I’m a communications strategist and multilingual writer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. I help organizations communicate clearly across languages, cultures, and audiences through strategic storytelling, donor communications, content development, and localization.
My work spans nonprofit communications, journalism, marketing, and entrepreneurship. I currently support communications for a Bay Area environmental nonprofit, where I write fundraising campaigns, donor emails, newsletters, website content, and educational materials that make complex environmental topics accessible and engaging. Working closely with leadership has given me experience developing messaging that supports fundraising, community engagement, and organizational growth.
Before moving into nonprofit communications, I worked as a journalist writing about culture, psychology, health, and community issues for international and local publications. As a correspondent for Bulgarian National Television, I interviewed community members and reported on stories for a nationally broadcast audience of more than 250,000 viewers.
Alongside my communications work, I co-founded and grew K&M PetCare (https://www.kplusmpetcare.com/) into a business serving more than 180 clients throughout the Bay Area. Building the company taught me how trust, consistency, and thoughtful communication shape lasting relationships, lessons I now bring to every communications project.
I’m currently completing a master’s degree in Business and Behavioral Psychology, where I study decision making, communication, and human behavior. That perspective shapes my approach to messaging. Whether I’m writing a grant proposal, donor appeal, newsletter, website copy, or localized content, I focus on understanding what motivates people and communicating in ways that feel authentic, culturally relevant, and easy to understand.
Fluent in English, German, Italian, and Bulgarian, I enjoy helping organizations connect with diverse communities through thoughtful, accessible communication.
Grant writing support and development communications
Donor stewardship campaigns and fundraising messaging
Nonprofit communications and mission driven storytelling
Website content, newsletters, email campaigns, and marketing copy
Content strategy and localization across English, German, Italian, and Bulgarian
Community engagement and cross cultural communication
Editorial writing and interviewing
Translating research and complex topics into accessible content
My graduate research focuses on behavioral psychology, decision making, and communication. I’m particularly interested in how people build trust, why messages resonate across different audiences, and how thoughtful storytelling can strengthen nonprofit organizations and communities.
https://cliospsyche.org/authors/kristina-vassileva
A peer - reviewed self reflections and analysis on the modern self' relationship with food and its roots in culture and tradition.
Marin Independent Journal
Food cultures, dietary choices very different around the world
A cross-cultural reflection on how food, health, and labels are perceived in different parts of the world, drawing from my experience living in Bulgaria, Italy, Austria, and the U.S.
Rigidity of labels is divisive in U.S. culture
An essay that explores how the need to define ourselves with labels can create division, especially when compared to more fluid social norms in Europe.
The ManifestStation
A psychology-grounded personal essay examining how chronic stress, medical mislabeling, and symptom-focused care can disrupt menstrual health and erode body trust. Drawing on lived experience, the piece reframes cycle recovery as a process of regulation, nourishment, and restoring psychological and physiological self-attunement rather than “fixing” a defective body.
Alata Magazine (English & Italian)
Healthy, But Where Is the Joy?
A reflective essay examining how contemporary wellness culture prioritizes optimization and control at the expense of cultural meaning and tradition. Drawing on psychology, food philosophy, and lived experience across Europe and the U.S., the piece argues that nourishment is emotional and cultural as much as it is biological.
Fluent in English, Bulgarian, German and Italian
Email: kristina.e.vassileva@gmail.com
Substack: kristinavassileva.substack.com