Engaging Central Europe

Veronika Zimova is a Program Coordinator at GMF's Engaging Central Europe program in Berlin. She is responsible for the program's grantmaking activities and for fostering relationships with grantees.

Zimova is a highly experienced project manager. At the Adventist Development and Relief Association in Slovakia, she coordinated EU-funded projects that collaborated with grassroots organizations worldwide. She began her career as a volunteer Project Assistant at ADRA Albania, during which she was named SlovakAid Volunteer of the Year (2018–2019) for her field work with vulnerable groups.

Zimova holds a master's degree in international relations from Matej Bel University in Slovakia. She wrote her bachelor's thesis on the transition to democracy in the early 1990s in central Europe.

Joanna Kopacka, as a program coordinator in GMF's Engaging Central Europe (ECE) initiative, is responsible for some of the key segments of all ECE programming. Her primary focus lies on Poland and strengthening the resilience of civil society within the region.