THE MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP TEAM

The Romanian Heritage Center’s management is comprised of two main bodies:
– Executive Board of Directors
– Leadership Advisory Council.
We are also blessed to have the advice and support of spiritual leaders representing religious organizations from our community which make the advisory Religious Support Council.

a. EXECUTIVE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

DISCLAIMER:
The members of the Executive Board of Directors are not receiving salaries or any type of financial compensation for their role as Directors or Officers of the Corporation, in accordance with federal and state governing laws applicable for not-for-profit corporations.

STEVEN V. BONICA
President & Executive Director
• Over 30 years of experience in business administration, management, marketing, public relations, and media
• Co-Founder of Romanian-American Network Inc
• Co-Founder of Coalition for Family, Faith, and Life of Romanians in America
• Founder and Publisher of the Romanian Tribune Newspaper
• Founder of the Romanian Churches and Religious Organizations Network “Biserici.US”
• Advisor to the Honorary Consul of Republic of Moldova in North Carolina, since 2001
• Community Ambassador of Alliance Defending Freedom, since 2016
• Honorary Deputy Treasurer of Cook County, and advisor to Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas, commissioned in June 2021

RADU RUSSEL RACEAN
Vice-President of Cultural Affairs, Treasurer
• Masters of Science Degree in Computer Engineering
• Over 30 years experience in IT and Engineering (worked for large companies such as Motorola, US Robotics, and Panasonic)
• Owned and managed computer sales and service company for over 5 years
• IRS Registered Tax Preparer specialized in business entities & non-profit organizations
• Member of the Board of Directors and Treasurer of “Cenaclul Retro”, a non-profit Romanian cultural artistic organization
• Director of Cultural Affairs for Romanian-American Network Inc.
• Contributing writer and member of the Advisory Editorial Board of the Romanian Tribune Newspaper

MARCEL SOMFELEAN
Vice-President of Public Relations
• Master Degree in Industrial Management
• Over 30 years of Management and Marketing;
• Entrepreneurial Coach and Counselor;
• Advisor for International Business Management Affairs;
• Founder and Managing Director of MS Consulting
• Co-Founder of Romanian Business Referral Network
• Member of the Advisory Editorial Board of the Romanian Tribune Newspaper
• Member of U.S. Fencing Association

DENNIS STOIA
Secretary, Director of Strategic Planning & Development
• Bachelor of Science Degree in Commerce (Finance & Accounting) with Honors from DePaul University
• Fortune 100 Corporate Development Executive and Senior Investment Leader
• Board of Directors of diversified portfolio of companies
• Certified Mergers & Acquisitions Advisor
• CFA – Chartered Financial Analyst Candidate
• CPA – Certified Public Accountant
• Mergers & Acquisitions; Planning, Strategy, and Execution; Joint Ventures, Equity Investments, Venture Capital, and Strategic Alliances; Capital Structure & Liquidity, Valuation & Investment Structuring; Cross-functional Team Leadership.
• Co-Founder of Coalition for Family, Faith, and Life of Romanians in America
• Chairman of the Advisory Editorial Board of the Romanian Tribune Newspaper
• Chairman of the Leadership Advisory Board of Romanian-American Network Inc.

ANGUS D. WILSON
Director of Youth Community Involvement
• Managing Foreman and Supervisor at Wil-Pump Concrete
• Eagle Scout and Assistant Scoutmaster at Boy Scouts of America Addison 410 troop
• Basic Life Principles Instructor
• Ceramics and Pottery Studio Instructor
• Stage set-up at HBC, Rolling Meadows, IL
• Events Production Director at Romanian-American Network Inc. specialized in stage design and set-up, lighting, sound, and video display
• Member of the Leadership Advisory Board of Romanian-American Network Inc.

b. LEADERSHIP ADVISORY COUNCIL

The Leadership Advisory Council, also known as the Board of Advisors, is a hand selected informal council of people with no legal responsibilities or liabilities related to the Romanian Heritage Center’s activity.

It is an invaluable group of individuals with some of the greatest achievements in life, business people, professionals, community and religious leaders, all of which have contributed greatly to the betterment of our community and society.

The advice of the Leadership Advisory Council is more strategic and focused on a higher level, while it will most likely be more specific to the actual changes happening in the organization on an operational level. Its input is most certainly a key ingredient in the success of the entire organization, thus defining the Leadership Advisory Council as the steering leadership group of the Romanian Heritage Center.

The members of the Leadership Advisory Board are invited to join this exclusive group of mentors for as long as they are ready to bring their consultative expertise to the Board of Directors and commit their support to the functioning and development of programs and activities of the Romanian Heritage Center.

The members of the Leadership Advisory Council are also invited to take on responsibilities and lead through various organizational committees, such as:

• Business Networking Support Committee
• Community Social Affairs Committee
• Cultural Affairs Committee
• Educational Programs Committee
• Events Planning Committee
• Financial Review Committee
• Fundraising Committee
• Marketing & Communications Committee

RELIGIOUS SUPPORT COUNCIL

The Romanian community of Chicago area, estimated to be close to 200,000, is known for having a total of 26 churches: Adventist, Baptist, Greek-Catholic, Orthodox and Pentecostal.

The Romanian Heritage Center is blessed to have the support and advice of leaders and hierarchs of many of these Romanian churches from various denominations, pastors, priests, and ordained deacons, as well as of other Christian organizations from the Romanian-American community who see the value in our organization’s purposes and projects while recognizing the critical need for our existence as a faith based organization transcending denominational and jurisdictional lines.

Each of the supporting churches and religious organizations are represented by at least one person in the Religious Support Council.

The members of the Religious Support Council review the activities and financial records of RoHC semiannually, thus contributing greatly to the integrity wellness and the organization’s direction according to the Christian views.

We currently have pledges for support of our project from several Romanian churches, for which we are grateful, and we are continuing to see new pledges coming.