MANAGEMENT TEAM

Vanya Zlateva- Executive Director

Vanya fell in love with BEST’s mission as soon as she attended one of our competitions. With a master’s degree focused on Marketing and Business planning, as well as over 13 years of professional experience in various fields – media, e-commerce, digital marketing, sales, she wanted to apply her skills and knowledge in a way that would support Bulgarian youth. Vanya is a very results-driven and her self-starter personality has helped her launch and expand a number of different companies – magazines, an online store, a digital agency, etc. Her international experience has taught her the importance of foreign language skills, as well as critical thinking, public speaking and self-initiative and she sees BEST as a place where she can help young people foster that through the power of speech and debate. When she’s not dealing with the numerous responsibilities she has when it comes to running our community, she enjoys reading, yoga and swimming.

Tereza Todorova - Project Manager

Tereza has been part of BEST since 2017, when she attended her very first tournament and fell in love with debates immediately. As time passed, she found herself not only interested in debating but also in the art of public speaking, and she found that being part of a team is something really rewarding. That’s the thing that inspired her to be a Student Leader in 2019 and later on a coach of her team in 2021. She joined the Management team in 2022 as the first-ever Debate Program Assistant and became a Project Manager in 2023. Apart from BEST, she is graduating Chemistry student at Sofia University. She has a lovely dog called Tina and enjoys making art.

Desislava Taseva - Business Development Manager

Desislava is a third-year Computer Science and Economics student at the American University in Bulgaria. She has been part of BEST since 2019, first as a competitor and later as an SL, camp participant, and camp counselor. This is her fourth year as part of the Management Team, where she lead the Student Leader program for two and now helps with the fundraising and development of the foundation. She has many passions, with writing poetry being one of her biggest. Her favorite thing in life is her chunky cat, Tsonka.

Rosen Razpopov - Program Development Officer/Balkan Voices Coordinator

Rosen Razpopov is a student at AUBG, pursuing a double major in Economics and Political Science & International Relations. His passion for public speaking and debate brought him to BEST in 2022, and he has remained actively involved in the foundation ever since. Over the years, Rosen has competed in Original Oratory, Prose Interpretation, and Debate, with the latter becoming especially important to him. In 2023, he and his team became Varsity Debate Champions at both Spring West and Nationals. As part of the SL program, he was also named Student Leader of the Year in the individual category. In 2025, Rosen served as Manager of the Bulgarian National Debate Team at the World Schools Debating Championships in Panama, where he also judged on behalf of the Bulgarian delegation. Under his leadership, the team reached the quarterfinals and achieved top EFL status. Serving as Balkan Voices Coordinator and Program Development Officer for the 2026/2027 academic year, Rosen sees his work with BEST as an opportunity to give back to a community that has played an important role in his own growth.

Tournament Administration Department

Stiliyan Tsolov - Tournament Administrator

Stiliyan has been part of BEST since 2023, when he attended his first tournament and got hooked on the concept of Original Oratory immediately. Soon enough, he acquired an interest in debating. The mission of BEST motivated him to become a part of the management team, joining it in 2025. He also has a dog named Kera, she is very cute.

Rules and Policy Department

Elena Totten - Tournament Policy Coordinator

Elena has participated in BEST since 2021. Over the five years she has competed she has had a particular interest in Prose and Poetry Interpretation, finishing her time in BEST with a first place at her last National Tournament. She served as a Student Leader for her team in the 2024-2025 school year.

Debate Department

Maria Todorova - Debate Co-Coordinator

Maria Todorova is a student at the University Carlos 3 in Madrid with a major in Mathematics and Computing. However, one of her biggest passions has always been debate and public speaking. The moment she joined BEST back in 2021, she knew that this was her place. The people, the atmosphere and the thrill of debating captivated her. That’s why she hasn’t missed a BEST event since. Although she has competed in multiple other categories - Original Oratory, Extemporaneous Speech, and Duo Interpretation, her heart belongs to Debate. She has won 5 Varsity Debate Titles and multiple Best Speaker awards, and has been a part of both the BEST Representative Debate Team and the National Debate Team. She has an experience with leadership, due to her roles as an SL and a coach of Team MG Varna, which won multiple Best Team Awards throughout that period. For her being a Debate Co-Coordinator in MT is an opportunity to help young debaters grow and evolve, and guide them towards success, the same way the foundation has guided her.

Nella Fletcher - Debate Co-coordinator

Nella is a first-year Cultural Studies student at Sofia University, and is really excited to be part of BEST this year. She has been involved in debating for a while, both as a debater and coach & SL, and has had the chance to compete at BDA and several international tournaments as part of the BEST national team, as well as participating in other categories like Original Oratory and Duo. Nella absolutely loves debating, and is always happy to help with anything. She is really looking forward to meeting everyone new and having another great year in BEST!

Bella Srebreva - Debate Tournament Administrator

Bella, now in 12th grade at Plovdiv’s Math School, has been part of BEST since 8th grade. After her first competition, she quickly fell in love with debate. In the 2023/2024 school year, she was the Student Leader of Team Plovdiv, where she helped grow the team and got more students excited about debating. This year, she’s continuing to share her passion by supporting students from other cities as the Debate Tournament Administrator.

Lyubomir Tomov - Debate Assistant

Lyubomir has been debating for the past almost 6 years and cannot wait to share everything he knows with the community. Before joining the management team, he was an Student Leader and also a coach in BEST for two amazing years. Aside for being a professional yapper, Lyubomir will also be majoring in Law in Plovdiv (a debate kid who will actually debate professional is a rare breed). A fun fact about Lyubomir- he hates peaches in every possible form and way (the fruit, peach juice, peach cake, etc.)

Judge Department

Kristina Petrova - Judge Coordinator

Kris has always been an artistic mind, her love for acting lead her to fall in love with BEST, especially duo interpretation and later on debates. She first became a part of BEST as a competitor in 2022, then a student leader and finally, a Judge Coordinator. Kris is very ambitious and passionate about artistry and leadership. Her goals are to always improve herself and anything she works on. Currently she's working on her bachelor's degree in English, in Sofia University. Her special interest is English literature. Kris' motto is "It is the questions that are most odd that lead to breakthroughs".

Selin Ramadan - Judge Coordinator

Selin first joined BEST as a senior in high school, where she quickly fell in love with debate and the community around it. After graduating, she continued her journey with BEST as a judge for two years, helping new generations of students grow through competition. Outside of BEST, she enjoys playing the piano and guitar, and is a passionate concert-goer who never misses a chance to experience live music. She is excited to continue contributing her energy and enthusiasm to the program in the 2026 - 2027 season, her second year in MT!

Ashwin Prabaharan - Judge Program Intern

Ashwin Prabaharan is currently serving as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant at the “Academik Lyudmil Stoyanov” Language School in Blagoevgrad for the 2026-2027 academic year. He will be concurrently serving as coach at the Language School. Ashwin is excited to have joined the fantastic folks at Team BEST this year and is eager to contribute. He graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in Political Science, and has experience in debate, student journalism, and freedom of speech issues.

Speech Department

Nadezhda Kancheva - Speech Department Coordinator

Nadezhda was an outstanding competitor in speech for three years and became known amongst the community for her brilliant poetry performances and memorable duo interpretations. During her year as a student leader of 51st Secondary School, she discovered a true passion for mentoring young people who wish to develop valuable skills in the art of public speaking. As a result, she's now joining BEST's management team for a second year, continuing her mission to inspire and support the Bulgarian youth. When she's not in team meetings or at tournaments, Nadezhda devotes herself to other art forms such as writing, upcycling and singing her heart out to rock and jazz records!

Katerina Mateeva - Speech Department Intern

Katerina has been competing in BEST since 9th grade, which means she has been part of the community for the past four years. During this time, Katerina had the chance to try almost every BEST category, with the exceptions of Poetry and Original Oratory. This experience has helped her discover what she most enjoys about speech and has given her the opportunity to grow both as a speaker and as a person. Katerina has also been part of the SL Program, where she graduated with maximum points. One of her favorite achievements in BEST was becoming a Duo Champion in both the Novice and the Varsity divisions. Outside of BEST, she loves reading books, drawing, and crafting. She really enjoys creative activities and finding different ways to express herself, which is also something Katerina loves bringing into her speech experience.

Student Leader Department

Vyara Bagryanova - Student Leader Program Coordinator

Vyara has been a part of BEST since 2019. During her five years at BEST, she competed in Prose, Poetry, and Duo. She participated in the 2021 Debate Summer Camp, graduated from the SL program in 2022-2023, and served as a Coach during her final year of high school. She graduated from the Maths and Science High School “Nancho Popovich” in Shumen. She is a third-year university student at the University of Food Technology in Plovdiv, majoring in Food Technology and Quality. During the 2024-2025 school year, she was the SL Intern; last year, she joined the MT as the SL Coordinator, and this year she is happy to return once again. She is very excited to help the students with their leadership skills, and she can’t wait to continue being part of this community. Her two years in the Management Team have taught her many lessons on how to work with people and help them improve and grow. Being part of MT has helped her develop not only professionally but as a person. Outside of BEST, Vyara is a very creative person with many hobbies, including bead embroidery, watercolor painting, polymer clay sculpting, and makeup (she even graduated from a professional makeup artist course). Despite being a proud cat mom, she also loves penguins and otters.

Monika Moneva - Student Leader Intern

Monika is currently a first-year student at the American University in Bulgaria. Ever since her first tournament in 2024, she has fallen in love with BEST's mission and has gained a huge passion for public speaking and creative expression. She has competed in every category, excluding debates, but the one closest to heart has always been Original Oratory (Prose Interpretation being her second best). Apart from the categories themselves, she feels like she truly found her people in the BEST community, so she's continuing her journey as a part of the team. Outside the foundation, she loves creative writing, music, arts and crafts, reading, traveling and going on random side quests.

Coach Department

Tommy Desiano - Coach Coordinator

From Southern California, Tommy will be serving as an English Teaching Assistant for the 2026/2027 academic year. Recent graduate of the San Diego State University with a degree in Communications from San Diego State University, he is excited to be part of the Management Team and contribute to the development of the coach program.

Samantha Hauff - Coach Coordinator

Currently working Pristina, Kosovo, Samantha Hauff was a former Fulbright ETA Grantee teaching English as a Foreign Language to grades 8–12 at Petar Bogdan Foreign Language High School in Montana, Bulgaria (2025-2026). Sam is pursuing her Master's in Global Studies and International Relations at Northeastern University. She graduated in May 2025 with a Bachelor of Arts in English, Communication Studies, and Creative Writing from Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina, U.S.A. This year, she also served as Speech Coordinator for the BEST Foundation’s Speech Department. With a background in spoken word poetry and prose and an academic focus on rhetoric, she greatly admires BEST’s mission to strengthen the English-speaking skills of Bulgarian youth—not only conversationally, but also creatively, comedically, and analytically. In this role, she hopes to help students across Bulgaria further develop and expand these skills.

Marketing Department

Vernon Petkov - Marketing Coordinator

Based in Leiden, the Netherlands, Vernon is a third-year university student, majoring in English Language and Culture. Vernon has been involved in BEST for the past 5 years, first as a participant and a student leader and later on as a coach of FLHS Ekzarh Yosif I, Lovech. He has competed in every single category, but he fell in love with Original Oratory and Debates. Vernon was captivated by the dedication and determination of BEST's community, which is why this year he's eager to give back to them in any way possible. In his free time you can find him reading and talking about all things linguistics and (gothic) literature, and taking photos with his digital camera.

Mihaela Dimitrova - Photography Intern

Mihaela has been part of BEST for a year beginning her journey as a judge before realizing just how much she loved the community and the spirit of every tournament which inspired her to join the management team as a photography intern. For her, every photo is a way to preserve the excitement and memories of each event, and she can’t wait to tell the story of BEST through her camera. Outside of BEST, she is a third-year student at the Technical University of Varna, studying Technological Entrepreneurship and Innovations. She also has a beloved dog named Jack who she adores and in her free time enjoys exploring creative projects and spending time with him.

Elena Valeva - Graphic Design Intern

Elena has been a part of BEST since 2023, and from that point, up until her graduation she competed in almost every category. Elena’s love for BEST is what made her decide to join MT and she is so exited for everything that is to come. What is more, Elena loves music, theater and physics, and her favorite hobby is writing poetry.

Fundraising Department

Kristiyana Kiranska - Fundraising Officer

Kristiyana has been involved in BEST since 2019. At first she participated with duo and was so amazed at the welcoming community that she decided to join and never leave. She has competed in Duo, Poetry, Prose and Debates and is very dedicated to her BEST team. Kristiyana graduated from the Student Leader Program in 2020-2021 and attended the 2021 Debate Summer Camp. Some of her hobbies include reading in her room, blasting music on the speakers when no one is around, baking and writing short stories and poems. Folk dances are one of her passions, she has been doing them for 12 years now. Kristiyana also has a soft spot for all things BEST and cats related.