Civil Society

Sergiu Panainte is the deputy director of the Black Sea Trust (BST), overseeing the strategic and operational implementation of BST’s grantmaking and capacity building activities across the Black Sea region. He is responsible for conceptualizing and leading programs, engaging with major donors and stakeholders, and managing a diverse team to foster regional cooperation and development. 

Panainte is a seasoned professional in the field of international relations, grant management, and democracy, with a focus on the Black Sea basin and administration of programs that support civil society, media, human rights, and democratic development. His expertise also extends to monitoring, evaluation, and learning.

Fluent in Romanian, English, and Russian, Panainte holds master’s degrees in international relations and European studies from Central European University in Budapest and in international relations from Moldova State University. His scholarly work includes several publications focused on regional politics and EU relations.

Gordana Delić is the regional director of the GMF Balkans program, the Balkan Trust for Democracy and deputy managing director of the Transatlantic Trusts. She has 25 years of experience in the nonprofit sector in the area of civil society development, with extensive experience in program management and development, grant solicitation, corporate philanthropy, research and planning, election processes, get-out-to vote campaigns, human rights, and reconciliation. Delić has knowledge of both the nongovernmental and governmental sectors in the Balkans, as well as of international donor strategies, programs, procedures, and operations in Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe. Prior to joining the Balkan Trust for Democracy, Delić worked at Freedom House Serbia. Her international experience includes five years of work on different democracy development programs in Slovakia. Delić is fluent in Serbian, English, and Slovak. She also communicates in Czech, German, and Spanish.