Nadejda Dermendjieva

Currently, she is a board member of Prospera, the International Network of Women’s and Feminist Funds (since 2020) and serves as the Eastern Europe Advisor for the Global Fund for Women and the Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism. She was also an advisor to the FRIDA Fund for Young Feminists (2015–2019). Her professional journey includes roles at the Bulgarian Center for Women in Technology, where she was a program coordinator, and the MoveBG civic platform, where she managed projects with a social focus.

She holds a degree in History of Women and Gender from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, with a specialization in the Matilda Programme at Nottingham University, England, and a second Master’s degree in Creative Writing, also from Sofia University. Nadezhda is currently pursuing a PhD in Feminist Philosophy at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Additionally, she has completed numerous specialized programs, including the Women Leaders of the World Programme (2019), the International Institute of Education’s Summer Entrepreneurship Programme (2016), and the Bulgarian School of Politics “Dimitry Panitza” Programme (2014).

With over 15 years of experience in the NGO sector, women’s rights advocacy, and the fight for equality, Nadejda firmly believes that social change is possible, and the biggest illusion is that nothing depends on us. She takes pride in the achievements of the women’s movement in Bulgaria.

As part of the BFW team, she received the Human Rights Award “Person of the Year” from the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee in 2018, as well as the “Advocate of the Year” award from BHC and “Woman of the Year” in the social category from Grazia magazine in 2017. In 2023, she was nominated for the U.S. Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award.