Oksana deployed with the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), Israel as the Supply Platoon Officer from 1998 – 1999. Upon her return, she was posted to Area Support Unit (ASU) Calgary where she was the Deputy Commanding Officer. In 2000 she was promoted to the rank of Major and was posted to Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Studies (CFSAS) Winnipeg as a staff officer. Major Kuzyshyn transferred to the Reserve Force in January 2001 and worked as the G4 Operations Officer 41 Canadian Brigade Group in Calgary. In September 2003, Oksana moved to Toronto and held a number of positions at Land Force Central Area. She deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina in May 2004 and worked as the Logistics Plans Officer with the Stabilization Force (SFOR) headquarters in Sarajevo. In 2008, her husband’s career had the family moving back to Calgary, where Major Kuzyshyn returned to 41 CBG as the Community Affairs Officer. After the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti in 2010, she deployed to the military headquarters of United Nations Stabilization Mission (MINUSTAH) as the U4 Logistics Operations Officer. Oksana is a recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. Oksana has been working for the Federal Government as a contracts officer since her retirement from the Canadian Armed Forces in May 2014.

During his term as President of the Canada-Ukraine Foundation (2013-2020), he organized and financed seven medical missions from Canada to Ukraine staffed by volunteer Canadian medical professionals to treat wounded soldiers injured from the 2014 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Olesia is Board member and Executive Director with Canada Ukraine Foundation (CUF) and in-turn Olesia is an active with the CUF/UCC Humanitarian Relief Committee (UHRC) which is responsible for the distribution of the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal Fund (UHAF). Initially Olesia was one of four members of this committee when the was broke out until she stepped down from the Ukrainian Canadian Congress.  Since the war broke, Olesia together with the small team under the Chairmanship of Victor Hetmanczuk, have disbursed Humanitarian aid which includes assistance to Displaced Persons, medical care, emergency shelter, and food security.  The team has established partnerships to provide surgery for the wounded, medications, medical equipment from x-rays to wound vacs, first aid kits, Firefighting gear, Food boxes, meals, Buckwheat for harvest, shelter, transport, children camps in Europe and Canada, mental health supports, Ukrainian children’s books for Polish libraries, Hygiene kits, and provision of winter necessities such blankets, thermal clothing, heating supplies, generators, mobile shelters in Ukraine, etc.

As President / Vice-President / Past president Ukrainian Canadian Congress: Alberta Provincial Council, Olesia has bee actively involved as over the last 10 years in helping the Ukrainian cause here in Canada and Ukraine. Olesia led UCC APC as the war broke out in Crimea and the Donbas area 2014 which included media informatics, rallies & demonstrations, working with provincial government, etc. Under her leadership raised for humanitarian and medical needs in Ukraine within the first 2 months of the war breaking out in Donbas in 2014. Worked with Government of Alberta and visited Ukraine on official capacity to Ukraine’s Lvivska and IvanFrankivsks Oblast to renew the sister agreement with the province and the two Oblasts.  Campaigned tirelessly to have a Ukrainian Consulate here in Edmonton.  Opened the Consulate together with Federal, Provincial and Local Politicians in 2018. 

As a National Director of Ukrainian Canadian Women League, Olesia helped organize an Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Program for Ukraine’s Military Veteran Hospitals in the fall of 2021 for just under 300 Ukrainian Healthcare providers. This program was completed under the auspices of the leadership of the Guardian Angels Committee.  Locally, Olesia was one of three liaisons for Ukrainian Displaced persons in Edmonton and surrounding area, who’s responsibility was to link new displaced person with Mentors who would assist displaced individuals in the first few weeks of arrival during the first six months of the war breaking our in Ukraine.

As a Board Director of ACUA (Alberta Council of the Ukrainian Arts) Olesia has worked with Artists to establish an Art for Aid program in 2014 and once again in the spring of 2022, which currently continues. Over $20,000 has been raised for Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal Fund, this year alone, and over $25,000 in 2014-2015 for the front lines through the sale of Art in Edmonton alone. New Displaced Artists have found a home in Alberta and have recently had showings of their work, so they could continue to establish themselves as Artists in Canada as the war continues in Ukraine.

Olesia has Been recognized for her community work and been awarded:

·       Cross of Ivan Mazepa medal from the President of Ukraine (2017),

·       Sanctioned from Russia (2022),

·       Queen Elizabeth Platinum Award (2022), 

·       Local Hero Award by SHUMKA Dancers, and

·       HETMAN award by the UCC APC (2022)

A soil scientist by training, Gerald worked with provincial and federal departments of agriculture where he was responsible for pivotal studies on land degradation and soil conservation on the Canadian Prairies. Subsequently, he directed programs for promotion of sustainable agriculture and improved soil and water resource management across the Western Canadian Prairie Region.

He joined Earnscliffe following a long and accomplished career in the federal political arena. He co-manages Earnscliffe’s communications practice, and is also heavily involved in public policy development projects for a broad range of clients and sectors.

He has served as Executive Director of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) and UCC – Saskatchewan Provincial Council. Ostap is a founding member of the Canada-Ukraine Centre, Inc, the Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership, Secretary to the Saskatchewan Ukraine Relations Advisory Committee, a member of the Canada Ukraine Advisory Council. He was an assistant instructor in the University of Saskatchewan’s Ukraine MBA study program.

Bohdan remains active in a number of business ventures, and chairs the Boards and/or Audit Committees of both publicly listed and private companies involved in oil and gas exploration, high speed computing and biotechnology. He was appointed a part-time Commissioner of the Alberta Utilities Commission in October 2012 pursuant to an Order-in-Council of the Alberta government. Bohdan received his B.A. (Honours) in Economics from the University of Alberta, an M.A. and Ph.D. (a.b.d.) in Economics from Queen’s University and an LL.B. from the University of Toronto.

After working for 25 years as an educator, he now is active in a number of charities in Canada and Ukraine. He represents “Friends of Dzherelo” on the CUF Board.

Roman has worked in the Credit Union system for over 30 years with various credit unions and in many leadership roles. His experience includes finance, accounting, operations, sales, service, information technology, and project management.

In her capacity as a Board member and Head of the Medical Committee of the Fund, she participated in six medical missions to Ukraine where we oversaw numerous projects and programs in healthcare. Her team performed due diligence on behalf of the fund, ensuring that all donated medical equipment and supplies were used appropriately but also identified important gaps in medical education and training. The medical missions provided us with insight into the healthcare system in Ukraine and the challenges faced by Ukrainian health care professionals.

In Ukraine, Peter was a member of the Secretariate of the Council of Advisors to the Presidium of the Parliament of Ukraine and the International Centre for Policy Studies and advised the government on economic and financial services legislation. He also advised the State Export Import Bank on the negotiation of terms, conditions and documentation for loans and bank lines of credit obtained by Ukraine from foreign governments and supranational financial agencies. He advised and assisted the National Bank of Ukraine and commercial banks in the development, drafting and implementation of prudential regulatory reporting under International Accounting and Auditing Standards. He was also responsible for coordination of agricultural economic reform and advisory services for a USAID financed project where he advised the Ukrainian government and the private sector.

Prior to starting Projects at Work, Andrew worked in Insurance, Banking and Telecommunications industries in progressively more senior management positions.

The Canada-Ukraine Foundation (“CUF”) went through a changing of “the Diplomatic Guard” at its recent Board of Directors meeting on January 30th, 2021.

Canada’s former Ambassador to Ukraine Derek Fraser – one of CUF’s longest serving Board members – where he served for over 13 ½ years – retired from active service, and was replaced by Roman Waschuk, Canada’s most recent former Ambassador.

The Board of CUF heartily thanked Ambassador Fraser for his service to Canada and to CUF, and warmly welcomed Ambassador Waschuk to the Board.

Derek Fraser served as Canada’s Ambassador to Ukraine from 1998 to 2001, during the latter part of the Kuchma Presidency and Victor Yuschenko’s Prime Ministership. He also served as Canada’s Ambassador to Greece and Budapest during the years of the Fall of the Soviet Union, and had previously served in Saigon, Bonn, Moscow, and Brussels – all major postings during critical times. He returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after his Kyiv posting, and was considered as one of the Deans of the Diplomatic Corps. He retired from the service to move to Victoria, B.C., became Adjunct Professor at the Centre for Global Studies at the University of Victoria, and shortly thereafter in 2007 joined the CUF Board.

In thanking Derek for his years of service to CUF, the Chair of the Board, Bohdan Onyschuk, said: “The Ambassador gave us great advice for almost 14 years on civil society, politics, who was who in Ukraine, and what directions we should go. But Derek also went well beyond that expected of a Board member, when in 2012 he agreed to take on the role of Head of Mission and Chief Observer of the Long-Term Observer (LTO) Mission that CUF fielded for the 2012 Parliamentary Elections -the most critical Ukraine election during President Yanukovych’s term in office as President from 2010 to 2014. CUF fielded the first LTO to a Ukrainian election by any NGO (other than that of the OSCE) from July 5, 2012 to the October 28 elections. His reports on the gerrymandering of electoral boundaries, vote buying, pressure on journalists and attack on the TVI news channel and its owner, were all important findings that lead to only one conclusion on that election.”

Derek Fraser will continue to serve on the CUF/International Foundation Fundraising Committee for the new National Holodomor Museum being built in Kyiv, for which CUF is the North American and European fundraising partner of the International Foundation for the Museum in Kyiv.

The CUF Board then turned to welcoming former Ambassador Roman Waschuk to its Board.

Ambassador Waschuk is very well known for his achievements in diplomatic circles, particularly for his double tour of duty during trying times as Canada’s Ambassador to Ukraine from 2014 to 2019, and the Russian invasion of Crimea and the Donbass.

He previously served as Ambassador to Serbia, with concurrent accreditation to Macedonia and Montenegro in the Balkans. Before that he had served as second secretary for politics in Moscow, as minister-counsellor in Berlin, and senior advisor in Kyiv in counsellor positions going back to 1994-98. In Ottawa, between postings, he held positions of deputy director of the EU Division, deputy director of the Policy Planning Division, director of the Global Partnership for Biological and Chemical Weapons Non-proliferation, and director of the Stabilization and Reconstruction Program Division.

Derek Fraser commented on Roman Waschuk’s achievements, saying: “Roman was identified as one of the brightest people dealing with Eastern Europe after only one month of service as a very young man in the Canadian embassy in Moscow in the 1980’s.” As Director of Relations in Eastern Europe and in subsequent postings Derek followed Roman Waschuk’s career closely. He opined that he was “very confident Roman will be able to provide a lot of diplomatic background relating to CUF”.

Roman Waschuk will be a terrific replacement to Derek Fraser and will serve alongside CUF’s other Canadian Ambassador to Ukraine, Andrew Robinson, who served in Kyiv during the Orange Revolution. Ambassador Waschuk’s knowledge of the current situation on the ground in Ukraine, in economics, politics, civil society and rule of law will be invaluable to CUF in its strategic planning and delivery of projects in Ukraine for its development as a strong democratic post-Soviet nation. He will also join the CUF/International Foundation Fundraising Committee for the new National Holodomor Museum project in Kyiv.

The CEO of CUF, Orest Sklierenko, said: “Ambassador Fraser – we are truly grateful for your years of service to the people of Canada, the people of Ukraine and as a board member of the Canada-Ukraine Foundation. Your advice has helped CUF deliver on its mandate of providing assistance projects to Ukraine for over 13.5 years. Ambassador Waschuk, we are equally grateful to you for your service and we look forward to learning from your experiences, insights, and knowledge. Today’s transition between the former ambassadors on CUF’s Board of Directors demonstrates the importance of institutional memory and thoughtful succession planning. The continued commitment from both Ambassador Waschuk and Ambassador Robinson underlines the importance of the role CUF will continue to play in providing assistance to Ukraine in the areas of Healthcare, Education and Civil Society for many years to come.”

Roman holds a Phd. in Sociology of Race and Ethnic Relations from the University of Bristol, England and a Diploma in Social Sciences from the University of Birmingham, as well as a Masters and Bachelor degrees in Clinical psychology from Lakehead University. He has worked as a Research Associate in the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, University of Alberta, and with the Governments of Ontario (Citizenship Branch) and Alberta (Cultural Heritage) where he was engaged in multicultural programming. His research and publications focus on the integration of Ukrainian minorities in Britain and Canada. He edited Changing Realities: Social Trends Among Ukrainian Canadians and has contributed articles to journals and several published compilations.

She obtained her medical degree from McMaster University. She completed her General Surgery Residency at the University of Toronto and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 2003. She completed an advanced Minimally Invasive Colorectal Fellowship at Lankenau Hospital, Pennsylvania in 2004. She has been a full staff member of Centenary Hospital since 2005. She participated in the CUF Medical Missions to Ukraine in 2014-2015.

Since 1993 Andrew has provided political analyses, planned and developed strategic communication campaigns, opinion audits, and orientation seminars for clients in Ukraine, where he maintains an office. He appeared as a guest lecturer on “Effective Government Communications” at the Institute of Public Administration and Local Government in Kyiv and other universities throughout Ukraine. Prior to his involvement with Romyr, Andrew was a Member of Canada’s Parliament and a Commissioner with the Canadian Immigration Refugee Board. He has a keen interest in choral music and has produced several CDs of the leading choirs of Ukraine.

He also deployed and assisted with the delivery of humanitarian aid to Internally Displaced People and trained Ukrainian Medical Personnel in the rapid deployment of field medical facilities and triage. In addition, Bohdan Cherniawski deployed as part of the medical team with the Fall 2014 and Spring 2015 Canadian Surgical missions of the Canada Ukraine Foundation at the Kyiv Military Hospital.

She holds over 35 years of teaching, administrative and leadership experience in both Catholic and public-school districts in Western Canada and has led Canada’s only Bachelor of Education program designed to prepare teachers for Catholic as well as Non-Catholic schools.

Throughout his career at the AUC, Olexandr has worked in several roles and has acquired a well-rounded knowledge of all aspects of utility rate regulation focusing on performance-based (incentive) regulation, cost of capital, evaluation of capital expenditures, emerging technologies and how they affect electric and natural gas systems.

Ihor attended the universities of Durham and Nottingham as well as completing university courses in Germany and the Soviet Union. After teaching French and Russian in England, he moved to Canada. Graduate studies and a Teaching Assistantship in Slavic Linguistics at the University of Alberta were followed by a teaching career in the County of Two Hills and then the County of Minburn. In addition to teaching languages, Ihor taught Law 20, and believes that he is the only Kruk legally to teach law in Alberta.

He was the Publisher and Editor of Edmonton-based Ukrainian News which he merged with New Pathway in 2017. He has served on the Boards and Executives of numerous Ukrainian community organizations and committees and is the recipient of the Ukrainian Presidential Cross of Ivan Mazepa, the Shevchenko Medal, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress – Alberta Provincial Council’s Hetman Award, the Ukrainian Professional and Business Association of Calgary’s Lifetime Achievement Awards and the Ukrainian Catholic Brotherhood of Canada’s Certificate of Honour. He is married to Lesia (nee Kolomijchuk) and they have a daughter Christine, who has blessed them with two granddaughters, Cailyn and Kyla Kope.

With a strong network in the North American Ukrainian community, she was raised into lifelong community activism, including human rights advocacy, musical traditions and Plast Ukrainian scouting.

Nedashkivska with a Ph.D. in Slavic Linguistics from the University of Pittsburgh has taught a wide range of courses in Ukrainian language and linguistics at the universities of Pittsburgh, Toronto and Alberta.

Tamara is committed to various social justice initiatives including the promotion of child rights and the engagement of youth in civic action. She has worked for HUH in Ukraine, where she was responsible for assisting with the delivery of humanitarian aid, writing grant proposals and planning camps. In Kazakhstan, she created a partnership between her students and those at a boarding school for children with cerebral palsy. To support free and fair elections, Tamara has worked as an international long-term election observer and volunteered as a short-term election observer.

She currently leads the St. John’s NL, Orthodox Christian Mission to bring the Ukrainian Orthodox Services to New Canadians in Eastern Canada.

She is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto, an Associate Scientist at the Lunenfeld Tanenbaum Research Institute, and an Associate Scientist at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute.

Priorities have included capacity building fundraising to support establishing and expanding CUF’s office staff, growing the CUF brand and relationships in both Canada and Ukraine, as well as establishing long term objectives in each of the major programming areas of healthcare, education, and civil society.