The WomanUp Foundation works for gender equality and the protection of women's rights in all spheres of public life. We promote female leadership, fight gender-based violence, and support access to reproductive health, education, and social justice. Our vision is for a Bulgaria in which every woman lives freely, empowered, and with equal opportunities – in a society that recognizes caring work, respects diversity, and places human dignity at the heart of its development. The Foundation was established in 2023 by three working mothers: Victoria, Maya, and Violeta.
The WomanUp Foundation is a member of the Bulgarian Platform of the European Women's Lobby, the National Network for Children, EL*C, AWID, and the Feminist Leadership Hub.
Who Are We?
Victoria Kostova
Executive Director and Project Manager
Victoria has been working in the fields of culture and human rights for the last 7 years, with experience in activities such as fundraising, advocacy, training and coordination. She has worked for various Bulgarian and foreign organizations such as European Alternatives, BILOURA Collective, new visions, Association “GARAGE - collective platform for independent artists”, Foundation “Edno”, Fordefestivalen and others.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in “Journalism” from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, a master’s degree in “Management of cultural organizations and creative industries” from New Bulgarian University and the “European Diploma in Cultural Project Management” program at the “Marcel Hicter” Foundation. She has undergone various international trainings in project management such as Atelier for Young Festival Managers, ISPM, Goethe Academy for Cultural Management and others.
Maya Geneva
Project Coordinator and Trainer
Maya is a long-time activist in the field of social justice. She is currently part of the WomanUp Foundation, where she works to empower women through education, advocacy, and social projects. She holds a BA in Public Administration from Paisii Hilendarski University and a MA in Linguistics from the New Bulgarian University.
With extensive experience as an English teacher and academic mentor, Maya combines pedagogical approaches with activism to create a more accessible and inclusive environment for young girls and women. She has participated in a number of initiatives aimed at the social integration of vulnerable groups, including working with Roma children, people with eating disorders, and projects to protect women's rights. Her dedication to the cause is expressed not only in her professional activities, but also in volunteer projects and trainings aimed at social change and equality.
Andrea Peycheva
Director "Communications"
Andrea has been working in the field of marketing and communications for 10 years in various fields - event marketing in medicine, internal communications for a large international brand, aviation, and has been part of the teams of several marketing agencies. Currently, in addition to being a member of the WomanUp team, Andrea is also developing her own marketing agency - Sky-Copy.
She holds a Master's degree in Media and Communications Studies from Stockholm University, Sweden and a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from the University of Essex, England.
Evgenia Evgenieva
Legal Consultant
Evgenia is the Foundation’s legal consultant. She graduated in Law and holds a postgraduate qualification in “National and European Medical Law”. Evgenia describes herself as an organized and responsible person who works with precision and respect for the individual needs of each person.
Evgenia also has experience in the field of clinical trials, health insurance and social assistance and is well-versed in the regulatory framework, as well as ethical and medical standards.
Legal Consultant Programs and Documents
Maria Sharkova
Maria Sharkova is a lawyer with over 15 years of professional experience in the field of medical law.
She graduated from Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" with a degree in Law. She holds an educational and scientific degree "PhD" in civil and family law from the Faculty of Law of the University of National and World Economy.
In 2015, she was selected as a scholar under the prestigious Fulbright - Hubert Humphrey program and specialized in the field of medical law, public health and health policies at Emory University, USA at the Rollins School of Public Health and School of Law.
She is the author of numerous publications in Bulgarian and international publications. She published the book "Medical Tort" (CIA "Krustyu Tsonchev", 2018), as well as the monograph "Civil Liability of Medical Specialists and Medical Institutions for Harm Caused to Patients".
She created the specialized portal lekarska-greshka.bg, which provides access to a rich database of case law and analyses in the field of medical liability.
Currently, Maria Sharkova is a managing partner at Sharkova & Partners Law Firm - the first law firm in Bulgaria specializing entirely in the field of medical law.
Bilyana Koteva
Project Trainer
Bilyana is a trainer for the projects of the WomanUp Foundation. She works consultatively and therapeutically with people who encounter difficulties in their relationships with their partners, children and loved ones. The main focus of her work is the issues during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum difficulties.
She also works with people in the process of life adversity and difficulties related to separation, death, illness. The emphasis in her work is on helping people with difficulties in functioning related to anxiety, obsessions, OCD, panic attacks, psychosomatic symptoms.
Bilyana holds a Master's Degree in "Child and Adolescent Psychology" at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" and has completed education in psychotherapeutic formation at the Institute of Psychosomatics and Integrative Psychotherapy, accredited member of the European Association for Integrative Psychotherapy (EAIP). Certified emotional intelligence trainer at the Bulgarian Institute of Social and Emotional Intelligence, BISEI.
Zornitsa Spasova
Expert, lecturer and mentor for project "Women for Green Justice"
Zornitsa Spasova is a senior assistant professor at the National Center for Public Health and Analysis (NCPAA) at the Ministry of Health. She holds a PhD in Climatology from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. She has been working on the impact of climate change on human health since 2008, having specialized abroad many times. She is the Scientific Secretary of the Bulgarian Society of Medical Geography, Hub Manager of the Climate KIC program for NCPAA and organizer of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change in Bulgaria.
With the articles in "Klimateka", she became the winner of the Journalism Award of the European Meteorological Society - EMS Journalistic Award 2023, won second place in the "Economy" category of the Web report 2023 competition, as well as third place in the "Online Media" category of the National Green Journalism Competition "Horse Chestnut" in 2022.
Asen Nenov
Expert and mentor for project "Women for Green Justice"
Assen Nenov is an ecologist, graduated in biotechnology, worked in computational biology and bioinformatics at the Institute of Biophysics and Biomedical Engineering (IBBI) at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. He worked in the field of consumer protection at the Active Consumers Association and BEUC.
He writes about critical consumption and large-scale ecological catastrophe, and is among the initiators of the first degrowth group in Bulgaria. He has developed educational units for non-formal education for sustainable development for the Ecocentric Foundation, Ecosystem Europe Association and Junior Achievement. He is a co-founder of the Circular Economy Institute (ICE); he is a member of "Anonymous Air Conditioners", "For the Earth" and the "Hrankoop Sofia" Cooperative.