Română 
MANUELA IFTIMOAEI - MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF ADV ROMANIA
Manuela Iftimoaei is one of the founders of the "Alături de Voi" Foundation Romania, being part of the team that set up the organization and actively contributing to its development and maturation for over 22 years.
Over the years, Manuela has contributed significantly to defining the strategic directions and strengthening the vision of ADV Romania. She started as a social worker and evolved to management positions, coordinating national and transnational projects with European funding, focused on social inclusion, community development and social economy. From this position of strategic leadership, he has directly contributed to the attraction and management of European funds, strengthening the organization's capacity to innovate and scale social intervention models.
She is one of the initiators of the Social Enterprise Accelerator Program, a strategic and innovative approach that provides training, mentoring and financial support for the creation and development of social enterprises at national and international level. This program has become a true incubator of social enterprises and has generated the favorable context for the establishment of the first Accelerator of Social Enterprises Cluster, strengthening the position of ADV Foundation as a thought leader and key player in the development of the social economy ecosystem.
In addition to her work within the foundation, Manuela is expanding her impact in the financial sector dedicated to the social economy. She is co-founder and Deputy Managing Director of AFIN IFN S.A., the first non-bank financial institution in Romania with entirely private capital, exclusively dedicated to financing social economy organizations. Through this position, she contributes to the development of financing instruments tailored to the specificities of social entrepreneurship, thus complementing the foundation's mission with an economic sustainability dimension.
She also sits on the Board of Directors of the Social Finance Association, an organization that provides support and advice to social entrepreneurs, promoting social innovation and cross-sector partnerships.
She is a member of various national and international networks: Social Economy Europe, the working group on social financing and the Evaluation Steering Committee for the North-East Regional Program 2021-2027.
With an in-depth knowledge of social and economic mechanisms, Manuela combines expertise in financing, social entrepreneurship and public policy. She is currently a PhD student in Sociology at the School of Advanced Studies of the Romanian Academy - SCOSAAR , with a research topic on the impact of the social economy on communities and employment for people from vulnerable groups, especially those with disabilities.
As a member of the Board of Directors of ADV Romania, Manuela brings not only expertise and strategic vision, but also a deep passion for people, equity and social change. She strongly believes that leaders in the social sector must be grounded in reality, inspire by example and build bridges between courageous ideas and sustainable solutions.