Welcome,
Romanians of Austin

View Initiatives

ABOUT ROMANIANS OF AUSTIN

Romanians of Austin is a project founded by a few Romanians from the Austin, Texas area, with the purpose of staying connected with our roots and keeping our valuable cultural heritage alive. Our mission is to reunite and strengthen the Romanian community by organizing events to celebrate secular Romanian holidays, encouraging the use of the Romanian language and promoting Romanian traditions. We also aim at promoting members of the community, as well as helping those in need.

All Romanians, as well as their friends of other nationalities are welcome to attend our events!

Meet The Team

Ina Georgescu

Ina Monica Georgescu is originally from Galati, Romania, and arrived in the US in 2009. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Master Degree in Economics and she is now working as a Business Analyst. She lives in Austin with her husband and 3 naughty cats. She enjoys getting involved in various volunteering activities, travelling, walking or mountain biking in nature, and playing piano. She is a founding member of the Romanians of Austin group because of her wish to consolidate the Romanian community in this area, and also to create a friendly environment for preserving the Romanian language, culture and traditions.

Nelly Turdean

Nelly Turdean is an up and coming Quality Assurance Engineer, originally from Baia Mare, Romania. She comes from the land of Maramures, where Romanian traditions and popular culture are still kept alive. She would love to live in a world where Christmas lasts at least 6 months, where snow is warm and all deserts are dark chocolate and healthy. She also loves to travel and experience local cuisine, her passion for the culinary arts driving her to start her own cooking blog. Visit Nelly's Recipes to get your cooking inspiration.


Anca Oancea

Anca lives in Austin, Tx with her husband and their daughter. She is originally from a small place in Buzau, Romania, where old traditions blend beautifully with mountain landscapes. Her love and commitment to preserve Romanian traditions, language and values determined her to become a founder of Romanians of Austin. Anca holds a B.S in Finance and works as an Investment Manager. She is a member of CFA Austin Society and of the Education Committee for Texas Wall Street Women. She enjoys Austin and is often nostalgic about the Bucharest’s summer scent of linden trees, old friends and a cup of coffee in her old neighborhood café.

Elena Bendea

She was born and raised in Tismana, Gorj, came to study in Cluj-Napoca, and, slowly, without realizing, Cluj became "home". In 2015 she came to Austin, ending a two decade career in judicial field. She is married and is the mother of a 16 year old son. She loves the hot weather in Texas, and thinks that maintaining equilibrium is the hardest thing. She is a founding member of ROA because she is convinced that in a world that is constantly changing, in a multicultural society, we have the right to stay together, know and recognize our values, and, at the same time, promote them.

Sonia Marginean

Sonia Marginean started her USA journey in 2011, coming from Cluj-Napoca, a city in the heart of Transylvania. She currently works as a Software Engineer for Bazaarvoice in the Austin hip tech scene. Sonia is a Longhorn at heart, recently graduating from the University of Texas at Austin with a Master's Degree in Software Engineering. She enjoys reading, experiencing different cultures and geeking out on small tech projects. Her favorite activity is traveling and planning getaways with her husband, with which she has traveled in over 20 countries on 5 continents in the past four years.

Cristian Crisan

Cristian Crisan is part of the tech scene of Austin, TX since 2011. Born in Harghita, growing up in Mures, and living most of his adult life in Cluj, he is representative of true Romanian culture and values from Transylvania. He is a proud Longhorn, graduating from UT Austin's McCombs School of Business with a Master’s Degree in Technology Commercialization. He is passionate about creating innovative products and entrepreneurship, helping several start-ups in the Austin area as an advisor and business partner. He enjoys reading, traveling and helping people achieve their dreams. He has been to over 20 countries on 5 continents and counting.

Current Events

Here is a preview of our current initiatives and upcoming events.

Past Events

Here you can take a peek at our most recent past initiatives and events.

STAY IN TOUCH WITH ROA!