Stanislav Daniel, MBA, born in 1980 in Skalica, Slovakia, is a Roma rights advocate and education leader. Growing up as a Romani child who once received an opportunity, he has since dedicated his career to making sure that access to education and opportunity is no longer a matter of chance but of systemic change.
He first studied social work with a focus on Roma communities at the University of Constantine the Philosopher in Nitra, Slovakia, and after going through many years and variety of nonformal education opportunities, he eventually earned an Executive MBA at the Central European University in Vienna. This blend of social insight, human rights and executive training has shaped his approach: always attentive to the lived realities of marginalized families, yet equally focused on the systems, structures, and incentives that can drive long-term transformation.
Daniel’s professional path has taken him from intergovernmental institutions and major foundations to grassroots networks and community initiatives. He worked with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the Open Society Foundation in Bratislava, the International Step by Step Association in the Netherlands, where he coordinated the Romani Early Years Network, and the Vienna office of Porticus, a global philanthropic company. In each role, he has sought to connect policy and practice, ensuring that Roma voices influence both.
Beyond his executive role, Daniel is active in governance and cultural institutions. He served on the Board of Trnava University in Slovakia and was also co-chair of the European Roma Grassroots Organisations Network in Brussels. Before taking the executive role, he was also a member of the board of REF. He currently advises Ara Art in the Czech Republic, contributes to the programmatic committee of the Roma media group Tuke TV (also in the Czech Republic), and represents the Roma minority on the board of Slovakia’s Fund for Minority Cultures.
Since 2024, he has been the Director of the Roma Education Fund in Slovakia along with internationally leading community-based models such as Complementary Education Centers.
As an author and commentator, Daniel has written extensively on Roma inclusion, discrimination, and civic participation. His public voice is heard in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and across Europe, where he speaks about the barriers Roma communities face. In his texts, he also highlights the possibilities of leadership, education, and resilience. He brings to these debates not only experience but a way of thinking that borrows from the language of economics: seeing value in human potential, anticipating risks, and understanding that small shifts in incentives can ripple into profound social change.