Our team

Liliya Harizanova is the Executive Director of the Award in Bulgaria. She joined the Foundation team in 2016 and held the position of Regional Coordinator of the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award for the city of Varna and the region. Over the last 10 years she has gained wide-ranging experience in the NGO sector. In 2014, she became one of the main drivers of the Social Teahouse in Varna, and later manager of the social enterprise. She has worked on numerous local and international projects with a social focus, inclusion of children and youth from vulnerable groups, prevention of risky behavior among young girls in institutions. Liliya has been a freelance illustrator and graphic designer for 7 years. She is passionate about social entrepreneurship, non-formal education, architecture, foreign cultures, etc. She loves to improvise, draw and travel.

Iva Krastanova has been the Programme Manager at the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award – Bulgaria since 2015, and the role includes communication with and support of the Award’s Licensed Operators, developing the programme and assisting licensed organisations in delivering it, project management and training of the Award leaders.
Iva has a bachelor degree in English and American studies from Sofia University and her professional experience includes working with young people, training teachers and coordinating projects in the field of non-formal education. She is interested in non-formal education for young people and interactive methods of education, and her personal interests are in cinema, yoga and photography.

Alexander Krastanov has been coordinating the Adventurous Journey section in the Award since March 2016. He is an enthusiast at heart and an education consultant. Alexander has over 15 years of experience in the NGO sector in various roles from volunteer to project manager. He has been a youth mediator for two terms and develops best practices in cooperation between young people and the municipal administration in Pernik Municipality. He has developed his organizational skills in dozens of events – he was responsible for the logistics of national and local youth academies, dozens of trainings, summer institutes for training young teachers under the “Teach for Bulgaria” program. He has experience as an administrative director in a school. Loves non-commercial tourism, enthusiastic hiker and mountain guide for over 5 years – the driving force of the creation of the Happy Escape project. Alexander is a certified facilitator and trainer, with many courses and trainings completed.

Kristina Atanasova is responsible for Corporate Partnerships at The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award – Bulgaria. Her focus is to develop the Award’s relationship with businesses that would like to implement the programme into their internship programme, as well as providing a platform for their employees to build and demonstrate their mentoring skills. After 10 years in corporate companies, Kristina decided to apply the experience she gained to shorten the distance between business and education.
Her interest in the British Royal Family and the charities under its patronage met her with the Award. To contribute to their development she describes as a real dream! She is passionate about etiquette and protocol, yoga and calligraphy. She loves to read and can always watch another episode of Friends.

Radoslava is the Program Manager at the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award – Bulgaria from November 2022. The main responsibilities of this role include communication and support of the Award’s Licensed Operators, development and delivery of program implementation training, support and development of the Award’s alumni network.
Radoslava has completed several specialties – management, project management, pedagogy, choreography. Her professional experience is also varied and includes school work, youth work, teacher training, coordinating a team of mentors, working with school teams. She is interested in education in all its forms, and her personal interests are in folklore, travel and books.