Slavka Drašković
Slavka Drašković was a Director of the Office for Cooperation with the Diaspora and Serbs in the Region, in the Government of the Republic of Serbia. Before taking the post as office director, she was the head of the Serbian Unity Congress, Serbia. Drašković teaches Leadership in Organization at the University School of Business English (Cambridge Associate Partner for Serbia) and Case System Safety and Disasters (Heriot-Watt University). She has extensive experience in management positions and expertise in the field of leadership and system security. Biography. Slavka Drašković was born in Niš. She attended elementary and high  school in Belgrade where she also obtained her BA from the Faculty of Economics. She received her M.A. from the Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Ethnology and Anthropology on the topic of pedagogy and anthropology of women. At the same university, she also received her PhD on the topic of business leaders of the Serbian diaspora in the United States. She also attended a specialization course in the field of business leadership (Coach Training Alliance, USA). Drašković is married and has two children. Career. Since 1990, Drašković worked as a director of the Serbian diaspora organization "Serbian Unity Congress", and  from 2002 to 2008 she acted as executive director of the same organization in the US. Since 2008, she was the president of the Serbian Unity Congress Serbia, the local diaspora organization based in Serbia and dealing with programs of the Serbian diaspora in the US, Russia, Germany, Austria, Canada and others. From 1995 to 2012, she was the director of Studenica Foundation USA, the foundation of the Serbian diaspora engaged in providing scholarships to Serbian students. From 2008 to 2012 she also worked as executive director of the Business Leadership Ltd. Belgrade. From 1987 to 1989 she was the  director of financial engineering at MCS Ltd, and from 1990 to 1999 she was the partner and director at Saba Business Centre Ltd. From 1986 to 1987 she was engaged at Minel CESA and Minel as the senior export associate. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Council for the Renewal of Endowments, and a board member of the Association of Serbian Inventors, and of the Marko Jaric Fund. She is a member of the Advisory Board of the Red Star Belgrade rowing club, as well as the leader of the Serbian - U.S. Women Leadership Network  and a member of the Women Expert Base. She also holds membership in CTA Coaches&Mentors Community, as well as in the Serbian American Professionals, and the European Economic Forum (EREF). On 2 November 2012, the Government of the Republic of Serbia appointed Drašković to the post of Director of the Office for Cooperation with the Diaspora and Serbs in the region. She is not a member of any political party, and was nominated for a position of director, as an independent expert, by the Serbian Progressive Party. Work with the diaspora. Drašković has more than two decades of extensive experience  in working with the Serbian diaspora. She has organized numerous conferences, lectures and events for high-level delegations of the Serbian diaspora in Chicago, Cleveland, Moscow, Vienna, Graz, Washington, and New York. Drašković was one of the most persistent lobbyists for the establishment of the Ministry of Diaspora, for which she advocated with more than 20 other organizations from the diaspora. She was one of the initiators of the Round Table, which led to the adoption of the Law on the Diaspora of the Republic of Serbia. She was also the member of the Commission who prepared the Strategy for  the Diaspora of the Republic of Serbia. Drašković was an associate member of the intergovernmental working group of the Ministry of Diaspora, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Interior to improve the relations between Serbia and the states of Illinois, Ohio and California. Drašković is one of the most active proponents of diaspora involvement in helping local communities through projects related to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - Home Town Association project. She has advocated for the strengthening of Serbia through the development of the SME sector, and organized the participation of Serbian SMEs at various fairs and  economic forums in the United States and Russia. She is the founder and was the long-time director of several diaspora organizations: Serbian Unity Congress, Serbian Unity Congress Serbia, Marko Jaric Fund, and Studenica Foundation. She was the leader of numerous projects of the Serbian diaspora, including: Awards and acknowledgements. In her several-decades-long engagement with the Serbian diaspora, Drašković received: