Echipa

Marina Neagu is a development professional specializing in urban economy and local economic development. Her background is in business and economics studies, but she has always been more fascinated by the challenge of managing prosperous cities than businesses. MKBT certainly provides the context to explore both. Marina holds postgraduate degrees in regional development and spatial planning at the University of Architecture and Urbanism in Bucharest as well as London School of Economics. During the last seven years, she worked with the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank, as well as private consultancies. In addition to this, her non-profit enthusiast engagement in supporting the research and practice of local economic development in Romania is manifested though her lecturing in urban economy at the University of Architecture and Urbanism in Bucharest, as well as the work done via the Centre for Innovation in Local Development. 

 Mihai Șercăianu is a civil engineer and a committed professional for the use of technology in the service of communities. He has over 6 years of experience in GIS and civil engineering and has been involved in several national and international research and development projects. A graduate of the Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest (UTCB), he also holds a PhD in the field of civil engineering, his research focusing on GIS platforms for water losses in municipal networks. Mihai also acts as a teaching assistant within UTCB’s Faculty of Civil, Industrial and Agricultural Engineering, Urban Engineering and Regional Development Specialization and empowers young professionals to explore the real utilitarian aspects of public utility services.

Bogdan Suditu is a geographer, with the areas of professional interest on territorial governance, housing policies, urban and spatial planning, social and territorial disparities etc. He has a good knowledge of public administration, while 7 years occupying positions in the specialty structures on housing, urban and regional planning from the central government. Does international’s the experience, his PhD being conducted in the University of Bucharest but also in the University of Angers (France) and later, became a diplomat of the Ecole Nationale d’Administration – ENA (France). He has published articles and books on urban and suburban residential mobility in Bucharest, urban sprawl, informal settlements, housing policies and social housing. At the same time, he is an associate professor at the Faculty of Geography, University of Bucharest.

Ana-Maria Elian is an urban planner specialised in Urbanism and Public Policies. She is passionate about participatory urban planning processes and tries to involve the local communities in any discussion or action related to the city. Over the last 4 years, she has been involved in various research, temporary activation and urban planning projects, engaging communities in Romania, Moldova and Sweden. After being involved in projects of public space and community activation, elaborating substantiation studies for urban strategies, designing and supporting urban education workshops, she is currently engaged in building bridges between strategic planning thinking and local, community driven actions.