MAAA MEMBERS ELECT A PRESIDENT AND NEW MANAGING TEAM

Interview with the newly elected president, Ms. Verica Jordanova

On November 11, 2021, a session of the Assembly of the Macedonian-American Alumni Association (MAAA) was held at the premises of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Skopje. Following the open call for the positions of a President of the Association, members of the Executive Board and members of the Supervisory Board, 54 members of MAAA who previously registered online, were able to cast their votes for candidates running for the following positions: a President of the Association, members of the Executive Board and members of the Supervisory Board. The electoral process was conducted in a positive and democratic atmosphere.




By majority vote, Ms. Verica Jordanova was re-elected as the President of the Macedonian-American Alumni Association for a two-year mandate. Executive Board members and Supervisory Board members were also elected at the Assembly. The new Executive Board consists of four members: Zorica Trajkova- Strezovska (Vice President), Irena Popovska (Secretary General), Bashkim Ziberi (Treasurer), and Ognen Janeski (Organisational Secretary). The newly elected members of the Supervisory Board are: Rozita Petrinska - Labudovikj, Primislav Dimovski and Biljana Sanev.




The newly elected MAAA team is comprised of number of actively involved alumni members, who not only engage most persistently and most devotedly in fostering the Macedonian-American collaboration and developing of the MAAA network, but also, are great professionals and experts in their field of work and research and most amazing individuals. The new managing board, though facing the still ongoing world pandemic, expresses huge enthusiasm and optimism for their future engagement in bringing the MAAA into a novel, improved, and more prosperous era of online communication and bigger cooperation with its other sister-Associations.


Following the recent election, the newly appointed President of MAAA, Ms Verica Jordanova shared some thoughts and ideas, as well as some of the issues which are on the agenda for the future development of the association, in a short interview for the MAAA newsletter.

INTERVIEW WITH
VERICA JORDANOVA, the President of
MAAA

What do you think is the most challenging and what is the most rewarding aspect of being a MAAA President?

First of all, I would like to extend my warmest regards to the MAAA members and wish them happiness and prosperity in the New Year 2022. On this occasion, I would also like to express my deepest gratitude for the given trust to represent the Macedonian-American Alumni Association in the following two years as well. MAAA is a prestigious association consisting of a prominent pool of experts who have enhanced their knowledge and skills by participating in educational exchange programs supported by the U.S. Department of State. It is truly a great honor to serve as a President of such an organization and at the same time a great responsibility since the mission of the organization is to contribute towards development, promotion and deepening of the relations between the Republic of North Macedonia and the United States by initiating and implementing various types of activities and fostering alumni engagement. One of the greatest challenges of this position is to motivate and activate as many MAAA members as possible to initiate projects and take part in the regularly planned activities of the organization.


Can you describe the most important changes you implemented in the past, especially regarding the MAAA development and its functioning during the COVID 19 pandemic?

The Covid-19 pandemic surely switched the course of action for many planned activities and definitely changed the traditional way of work and communication. In the past two years, most of the activities were conducted virtually, but I can say that we are very proud for having the possibility to organize a few in-person events based on the Covid-19 circumstances. However, I would like to emphasize that the Covid-19 restrictions and limitations have had a positive impact on the overall number of organized online events. A lot of MAAA members expressed interest to participate in numerous debates, webinars and discussions related to current novelties. I am particularly proud to say that many of our members were self-motivated and initiated many activities during the pandemic and raised a lot of important questions in times of crises. The increased number of projects initiated and implemented by MAAA as well as the openness towards every idea suggested by the members - that’s what really makes the organization recognizable. I highly encourage all of our members to actively take part in the activities of the Association with their own initiatives and contribute towards stronger establishment of the alumni association as an organization of experts with an eminent role in the society.

What steps would you make towards making a major change during your new mandate as the reelected MAAA President?

In the following two years I will mainly focus on engaging as many alumni as possible (including the ones that are currently abroad) by offering them an open platform for implementation of their project ideas. Based on my experience as a President of MAAA in the last two years, I could notice that MAAA’s potential and capacity has not been used to the fullest. In my opinion, actions need to be taken to change these circumstances. Ultimately, implementing all the aforementioned ideas and activities requires more project initiatives and availability of funding.

One of the key priorities in the upcoming period would be to change the Statute of the organization that will ultimately enable the usage of digital tools that will modernize the functioning of the organization. Additionally, strengthening the capacities of the association by connecting with relevant international organizations and promoting the expertise of our alumni internationally is inevitably on the list of the top priority activities in the forthcoming period.

Could you tell our readers more about your personal self? Who is Ms. Verica Jordanova privately, what does success really mean to you and what are you really proud of?

To me, success is being happy, being truly fulfilled, being proud and satisfied with myself by doing different things all the time, by contributing to the society, and making a difference in the world. Personally, I am a giver, I am a contributor, I never stop until I have done something that truly matters. One of my own personal achievements that I am really proud of is the successful launch of the entrepreneurship development project that promotes entrepreneurship, innovation, new technologies and digital marketing both in Macedonia and in the Balkan region. This project encompasses a range of diverse consulting and coaching activities and its impact is being amplified in social media through a web portal which is recognized as the most relevant in the country, exclusively for innovation, technology, startup and entrepreneurship. It has over 60.000 followers on social media profiles. It makes me feel quite happy and fulfilled, and I am really proud to see it growing every day.


Author: Tatjana Srceva-Pavlovska