Team

Gabi Cociuba

Gabi Cociuba is ARCS new Program Manager. She is an American Romanian photographer born in Romania.  She enjoys and practices a wide variety of photography from conceptual to documentary. She studied at University of Washington and Photographic Center NW. She has volunteered with the Romanian Film Festival Seattle since its early days and is excited to see how far ARCS has grown.

She shares ARCS’ belief that raising awareness of Romanian heritage in the US benefits not only the Romanian diaspora, but the American public as well. She looks forward to serving the community and promoting Romanian culture to wider audiences through meaningful programs.

Otilia Baraboi, Ph.D.

Before coming to Seattle in 2000 from Romania, Otilia worked as a literary journalist and published short-fiction, translations and articles. She holds university degrees in French and English literatures from Romania, Switzerland, and the US. She has a Ph.D. on the politics of translation from the University of Washington, where she taught French language and literature for 17 years, and where she is currently co-teaching a course on Romanian literature and film. In 2013, she co-founded ARCS and was President of the Board for five years before becoming ARCS’ first Executive Director. For Otilia, ARCS has been a wonderful opportunity to remain connected with the vibrant culture of her birthplace, while contributing to the artistic and cultural vitality of the Pacific Northwest. As part of her work, Otilia has been managing the Romanian Film Festival in Seattle and ARCS community-based school for Romanian heritage students, as well as more than 300 cultural and educational events over the past 9 years. Her priorities are to create sustainable, community-building programs and partnerships, as well as develop ARCS' brand identity in accordance with its mission and values. Most of all, Otilia hopes that her work will have a direct, long-lasting impact on the ways in which future generations will define, celebrate and pass on their heritage. Otilia is also the President of the Ethnic Heritage Council of the Pacific Northwest and a board member of Romanian United Fund.

Ileana Marin, Ph.D.

Ileana Marin teaches interdisciplinary courses at the University of Washington in Seattle and at the Center of Excellence in Image Studies at the University of Bucharest. Her long-standing academic career on both sides of the ocean has given her the opportunity to establish contacts between Romanian and American scholars, artists, and institutions. She, thus, initiated the first UW Exploration Seminar to Romania, and to Eastern Europe, and opened the fund for Romanian Studies, hoping that Romanian language will be taught regularly in Seattle. With a BA in Romanian and a PhD. in Comparative Literature from the University of Bucharest (2000), and one in Textual Studies from the UW (2011), Ileana is a strong believer in the power of education and bilingualism. In ARCS, she advocates the expansion of the Romanian language programs in the US and for disseminating the most recent Romanian cultural achievements. On her agenda as president, Ileana Marin has two major tasks: board development and recruitment to ensure the successful implementation of ARCS mission through meaningful programs.

Dana Cozmei

Dana Cozmei is a Principal Program Manager at Microsoft with many years of experience in complex project management, software development and testing. In her free time, Dana enjoys painting and piloting planes. A native of Romania, Dana will bring to ARCS her firsthand knowledge of the contemporary art scene and living cultures of her birthplace, in addition to offering guidance with project management and coordination.

Alexandrina Măicăneanu

Born and raised in Romania, Alexandrina has a degree from the prestigious HEC in Montreal, and a career in business. She moved to the Northwest from Montreal in 2003, where she taught French at the French American School and worked as a financial adviser at the International School Community. Her free time is dedicated to friends, family, traveling, and cultivating a good life. Art has played an important role in her formative years in Romania (she graduated the Arts High School in Cluj) and throughout her experience living in Montreal, a city with one of the most vibrant artists’ diaspora of Romanian descent in North America. Alexandrina brings to ARCS her action-oriented approach to life in general, and her valuable background in project development, business and community outreach.

Michele Anciaux Aoki 

Michele Anciaux Aoki has a Ph.D. in Slavic Linguistics and taught Russian and English as a Second Language at the University of Washington for a number of years. She speaks a variety of Slavic and Balkan languages, including Romanian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian/Montenegrin, and Russian. She spent a year as a Fulbright English lecturer in Iași, Romania in 1976-77, and six months as a US Information Agency Exhibit Guide in Romania in 1979. After graduate school, she had a long and successful career in Information Technology before returning to the field of education in the 1990’s. From 2008 until 2014, she served as World Languages Program Supervisor at the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, where she helped develop the World Languages Competency-Based Credit Program to award high school credits to students with demonstrated language proficiency. From 2014-2019, Michele served as International Education Administrator for Seattle Public School, supporting Seattle’s ten International Schools and Dual Language Immersion programs in Spanish, Japanese, and Mandarin, as well as all World Language programs in the district. Michele has consulted with the UW STARTALK programs since 2011 and helped organize the annual Heritage Language Symposium since 2014. In retirement, she volunteers for the Washington Association for Language Teaching Testing Team and Advocacy Team and serves on the Steering Committee of the Washington State Coalition for International Education. She is also active with the National Council of State Supervisors for Language and is an advisor to the Global Seal of Biliteracy.  

Cristina Amaral

Cristina Amaral was born in Sighișoara and was raised in Bucharest. She has a degree in Translating and Interpreting from the University of Bucharest. In 1997, she moved to Austria in order to continue her education at the perstigious University of Vienna. In the US, she has lived in Arizona and in the Pacific Northwest, where she has a successful career as a court interpreter and translator. She speaks several languages and is a big fan of foreign movies.

Vasi Nemes Jr.

Vasi Nemes Jr. is a highly accomplished real estate professional with 15 years of experience. As the owner of 206 Realty, LLC since 2017, he has successfully sold over $100 million in real estate over the past 7 years, showcasing expertise and dedication in the industry.  Vasi will help ARCS raise funds as well as contribute to the the heritage education program and cultural mission.