Staff

Jeremy Druker

CEO/Founder jeremy@pressstart.org

I was one of those Americans who came to Central Europe in the early 1990s – and then basically stayed. After about 20 years in Prague, I feel almost half-Czech, though still with a Brooklyn accent and a devotion to the New York Yankees. A group of us founded Transitions (TOL) in 1999, which operates a nonprofit news site about the former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern Europe, and a journalism training center. The inspiration for Press Start comes partly from the frustration of training thousands of journalists only to see them face huge political and financial obstacles to actually putting the training to use and practicing quality, independent journalism. I take a break from my day job and teach at the Prague campus of New York University on social media's impact on society. And I owe a big thanks to Ashoka, a worldwide network of social entrepreneurs. I've been a fellow since 2011 and Press Start was lucky enough to pass through an Ashoka incubator program called Globalizer – not once, but twice. I'm a graduate of Harvard (BA) and Columbia (MA) and sit on the board of the Fulbright Commission in the Czech Republic and the Czech journalism prizes.

Jaroslav Valuch

Project Leader jaroslav@pressstart.org

In my first year in marketing school I realized that selling soap was not for me. Instead I went off and became an environmental activist in a small town in the Czech Republic. Later, I worked with some humanitarian NGOs and got really excited about the use of new communications technologies in complex emergencies, conflicts, and activism. After some time working on projects all over the world, I have ended up as head of communications in the Czech government office that deals with hate crimes and hate speech.

Boryana Dzhambazova

Communications Manager boryana@pressstart.org

Здравейте (or “Hello” in Bulgarian) from the Press Start team member with the unpronounceable last name. I’m a freelance journalist in Sofia, Bulgaria, writing on subjects including economics, politics, social issues, and human rights.I’m not one of those people who's known since childhood that she wanted to be a journalist. Rather, I chose it over studying law in my last year of high school, as I saw journalism as a powerful tool to fight injustice. Still, I remember how excited I was to have my first story published back in 2005, and since then, my passion for telling stories has only grown. In 2012, I earned a master’s degree in new media as a Fulbright scholar at New York University, and two years later returned to the Balkans, where I participated in the three-month Balkan Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence. My articles have appeared in The New York Times, Businessweek, Fast Company, and Global Post, and some of my most interesting assignments so far have taken me to Congo and Southeast Asia. As a freelance journalist in a country and region that have been struggling to build their independent media, I know the challenges local reporters face trying to do solid work on subjects largely ignored by mainstream media. I'm eager to help fellow journalists from around the world make the most of the Press Start platform and produce the types of stories they've always wanted to do.

Ernad Halilović

Platform Architect and Original Developer ernad@pressstart.org

I was born and raised in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and I have studied humanities and computers in Prague, Israel, the United States, and Italy. My goal is to understand and study the place of technology in our world, particularly its effects on communication and behavior, although I try not to keep it all theoretical by working as a software engineer by day. I believe that many who develop technology and have made their fortunes on it tend to make inflated claims for it, eclipsing the role of humans in whatever revolution it is meant to bring about. While Press Start relies on a world more tightly connected thanks to that technology, it is fundamentally about the talents and aspirations of people, which was a powerful motivation for me to join the project in the summer of 2012.

Dino Aganović

Multimedia Designer dino@pressstart.org

I grew up in Sarajevo, where I received a degree in economics at the University of Sarajevo. While still a student, I began experimenting with audio and visual arts as a hobby that soon became a full-time job. I worked on several projects as a graphic designer and helped with marketing and design on a lot of local youth projects. I’m also a successful electronic music producer, starting my own record label and project called Submarine Vibes in 2014.