Anđelija Tanasijević was born on August 24th, 1978 in Akron, Ohio/USA. She was active within the Serbian community from a young age, proudly as a Romani counterpart of the menagerie. She taught dance and singing and did choreography for the Morava Folklore Group in Cleveland, Ohio, from the age of 15 until she left the USA in 2010. From a young age, she advocated minority and civil rights within many projects and organizations within and after her schooling and was known as “Gypsy Andji” at The Urban League of Greater Cleveland and among “American” friends.

She graduated with a BA in Social Sciences from Cleveland State University, an AAS in Health Information Management and an AAS in Business Management at Cuyahoga Community College, and finally Management in Cosmetology at the Brown Aveda Institute.

In 2010, she made the jump from one continent to another by moving to Serbia to “be the change that needs to be seen in the world” and continued her human rights advocacy through her establishments and partnerships.

Businesswise, she is most active in vocational instruction and occupational and life rehabilitation and advocating entrepreneurship within marginalized groups. She feeds her heart and soul through creative projects and engagements, currently being assistant to curator Dragan Ristić of the Theater section of RomArchive, organizing gaming tournaments at primary schools using the first and second Serbian board games of Battle of the Drina and Breakthrough of the Salonica Front, created and produced by her team, to teach school-aged children history in an innovative way, financial administrating for the Roma Cultural Centre for its Festival of Roma Culture and Activism, and being (single) mom to three children at home and the source of reason, hope, and love for many of us world-wide.