People

LAZAR PAVLOVIC, Acting President of GSA

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Lazar was born in 1980 in Zajecar and he is a member of GSA since 2006. He was a member of GSA Executive Committee until 2010, when he becomes an Acting President.
He was a member of GSA team for dialogue with parliamentary political parties and government institutions. Also, he was a member of Organizing Committee of Pride Parade 2010, being in charge for public relations.
He participated in most of the GSA projects as Programme Officer, as well as in production of all GSA Annual Reports. Through many contacts with LGBT community, he contributed greatly to membership expansion. He tirelessly advocates GSA activities and results via social networks and internet campaigns.
During 1998, he was a coordinator of New Democracy political party youth in the Zajecar region.
During 2000, he was actively involved in Belgrade ‘OTPOR (RESISTANCE)’, and he’s been arrested twice during street actions against Milosevic’s regime.

 

MIRJANA BOGDANOVIC, GSA Executive Director and co-founder of GSA

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Mirjana was born in 1974 in Krusevac. Previously, as a member of the GSA Executive Committee she was mostly dedicated in creating of development strategy. She coordinated most of the GSA projects relating to the implementation of Anti-Discrimination Law and reduction of violence over LGBT persons. She is a lobbyist and creator of political strategy of GSA, also being in charge for negotiations with government institutions and safety strategy of Pride Parade 2010 as Organizing Committee member.
Mirjana was a regional Development Director of NGO Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR).
She was also on the position of General Secretary of Civic Alliance of Serbia (CAS, GSS), and a member of Presidency of that political party. Before that, she was a Secretary and than the President of Belgrade Executive Board of CAS, GSS.
Since mid 90s, she was a manager and participant of many campaigns for democratization of Serbian society, within both political and non-governmental sector. She was also a Chief of Belgrade Electoral Headquarter of CAS, GSS for local elections in 2004, as well as a member of Central Electoral Headquarter of GSS-LDP-LSV coalition for parliamentary elections in 2007.

 

BORIS MILICEVIC, first President and co-founder of GSA

Boris was born in 1974 in Cajnice in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the 90’s he was one of the founders of the Student Union of the Faculty of Economics, the Editor in Chief of the magazine “Monopolist” and member of the first Student Parliament. He was Deputy Editor in Chief of the Internet magazine “Free Serbia”. He works as an editor at Mondo web portal.
He was dealing with LGBT activism since 2002, when he was active in Gayrilla, then in Belgrade Pride 2003-2004. In response to the previous practice of the police to crawl LGBT persons in Serbia he organized an action in 2005, in which over 600 people, as support to the LGBT population, sent their personal information to the Minister of interior, President, Prime minister and other government institutions. After that, he founded the Gay Straight Alliance with a group of friends where he was the first President until April 2010, when he resigned and leaved activism. In December 2010 he becomes a member of the Main Board of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and continues his involvement as the first openly gay politician in Serbia.
He is well-known to many people as an owned of brand Loud and Queer, ie. parties for LGBT people and their friends.

 

GSA Governing Board

Jelena Djordjevic, GSA Governing Board member and co-founder of GSA

Jelena was born in 1981 in Belgrade. She is involved in the areas dealing with prevention of violence over women, human trafficking in Balkans and protection of human rights defenders.
Jelena also stands on the board of directors of Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights (UAFWHR) and member of Advisory Board of Astraea, lesbian fund for justice, all based in the United States. She is a co-author of a feminist activist book named “What’s the point of revolution if we can’t dance?”, published by UAFWHR, and co-author and trainer of educational programme in the area of integrated safety for human rights defenders, applied throughout the world in the last couple of years.

Monika Lajhner, GSA Governing Board member

Monika was born in 1973 in Belgrade. She was employed in two cabinets of Zoran Djindjic, first when he was a Mayor of Belgrade, and second when he was a president of Democratic Party. She was a Campaign Manager for local elections in 2000 for Civic Alliance of Serbia (CAS, GSS).
Monika has a rich experience working for media and with media, Newsweek and Reuters being some of her employers. She was also worked in Belgrade office of Council of Europe, as media and public relations officer. She works currently in USAID Separation of Powers Program on the position of media and public relations officer.

Miroslav Jankovic, GSA Governing Board member

Miroslav was born in 1975 in Belgrade. He worked in Youth Initiative for Human Rights, first as a researcher, and later as a coordinator of human rights protection programme. By the end of 2007, he gains employment in OSCE Mission in Serbia, as a legal consultant for media freedoms, where he still works.
To this day, he issued six publications, from application of transitional justice to political violence in Serbia, as well as media rights and freedoms. In March 2007, he was awarded as “10 Best Young Lawyers in Serbia”. Although professionally oriented to theory and practice of human rights, in the last couple of years he specialized in media law.

 

GSA at the local level

Vesna Gajisin, Coordinator of GSA Branch in Novi Sad

Vesna was born in 1984 in Senta. She’s been active in GSA since 2009. Since 2010, she is a coordinator of GSA Novi Sad Branch. She managed GSA international project “Sing Equality – Bring Equality” that took place in Novi Sad in March 2011, as a part of European Commission programme – Youth in Action.

 

GSA Litigation Service

Veroljub Djukic, lawyer

Veroljub was born in 1972 in Belgrade. He is a member of GSA and a President of GSA Supervisory Board. His involvement in GSA Litigation Service commenced in 2009.
Veroljub is a member of Serbian Lawyers’ Chamber and Belgrade Lawyers’ Chamber. Until year 2000, he was a court intern in Third Municipal Court in Belgrade, and since 2001 he works as a lawyer. He also worked in Belgrade Fund for Humanitarian Law, where he mostly processed cases of discrimination and police torture.

Aleksandar Olenik, lawyer

Aleksandar was born in 1973 in Kikinda. His involvement in GSA Litigation Service commenced in 2011.
He worked as a lawyer in many domestic and international organisations, such as Norwegian Refugee Council, Danish Refugee Council, Mercy Corps and Fund for Humanitarian Law, where he represented national and religious minorities, internally displaced persons, as well as refugees and victims of war crimes in domestic and international courts.
Currently he continues the same line of work, being involved in Belgrade Minority Rights Centre and European Roma Rights Centre in Budapest. During 2010, he was an UNDP national consultant for Criminal Law implementation specializing in discrimination.

 

GSA team for social inclusion

Igor Vojvodic

Igor was born in 1972 in Belgrade. He is a member of GSA. He graduated in economics on the American University “John Cabot” in Rome. After graduation, he spent six months working in the newsroom of The Associated Press. He worked in the “Relocation Enterprises” in Rome on corporate relocations and then as a manager for education and training at Delta Generali Insurance in Belgrade. In Belgrade, he also worked for the training center “FORMEZ” from Rome on the project of decentralization and rural development in Serbia, as well as non-governmental organization “GVC” from Bologna on project of opening “Small community home” for children without parental care.

Iva Brankovic

Iva was born in 1982 in Leskovac. She is a member of GSA. She graduated at the Political Science Faculty in Belgrade, majoring in social politics and social work. She has worked as a professional associate in Child Protection Council on child protection projects. Since 2008, she is working in Republic Office for Social Protection as skills training advisor. She is in charge of social service employees’ capability building, creation and execution of various training courses and seminars and provision of support to the services staff. She also does family and partnership counseling, and since January 2011 with online counseling via Psychology Corner web site, of which she is a founding partner.

 

Creative team

Dragan Loncar

Dragan was born in 1973 in Vrsac. He is a member of GSA since 2009. He is designer, winner of several international and local awards for design and member of ULUPUDS. He is creator of visual identity of Belgrade Pride Parade 2010 and also creator of the most of the GSA’s promotional and educational materials. He is engaged in activism since 1997, when he was active in the first Serbian LGBT association – Arcadia. He dealt also with LGBT activism in London, where he lived and worked for several years, primarily through involvement in organizations Outrage, Pink Singers and Absolute Freedom.

 

GSA Advisory Board members

Ms. Sandra Causevic, Spokesperson of the Sumadija Region Board of Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO), Kragujevac
Mr. Boris Dittrich, Director of LGBT advocacy program of Human Rights Watch (HRW), former leader of Netherlands political party D66 and MP in Dutch Parliament, New York
Mr. Milos Djajic, President of the Governing Board of Center for Modern Skills (CMV), Belgrade
Ms. Slavica Djukic Dejanovic, Minister of Health of Republic of Serbia, former Speaker of the Serbian Parliament, vice-president of Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), Belgrade
Ms. Linda Freimane, Co-Chair of Executive Board of ILGA Europe, Brussels/Riga
Mr. Zeljko Ivanji, an Advisor to Deputy Prime Minister for EU Integration, former Member of Serbian Parliament, G17+, Belgrade
Ms. Aleksandra Jerkov, Member of Serbian Parliament, Deputy Head of Parliamentary Group “For European Serbia”, League of Social democrats of Vojvodina (LSV), Novi Sad
Ms. Sanja Juras, Coordinator of lesbian group “Kontra”, Zagreb
Ms. Elvira Kovacs, Member of Serbian Parliament, Vojvodina Alliance of Hungarians (SVM), Subotica
Mr. Milos Kovacevic, Member of The Municipality Council of City Municipality Savski venac, Belgrade
Ms. Sonja Licht, President of  Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence (BFPE), Belgrade
Mr. Dusan Maljkovic, President of Center for Queer Studies, Belgrade
Ms. Zorica Mrsevic, Academic Advisor at the Center for Legal Researches of the Institute of Social Science, former Deputy of Serbian Ombudsman, Belgrade
Ms. Dragana Nikolic SolomonChairperson of GSA Advisory Board, Chief of Media Department of OSCE Mission in Serbia, Belgrade
Mr. Meho Omerovic, Member of Serbian Parliament, Social Democratic Party of Serbia (SDP), Belgrade
Mr. Filip Pavlovic, Director of NGO Fractal, Belgrade
Ms. Vesna Petrovic, Executive Director of Belgrade Center for Human Rights, Belgrade
Mr. Dejan Randjic, President of the Working group for security of the City of Belgrade, Chief of Councilors Group of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Belgrade
Mr. Danko Runic, Director of City Agency for European Integrations and Cooperation with Associations, Belgrade
Mr. Vladimir Todoric, Executive Director of Center for New Policy (CNP), Belgrade
Ms. Daliborka Uljarevic, Executive Director of Centre for Civic Education (CGO), Podgorica
Ms. Natasa Vuckovic, Member of Serbian Parliament, Democratic Party (DS), Belgrade
Mr. Djordje Vukovic, Program Director of Center for Free Elections and Democracy (CeSID), Belgrade

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