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GIP-Sofia is an independent foundation, registered under Bulgarian law and governed by its own board. It is also part of the GIP federation.
For more information on its activities, see Regional Centers: GIP-Sofia.

Galia Petrova - Chairman
Mrs Petrova is a psychiatrist/ psychotherapist and Administrative Director of the Dinamika Center for Psychotherapy, Counseling and Psychiatric Consultations. She is also a member of the WHO Task Force on Stigma and Discrimination due to Mental Illness and a long-time member of the World Psychiatric Association Educational Liaisons Network. She has written scientific paper, translated works on psychiatry and psychological medicine into Bulgarian and delivered lectures in medical psychology, psychopathology in various universities and in therapeutic behavior to psychiatric nurses. She has lately focused her energy and efforts towards providing practical and comprehensive mental health training for general practitioners. She succeeded Mrs Nicoleta Candea as a Chairman of the Board, assuming the position on 14 January 2010.

Stefan Bandol, Treasurer
A graduate of the University of Bucharest, Mr Bandol is founder and President of the Aripi Association, the first and hitherto only users and ex-users association in Romania. He has worked as Regional Associate of Hamlet Trust, attending visits of evaluation and monitoring different projects of Hamlet Trust in Slovenia and Bulgaria and co-organized (in collaboration with Romanian League for Mental Health) the Regional Workshop of Hamlet Trust. He has also been a member of the Organizing Committee of the annual conference of Mental Health Europe, entitled "Mental Health, a Challenge for the Third Millennium".

Boryana Gidikova, Secretary
Boryana is an experienced journalist with a strong interest in news and actual social problems. Her numerous works have won her a number of awards: Award for the Best Journalist from the Bulgarian Red Cross, Sofia, 2004; Award for Best Journalist of the Union of Bulgarian Doctors, Sofia, 2005; Award for the Promotion of Humane, Ethical and Effective Mental Health Care from GIP-Sofia, 2005; The "Veronica Guerin" Award for Contribution to the Fight Against Drugs from the Municipality of Blagoevgrad, 2006; and the UNAIDS Award for Reporting on the Fight Against HIV/AIDS, 2006. Currently, Boryana is a correspondent covering Great Britain with bTV Balkan News Corporation, Bulgaria (part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation). She has a Master's Degree (Hons) in Journalism & Mass Communication (specializing in TV & Radio) from the Sofia University "St Kliment Ohridski", Bulgaria.

Valentina Hristakeva, Director
Valia studied Social Work at Burgas Free University and, during her studies, was involved in numerous projects in the area of childcare and work with people with disabilities. She worked for the Association of Reformers in Psychiatry, also serving as its Executive Director from 2001 to 2002. She then joined GIP-Sofia in the position of Project and Finance Manager and currently serves as its Director.

Tania Markova, Project Manager
Tania has a BA in Psychology and MA in Clinical Social Work from the New Bulgarian University. She has done periods of clinical practice and social work as well as managed a community mental health center and consulted for the Ministry of Education and Sciences. She has been working for GIP since early 2003 and during this period has been involved in many GIP-Sofia projects and initiatives, especially in the area of destigmatizing people with mental health problems.

Branimir Bogdanov, Financial Manager
Branimir has a BA in the Economics of Industry from the University of Economics in Varna and an MSc. In Financial Management from the Academy of Economics "D.A Cenov" in Svishtov. He has experience with financial analyses, management and administration in national and international projects.