermo Ruiz Torres
Policy Officer

Guillermo Ruiz Torres has a Bachelor Degree in Law and Political Science at the Universidad San Marcos in Lima (Peru) and graduated in Political Science at the Freie Universität Berlin (Germany) where he was visiting the Ph.D programme. He has been Lecturer at Universities in Germany and Latin America and worked for research institutes on minorities, racism and discrimination. He has coordinated several transnational projects and has several publications on racism, integration, political system and Roma communities.
e-mail: guillermo.ruiz@erionet.org

Matteo Manzonetto
Cosultant for Communication

Matteo Manzonetto studied Communication in Padua, then moved to Brussels to work as a freelance journalist for many different pubblications. In the last two years he works mainly on social issues for www.redattoresociale.it newsagency. He also has a DESS (Master) in Communication and European Affairs at the IHECS, Brussels. Languages: Italian, English, French, Portugues, Spanish. He cooperates with ERIO since May 2008.

e-mail: press@erionet.org

Valery Novolsesky
External assistant Information program

Valery Novoselsky studied history in Dnipropetrovsk National University (Ukraine) and Christian theology in the Galilee Bible College in Haifa. Being from a Romani background Valery Novoselsky joined the international Roma movement in 1999 in his capacity of the founder and an editor of Roma Virtual Network. In 2006 he has obtained the post-graduate degree on Public Diplomacy being a graduate of Roma Diplomacy Programme (2005-2006).

Valery Novoselsky is in cooperation with ERIO since 2003 and working as consultant of ERIO Information Programme since 2006. In addition to the participation in international Roma movement, he is involved into the activities of Russian diasporal and supporting the activities of Palestinian organizations.