ACS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Gipson Library Writing Resource Center Student Computer Innovation and Fabrication Institute ( SCIFI ) Extracurricular Activities ACS Sports Activities
Ms. Bohlen is a former U.S. diplomat who served as the 32 nd United States Ambassador to Bulgaria from 1996 to 1999. Previously, she was Assistant Secretary for Arms Control from 1999 to 2002.
Ms. Bohlen resides in Washington (DC) with her husband.
Mr. Statev manages credit risk in emerging markets at Apple. His previous professional experience includes debt investment, and M&A and financing advisory in both banks and advisory boutiques. He started his career in investment banking at Merrill Lynch. Mr. Statev resides in London (United Kingdom) with his wife, an ACS alumna, and their two children.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Management Consultant and Founder of Hilltop 34 Boutique Advisory
Mr. Stefanov is a management consultant and founder of Hilltop 34 Boutique Advisory. Mr. Stefanov's professional background includes positions in the automotive industry (Daimler AG), management consulting (BCG), and private equity, as well as a four-year period with InvestBulgaria, a government agency attracting and supporting multinational companies in Bulgaria.
Mr. Dell was a career U.S. diplomat and served as Ambassador to Angola, Zimbabwe and Kosovo. Among his other postings he was the deputy chief of mission in Bulgaria. Since retiring from the Foreign Service, Mr. Dell has worked for Bechtel Corporation. He is currently a consultant for Fieldstone, a private investment bank and transaction advisor, serves as a director of Sicona Battery Technology, an Australian start-up, and consults for the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Mr. Dell lives in Washington, D.C., with his Bulgarian-born wife, but divides his time between there, Portugal and Bulgaria.
Job Titles:
- Secretary
- Founding Partner at Hirsch Roberts Weinstein LLP
- Secretary, Trustee since 2014
Written inquiries can be made to the Board's administrative office at: Sofia American Schools, i/c/o Eisikovic & Kane, LLP, 1430 Broadway, Suite 1105, New York, NY 10018.
Mr. Wilson is a founding partner at Hirsch Roberts Weinstein LLP in Boston, a law firm specializing in management side labor & employment law and litigation.
Mr. Wilson's grandfather Howard H. Bliss taught English at ACS in the period 1938-42, and his mother attended ACS in first grade. Mr. Wilson resides in Acton (MA) with his family.
Mr. Bauer is involved with various youth and educational institutions, including the Boys and Girls Club of Chicago, Providence St. Mel School, Elgin Math and Science Academy, and ASSIST. From 1991 to 2012, Mr. Bauer served as President and CEO and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Bulgarian-American Enterprise Fund and its successor, the America for Bulgaria Foundation. Mr. Bauer was awarded the Order of the Madara Horseman by the President of the Republic of Bulgaria for the work of these organizations.
Mr. Bauer resides in Chicago with his wife.
Mr. Studebaker is retired from a career in software development and biomedical research. He has published a number of papers on chemical analysis and blood processing, and he worked most recently in clinical data analysis at Johnson & Johnson.
Mr. Studebaker's original connections to ACS came through his father-in-law, who taught English at ACS from 1938 to 1942, and through ACS President Floyd Black, whom he met in graduate school. Mr. Studebaker resides in Princeton (NJ).
Job Titles:
- Independent Consultant and Founder of Knowledge Without Borders
- Trustee since 2018
Ms. Collias is an independent consultant and founder of Knowledge Without Borders, a fund dedicated to expanding socio-economic diversity in education by connecting creativity and philanthropy. Ms. Collias has a background in comparative politics and education with a focus on Eastern Europe and Russia.
Ms. Collias resides with her husband in Yardley (PA), New York City (NY), and Shanghai (China).
Job Titles:
- Treasurer
- Treasurer, Trustee since 2020
Ms. Georgiev is a secondary school educator and currently serves as the principal of an all-girls independent, college preparatory secondary school in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her previous professional experience was in management consulting at Accenture and she also served as a policy intern within the National Economic Council of The White House.
Ms. Georgiev resides in San Jose (CA) with her husband, an ACS alumnus, and three children.
Ms. Ries spent thirty-seven years as an American diplomat, including postings in Belgium, Turkey, the UK, Kosovo, Iraq, and Albania. From 2012 to 2015, she served as the U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria.
Ms. Ries resides in Washington (DC).
Job Titles:
- Assistant to the External Program Director /
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Investor at Generation Investment Management
Mr. Kyuchukov is a public equity investor at Generation Investment Management. His previous professional experience was as a long/short equity investor at hedge fund Westray Capital Management, private equity and distressed debt investor at TPG Capital, and investment banker at J.P. Morgan and Lazard.
Ms. Gipson is an arts management professional. Currently she devotes her time to art and education philanthropy in New York City and Cooperstown, NY.
During his 1994-2017 tenure at The George Washington University, Dr. Whitaker served as a professor, dean, associate vice president, and founding dean of the school's College of Professional Studies. In 1991-92, he spearheaded the reopening of the American College of Sofia, and became ACS's first President from 1992 to 1994. Mr. Whitaker lived in Bulgaria for ten months in 1975-76 when he conducted research for his Ph.D. dissertation. Mr. Whitaker lives in the Washington (DC) area with his wife.
Job Titles:
- Vice Chair
- Vice Chair of the Board Trustee
Mr. Seymour retired as a partner of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in 2019, and continues to practice at the firm in the field of white collar criminal defense and investigations. Mr. Seymour has also served as an Assistant United States Attorney with the US Justice Department, and as President of the New York City Bar Association.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the BOARD
- Trustee
Ms. Konetsovska's professional experiences include investment banking at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in New York City, with a focus on interest rate derivatives and bond issuance for private universities and non-profit healthcare systems, as well as treasury management and strategic planning work in the office of the CFO at Harvard University. Ms. Konetsovska resides in the Boston (MA) area with her husband and two sons.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of Teaching & Learning at Stamford American International School
- Trustee since 2019
Mr. Marshall is Executive Director of Teaching & Learning at Stamford American International School in Singapore. Mr. Marshall served as Faculty Development Coordinator at ACS from 2013 through 2016, and has worked as a teacher and administrator at schools in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the United States.
Mr. Marshall resides in Singapore.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer of Teach for Bulgaria
Mr. Trayanov is the Chief Executive Officer of Teach for Bulgaria (Фондация "Заедно в час"), a non-profit organization working to ensure equitable access to quality education for every child in Bulgaria.
Job Titles:
- Trustee since 2011 / Master of Laws, Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski Pew Economic Freedom Fellow Program, Georgetown University
Mr. Georgiev has over 15 years of experience in the private sector as an attorney at law, and in civil service as secretary general of the Bulgarian Parliament (1997-2001) and general secretary of Bulgaria's Central Election Committee. He served as executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria for 14 years (2002-2016). He serves now as secretary general of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Bulgaria.
Mr. Georgiev is the proud parent of an ACS alumna, and resides in Sofia (Bulgaria).
Job Titles:
- Director of Engineering
- Trustee
Mr. Arnaudov is a director of engineering leading the regional center for new incubation and research activities at VMware. Prior to that, Mr. Arnaudov developed experience in software engineering and startup life, including early explorations of distributed sensor networks in smart buildings.
Mr. Williams has been an attorney at Sullivan & Cromwell, LLP in New York City since 1962, including partner from 1969 to 2004 and Of Counsel since.
Mr. Williams resides in New York City (NY).