Viola Bao is a literary critic at Dagens Nyheter and a translator from Sweden. She is a joint Thanks To Scandinavia – Fulbright scholar, pursuing a Ph.D. in Comparative Literary Studies at Northwestern University in Chicago. She holds an MA in Comparative Literature from Copenhagen University and has studied Chinese literature at Tsinghua University in Beijing. Her research interests include contemporary Anglo-American poetry, documentary aesthetics, racial poetics, black studies, and the relation between politics and literature. She has translated “Bluets” by the American poet Maggie Nelson into Swedish, has worked as a cultural journalist and editor for Svenska Dagbladet, and is currently part of the editorial board of the literary magazine Karavan. She has contributed with her writing to a variety of magazines and publications, such as Aftonbladet, 10TAL, Sveriges Radio, Expressen, Lyrikvännen, amongst others, and is part of the jury board of the Gerard Bonnier Poetry Prize.
Francesco Barfoed is a Danish-Italian pianist, born and raised in Copenhagen. He studied at The Royal Danish Academy of Music with professor Søren Rastogi (2015-17), and at Rutgers University with Dr. Min Kwon and Daniel Epstein (2017-19). In his professional career as a solo and collaborative pianist, Francesco is actively engaged with Danish clarinetist Jonas Frølund, with whom he performed on the national Danish radio (DR P2), in Italy, as well as at various chamber music festivals across Denmark, including Hindsgavl Festival. In the United States, Francesco is a member of the Wundertrio, a piano trio that has won 2nd places in the Coltman Chamber Music competition and the ENKOR music competition. Starting September 2019, he will pursue his master’s degree in collaborative piano at Juilliard, where he hopes to participate in New York’s vibrant music society as well as contribute to the cultural collaboration between Denmark and the United States.
Johan Bjorck is currently a Ph.D. student in Computer Science at Cornell University, advised by prof. Carla Gomes and prof. Bart Selman. The main focus of his research is applications of computer science techniques to problems related to sustainability. Within this line of work he has developed algorithms for the management of invasive species and data-driven methods for monitoring of forest elephants. Another area of active research is the experimental investigation of AI algorithms, were traditional theoretical analysis fails to explain the practical success of machine learning systems. Johan received his bachelor in engineering physics from Chalmer in Gothenburg, Sweden, and is studying at Cornell as a Fulbright scholar and is also a Telluride Fellow. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking in upstate New York and cooking.
Rumen Cholakov was born on 16 January 1991 in Sofia, Bulgaria. While studying at the American College of Sofia, he won a full scholarship from the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference to take the International Baccalaureate Diploma at Whitgift School in London and graduated top of his class. He then went on to read History at Trinity College, Cambridge as an Honorary Cambridge European Trust Scholar and graduated 17th in his class with Double First Class Honours. He received his legal education at the University of Law (Graduate Diploma in Law) and Kaplan Law School (Legal Practice Course), financed by the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, where he worked from 2014 to 2016. In 2016, Rumen became an Associate at the London office of Kirkland & Ellis International LLP, where he stayed until 2019, focusing on Banking & Finance. Also in 2016, Rumen founded Millennium Club Bulgaria, an NGO of young Bulgarian expats and in 2019 he ran in the elections for Members of the European Parliament. He was top of a ticket called ‘Way to the young’ comprised entirely of 17 young people. In August 2019, Rumen is starting an LL.M. course at Columbia University as a Fulbright Scholar.
Stela Gavrilova is pursuing a graduate program in Applied Economics and Management with focus on Technology Management at Cornell University. She is accomplished business professional with successful track record in marketing, project management, business development and strategic analysis. Her passion is to create significant social and economic contribution through technology innovation and entrepreneurship. Thus, along her distinguished business career she engages actively in the non-government sector in Bulgaria to work for positive impact. She is an active member of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Bulgaria and a course assistant at the Prof. M. Porter’s affIliated course on economic development in Bulgaria.
Heidi Elisabeth Hesjevoll is a Norwegian student at the University of Oklahoma where she is pursuing a bachelor of science degree in chemistry. She is especially interested in organic and Analytical chemistry. In her free time she likes learning about the brain, neurons and their functions. She also enjoys community service, she has volunteered for the Red Cross Norway at an asylum seeker reception center.
Beata Harju is a screenwriter, filmmaker and actress, who explores stories and themes about identity, perseverance and femininity with the awareness that a life without roadblocks never made a good story in the first place. Before attending the American Film Institute Conservatory as a Screenwriting Fellow, she was a part of the screenwriting team of the animated feature MOOMINS ON THE RIVIERA (a selection of the BFI London Film Festival). Banal catcalling led to creating the comedy short CATCALLING VIRGIN (NYWIFT Online Film Festival), and she has written an episode for Cartoon Network’s MEGA MAN: FULLY CHARGED TV-show about PTSD and environmental protection. As an actress, Beata has played Honey in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and Jean in “August: Osage County” at the National Swedish Theatre in Finland. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in film and theatre from Sarah Lawrence College, New York, and has also studied business at Aalto University School of Business in Helsinki, music at the Pop & Jazz Conservatory of Helsinki and improv comedy at the Groundlings, the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and the Magnet
Kaliya Kalcheva is a New York-based Bulgarian pianist. She will be pursuing her MA at The Juilliard School. A graduate of the National Music School “Lyubomir Pipkov” in Sofia, Kaliya obtained her BA from the Manhattan School of Music in 2019. Kaliya thrives both in solo and chamber music repertoire and has also distinguished herself as a sought-after collaborative pianist among her colleagues. She has won over 15 first prizes in competitions worldwide and a Grand Prix at the Evangelia Tjiarri International Piano Competition in Cyprus. Her many awards include a special “European Union of Music Competitions for Youth” prize at the international competition “Young Virtuosos” in Sofia. In 2014, Kaliya received an honorary diploma from the Ministry of Culture in Bulgaria for her contributions to the development of Bulgarian culture and arts. Since performing her first solo recital at age 9, Kaliya has given recitals in New York, Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany, Bulgaria and Russia, and has collaborated with musicians all across Europe and in the US. She has been the soloist of many orchestras. As the Manhattan School of Music’s 2018-2019 Concerto Competition winner, she will perform Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in the 2019-2020 season with the school’s orchestra.
Mette A. E. Kim-Larsen, using her background in comparative literature and cultural theory from Copenhagen University and the University of California, Irvine, explores the social implications of the relations between race, health, and adoption in Denmark in her academic work. This has also been a returning focus in her commitment to the social movements in Copenhagen, Denmark as a writer, presenter, and translator of critical philosophy on race. At Columbia University, Kim-Larsen will be pursuing a Master’s degree in Social Anthropology with a project on illness narratives of transnational adoptees and how this relates to a biological concept of race.
Karen-Lise Krog is pursuing a master’s degree in International Education Policy at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her academic background in Sociology from University of Copenhagen has created a strong desire to improve educational opportunities for the most disadvantaged learners around the world. She is especially interested in refugee education and education of children in hospitals, and with a strong basis in both quantitative and qualitative research methods, she hopes to create more equitable educational outcomes, starting at the pre-primary level. Karen-Lise has professional experience with educational research and policy work from a Copenhagen-based think tank, and in this context, she traveled to several European countries to investigate similarities and differences across systems. This insight has made her aware that the challenges we face are very similar, and that a comparative view on education is advantageous for creating tenable solutions.
David Lonnberg is pursuing a degree in International Affairs at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Currently he is also working as a Program Fellow for shift7. Originally from Stockholm, Sweden, in 2011 David moved to New York to pursue degrees in International Economics and Political Science from St. Francis College. As a student-athlete and captain of the men’s water polo team, David led the program to two consecutive NCAA Final Four appearances and received the NCAA Elite-89 award twice. After completing his undergraduate studies, David joined the United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service where he co-developed systems for global stakeholder participation in United Nations high-level events. Additionally, David has previously interned at the Clinton Foundation and the Office of U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.
Christian Frank Madsen is a Danish attorney pursuing a Master of Laws at Harvard Law School. Since graduating from the University of Southern Denmark in 2015, Christian has been working with the leading Danish law firm, Plesner, where he has advised listed and privately owned companies, private equity funds, venture capital companies, public institutions and institutional investors with respect to mergers and acquisitions (M&A), corporate law, corporate governance and management incentive programs. Despite relatively low seniority, Christian has advised on more than 35 completed national and cross-border M&A transactions and in 2017 he was among the most active M&A advisers in the Danish market place measured by number of completed transactions. Christian has been teaching law continuously since 2011 and he is an external lecturer with the University of Southern Denmark and Copenhagen Business School. Furthermore, Christian is an external examiner with the Danish Business Schools.
Agathe Malmberg is a from Jørpeland, Norway. She has played soccer her whole life and moved to Florida in 2015 for her bachelor studies to be able to combine studying and continue being an athlete. She now has a bachelors degree in Civil Engineering, and thanks to Thanks to Scandinavia and Noram she will now pursue her masters degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford.
Inka Rusi is a director and scriptwriter working between Los Angeles and Helsinki. In 2017, Inka received a Fulbright fellowship to pursue a graduate degree in film directing at California Institute of the Arts, where her works were recognized with the Alison Doerner Award and have been selected for presentations at international festivals such as Cucalorus and New York No Limits. Inka is expected to graduate 2020 with the support of the merit based and competitive Thanks To Scandinavia grant. During her time living in the U.S Inka has been fascinated by the ongoing debate around gun culture, that is both revered and hated. It is also a motif in both her first-year film and thesis film. Her first -year film Foul dealt with the power play between three brothers and how in the masculine world domination is rewarded. Foul was selected to the CalArts 2019 Showcase presentation. Her thesis film is focusing on the psychological architecture that allows something like a shooting of innocent children to happen, through the lens of a teenage girl. Inka has a BA in Fashion and Design from Middlesex University in London, graduating with high honors and has worked for designers Sonia Rykiel, Chloé and Marimekko. In 2012 Inka transitioned into filmmaking. Working with the top production companies in her native Finland in productions such as Through The Supermarket in Five Easy Pieces, Suomen Hauskin Mies, Tulen Morsian, Aikuisten Poika and Ulvilan Murhamysteeri. She has also worked on commercial productions for clients such as ELLE UK, C More and MTV 3. Inka was born in New York and grew up in a diplomatic family.
Victoria Elisabeth Pihl Sørensen is a Danish student at Cornell University, where she is pursuing a PhD in Performing and Media Arts. Victoria has a professional background in cultural production and teaching. She recently earned her MA in Women’s and Gender Studies from The CUNY Graduate Center, and holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences from The University of Manchester, UK. Her research interests span from sex and gender studies to science, technology, film and media studies, and all conjoin in feminist, queer and anti-racist scholarship. Prior to attending Cornell, Victoria completed an internship at Aubin Pictures, a NYC non-profit documentary film company focused on social justice issues. She is published by the Danish Women’s Council and is passionate about gender and sexual justice. (Photo Credit: Sofia Muñoz Gonzalez).
Emma Tveit is pursuing a Master’s degree in Arab Studies at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS). At Georgetown, Emma is specializing in contemporary politics and the Arabian Peninsula and is writing a thesis on the Yemeni security sector and the peace process. She spent a summer in Oman conducting field research for this paper. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Arabic and History from SOAS, University of London, where she spent a year studying Arabic language and literature at An-Najah National University in Palestine. After graduating from SOAS, Emma took part in founding Refugee Utility Project (RUP), an NGO that works with refugees in Jordan and Syria. Emma interned at the American Enterprise Institute’s Critical Threats Project, focusing on Yemeni security policy, and at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Amman before starting her graduate studies. In her spare time, she enjoys playing the violin, particularly Eastern European folk music.