Management | Co-Founders

Gina Csanyi-Robah
Executive Director

Gina Csanyi-Robah, Hons. B.A., B.Ed, is a Canadian Hungarian Romani, educator born in Toronto and currently residing in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her family arrived in Canada in 1956 as Geneva Convention refugees escaping the Hungarian Revolution. Gina began her work as a Romani rights activist in 2004 at the European Roma Rights Centre. She has been at the forefront of the Roma civil rights movement, since she joined the Roma Community Centre (RCC) in 2007. 

In 2012, as the Executive Director of the RCC, Gina addressed both a Canadian Parliamentary Committee and the Canadian Senate about the prejudicial reforms to national immigration policy that directly impacted Roma refugees from Europe.  Her dedicated work on behalf of her community earned her the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 , as well as the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers  2012 Advocacy Award. In 2013, Gina was invited to join the Canadian delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance to serve on the Committee of the Roma Genocide. She is no longer a Canadian delegate but is thrilled that In August 2019, after many years of advocacy and public education by the Canadian Romani community and organizations such as Romanipe, the Canadian Government officially recognized the Romani Genocide during WWII.

After serving as the Executive Director of the RCC, Gina co- founded the Canadian Romani Alliance in 2014, a not-for-profit organization focused on public education, community capacity building, advocacy, and promoting human rights and social justice. Active allyship and working in solidarity with other marginalized communities in important part of Roma Rights work for Gina.

One of Gina’s highlights was when she was invited by the Office of the UN Human Rights Commissioner to speak at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland on April 8, 2014 in honour of the UN’s first International Roma Day commemoration.

In addition to her work for the Canadian Romani Alliance, Gina has continued on in her profession as an educator.  Gina worked for the Mosaic Institute as the Program Manager of the Canadian Race Relations Award winning “Next Generation Program" from 2010 – 2018. The program provided an opportunity for teenagers in public schools throughout the Greater Toronto Area and the Greater Vancouver Area to discuss discrimination and racism, and to learn about how to create social change for a more just society. Gina is currently teaching full-time in the Vancouver School Board, and facilitates social justice and anti-racism workshops for the British Columbia Teacher’s Federation.

LACHE CERCEL

Lache Cercel was born in Bucharest, Romania and studied at Romania’s prestigious Academy of Arts.

Before leaving his homeland, Lache Cercel was one of Romania’s leading musicians and a recognized prodigy and virtuoso. In 1986 he was awarded the “Artist of the People ” citation from the Romanian government.

Cercel’s music is firmly rooted in Roma (Gypsy) tradition, combined with Doina Klezmer, Middle Eastern, and European sounds held together with jazz improvisation. He calls his fusion “Roma Swing”. In the tradition of Django Reinhardt and Stephen Grappelli, Cercel lays down classical and improvisational jazz alongside traditional Roma melodies.

Since settling in Canada, he has collaborated with musicians from diverse backgrounds such as renowned Egyptian percussionist Adel Awad, Latin Music virtuoso Sal Ferreras, Canadian Jazz guitarist Don Ogilvie, bassist Sam Shoichet, vocalist Rebecca Shoichet, and various world musicians.

Cercel spent his early years in Canada performing solo concerts and teaching Romanian style violin. He has taught annually at Buffalo Gap International Music Camp, in Washington, D.C. and Mendocino Balkan Camp in Mendocino, California. He has performed at many World and Jazz Festivals throughout Canada, the United States, and Europe.

In 2003, Cercel’s piece “A Cry For Roma” from Suspino earned him a Hugo Gold Plaque at the 39th Chicago International Television Awards in the category of “Special Achievement: Music Score”. Cercel also composed music for the National Film Board (Canada) documentary “Opre Roma” and for the internationally screened independent film “Naroc”.