The Committee
Emma Gabor
President and Founder
Emma is a recent graduate from University College London with a BA in Art History, specializing in European Early Modern Visual Culture. Originally from Budapest, Emma grew up in Vienna, Austria, where she attended the Lycée Français de Vienne. She is a passionate polyglot, currently studying her fifth language. As a member of the Hungarian Student community studying abroad, she was the President of the Hungarian Society at UCL and is an alumni of the Milestone Institute in Budapest. During the last three years, Emma was an avid Summer Student at the ‘Sapienza Universitá di Roma’ and the Central European University, where she read History, Archaeology and the Arts. In her free time, Emma loves to jog, paint and write. The Salon de la Sagesse is her latest and biggest endeavor, whereby she hopes to unite the most brilliant youth of her generation.
Oskar Ernst
Vice President
Oskar is currently going into his fourth year of aerospace engineering studies at the University of Sheffield. He has a strong interest in the aerospace and airline sector as well as smart technology in manufacturing. He is half-Austrian, half-American. Growing up in Vienna and attending the Lycée Français de Vienne, Oskar is especially enjoying being part of a diverse yet like-minded group discussing some of the world’s most important issues. As the Head of External Relations, he works closely with Emma on the Salon’s most important projects. Oskar is the father of our Mentor Program and is responsible for our Honorary Members and Speaker Series. In his free time, Oskar likes to play baseball, football and tennis, in addition to his love for aviation and the beach.
Lili Kátai
Executive Assistant
Lili is currently pursuing a degree in PPE at the Central European University in Vienna, with a specialization in Philosophy and Politics, and has a special interest in Philosophy of Art. Lili is originally from Hungary, Budapest but she has lived in the United Kingdom, in Austria and she is going to do an exchange semester in the United States, at the University of Chicago. Therefore, she is very keen on immersing herself in different cultures, meeting interesting and open-minded people from all around the world and such experiences enrich her perspective of the world. Ever since she was little, she engaged with arts in innumerable ways. Playing the piano from the age of 6, attending several art competitions, being part of numerous theatre clubs, and working at one of the most prominent theatres of Budapest, at Katona József Színház, her life revolves around art.
Dorottya Ágoston
General Secretary
Originally from Budapest, I have spent the last four years in the buzzing international hubs that are London and Barcelona. Studying, first, History at University College London, and later, completing my postgraduate degree at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in International Communications.
Community building and advocacy are at the centre of my life, as a natural team-player with a deep care for her community, leading and getting involved in various community-oriented projects throughout my university years (and beyond). As an expression of my passion for writing and the power of words, I have worked for a plethora of magazines and publishing organisations, and in 2021, I co-founded the Journal d’Ambroisie and joined its editorial team as Editor-in-Chief. In my free time, I am an avid museumgoer and reader of historical fiction, and I love living out my competitiveness in the form of board games.
Vera Riesz
Head of Community
Vera is in her third year at the Central European University in Vienna, studying Culture Politics, and Society. Her majors are Visual Theory and Practice combined with Sociology and Social Anthropology. She has always been invested in the communities she was involved in. Throughout her high school years spent in Budapest, Vera organized multiple theater visits for students including her class. She was also part of a drama group in one of Budapest’s prestigious theaters, Radnóti Theater. Moreover, she was a volunteer at MU Theater, a prevalent independent playing space. Throughout her studies, she enjoys experimenting with different means of expression that involve photo projects, short films, or podcast episodes. Vera strongly believes in the power of art and culture and its ability to initiate discourse about social issues.
Jacqueline Gearhart
Head of Marketing
Jacqueline recently finished her Masters degree in International Communication Management at The Hague University of Applied Sciences. Prior to receiving her Masters degree, she studied Political Science at the College of Charleston in South Carolina of the United States. Originally from the states, Jacqueline moved to the Netherlands to experience a change in lifestyle and culture. Jacqueline’s passions revolve around storytelling and marketing for brands that share her values and ethos of human expression, sustainability, the humanities, as well as societal and animal welfare. Aside from that, she finds joy in painting, yoga, writing, nature, and exploration of and immersion in different countries and cultures. She hopes to one day open her own animal sanctuary on a farm where she can feel and marvel in the change of all four seasons and simplicity of life.