Hello! My name is Daniela, but everyone calls me Dani, including my students.

As the kindergarten teacher for RBA, I love getting to see my students learn and find so much joy in our language and culture. It’s an absolute joy to be able to watch my students grow from my class through graduation. I love being the first stop to getting the kids excited about our language, culture, and history. If you have any questions, you can reach out to me at ducka_83@yahoo.com

My name is Guldjan Hadjivelieva. I’m so excited and honored to be entrusted with your children at Richmond Bulgarian Academy, “Kliment Ohridski.”

I am from Borino, Bulgaria and moved to Richmond with my husband and two children in 1998.

I received my Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from Paisii Hilendarski University in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

I taught for over 20 years in Bulgaria and when the opportunity came up here to be able to work with school aged-children again, I was so excited to be able to share my love of the Bulgarian language, history, and culture with both the children and the families.

If you have any questions, please reach out to rbaacademy@yahoo.com.

My name is Lina Ivanova, and I’m delighted to join the teaching team at the Bulgarian School in Richmond starting in Fall 2025. This year I’ll be teaching Grade 3. I’m originally from Varna and enjoy spending free time with family and friends, swimming, watching soccer, and traveling.

When working with children learning Bulgarian as a second language, my goal is to develop practical, functional Bulgarian with an emphasis on conversational fluency, vocabulary building, and strong cultural connections.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at lina.ivanova.rba@gmail.com.

Hello! My name is Polina, but you can call me Poli. I have been teaching at RBA for 4 years now.

I’m from Pleven, Bulgaria and have been in Richmond since 2008. I graduated from the Language Arts School in Pleven and from the University of Economics in Varna, Bulgaria.

I never knew that teaching children about Bulgarian culture and the language could fill a person’s soul so much. I have two children who attend RBA and it gives me so much joy to have them be a part of this. I also teach the children folk dances at the school and have very much enjoyed seeing them learn so much about our traditions and keep the ties strong to Bulgaria.

Hello! My name is Gergana Ludlow and I have been teaching at the Bulgarian School in Richmond for 7 years.

I was born in Plovdiv, graduated from the Mathematics High School in Vidin and from the University of Economics in Sofia.

In my free time, I enjoy reading, cooking, taking walks with my husky Nora, and spending time with my family and friends.

My greatest inspiration comes from my children, Alyssa and Anthony, who make me a happy mother. And the children at the Bulgarian school make me a happy teacher, because together we share our love for the Bulgarian language, culture, traditions, and history, and we preserve our connection with Bulgaria.