CANADA-UKRAINE FOUNDATIONCANADA-UKRAINE FOUNDATIONEstablished at the 18th Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC), The Canada-Ukraine Foundation was formed in order to coordinate, develop, organize and deliver assistance projects generated by Canadians and directed to Ukraine.
There will always be a need for an institution to monitor, provide & promote commercial, technical and humanitarian aid; to assess and evaluate projects; to foster cooperation and communication among aid providers; to assist in establishing priorities and developing projects that will maximize impact and cost effectiveness; and to act as a forum that brings together individuals and organizations from the community, private and public sectors, which are interested in providing assistance to Ukraine.
CUF therefore was established as a national charitable foundation that would coordinate with Canadian organizations that have projects in Ukraine, as well as other projects in Canada.
Vision Statement
Mission Statement
Relief of poverty
Advancement of Education
Advancement of Religion
Other Purposes beneficial to the Community
To uphold the law by providing observers to assist in carrying out elections in a lawful manner
To do all things that are ancillary and incidental to the achievement of the above charitable objects
Donations from the public and private individuals
Membership recruitment
Wills and estates
Government of Canada projects
Projects of Provincial governments
Government of Ukraine — In Kind Assistance
Corporate sponsorship
CUF additionally has a charitable number to issue tax receipts for contributions to projects in Ukraine.
President and CEO
A successful and experienced sales and marketing professional who has worked at global leaders in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, Orest is well respected for his leadership capability, strategic planning expertise and passion for delivering results. Orest’s successes in industry include leading the launches of a novel, highly specialized therapy for an ultra-orphan blood disorder, and a blockbuster drug for advanced cancer patients. Orest co-founded and launched Men’s Health Solutions, a company focused on the optimization of patient outcomes in male-specific diseases, which evolved to become Canada’s largest network of male health clinics.
Orest has also worked as a healthcare consultant, helping clients evaluate and re-focus their strategic plans and programs. His past clients include: multi-national pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, professional associations, healthcare start-ups, specialty and community pharmacies. He is currently a member of the Oncology team at Sanofi Genzyme Canada, helping bring new cancer therapies to Canadian patients.
Orest has dedicated a significant amount of his time volunteering for ethnic arts & culture organizations, and grassroots community organizations. Orest is a member of the Board of Directors at the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko (2016-present) and was appointed UCC’s National Advocacy chair in 2019, after leading the Education Committee at UCC Toronto (2014-2018). At the Shevchenko Foundation, Orest has played central roles on the governance and communications committees, as well as the launch of several novel initiatives including the MITACS and REACH programs, and the inaugural TRYZUB Awards Gala.
Orest’s ability to align a diverse set of stakeholders around a common cause and come to a mutually agreeable solution has been demonstrated on several education and arts-related issues over the past decade.
Chief Operating Officer (COO), Chair of Civil Society Committee
Major Oksana Kuzyshyn graduated from McGill University in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts (Economics). She joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1985 and completed her training as a Logistics Supply Officer.
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.
Oksana and her husband John moved to Montreal in 2017, where they plan to retire. Oksana is a member of the Ukrainian Youth Association CYM, a board member of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, an active member of the Ukrainian community in Montreal, and currently is the President of the League of Ukrainian Canadian Women.
CFO and Treasurer
Chief Financial Officer, Ukrainian Credit Union Limited
Corporate Secretary
Peter Sochan has an M.B.A. and B.A. from the University of Western Ontario. He has been the Chief Executive Officer of several corporations and a Member of several Corporate Boards
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.
Peter developed and taught MBA banking and finance courses at International Management Institute (IMI) in Kyiv, developed training courses, and lectured on economics, finance and banking for the World Bank, the European Union-TACIS Center for Privatization, the Institute for Public Management and Government and KPMG Barents.
Peter has been involved as a Long Term Observer for the CUF Election Observer Mission in Ukraine in 2012 and as Chief Observer for the Ukrainian World Congress for reruns of parliamentary elections in 2013.
Peter has been involved in Ukrainian Canadian community organizations including parish councils, as an executive member of local Ukrainian Canadian Professional and Business Clubs, and social services and a senior citizen’s home and community care centre.
Chairman, Chair of Investment and Fund Raising Committee
Bohdan Onyschuk is the immediate Past Chair and CEO of the Canada Ukraine Foundation, and a member of the National Board of Directors of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. He is a retired senior partner of Gowling Lafleur Henderson, Canada’s largest national law firm, and is recognized by the Best Lawyers in Canada and the Expert Guide to the World’s Leading Real Estate Lawyers as one of the leading real estate and urban development lawyers in Canada.
Mr. Onyschuk has been actively involved in the community through a number of leadership roles, including as Chairman of the Canadian Urban Institute, founding Chairman and current Vice President of the Canada Ukraine Chamber of Commerce, a Canadian organization whose membership includes most of the major Canadian companies doing business in Ukraine, founding Director of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, and Past Director of the Canadian Division of the International Council of Shopping Centres. Mr. Onyschuk represented the Government of Ukraine in Canada on a number of trade and government matters, including acting as counsel to the National Bank of Ukraine in negotiating the printing of Ukraine’s currency in Canada by the Canadian Bank Note Company. He also served on the Chamber of Independent Experts on Foreign Investment in Ukraine, a body established to advise the President of Ukraine on foreign investment matters.
He is a graduate of the University of Toronto with an Honours Degree in Political Science and Economics, and a Juris Doctor Degree in law. He is the recipient of a number of distinguished awards, including the Order of Merit of Ukraine (presented by President Yushchenko in May 2008), the Shevchenko medal, and the International Council of Shopping Centres Trustees Distinguished Service Award.
Vice-Chairman, Chair of Medical Liaison Committee
Victor Hetmanczuk is the President and CEO of the Canada-Ukraine Foundation and a member of the National Board of Directors of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. After spending 30 years in the oil sector working as a Chemical Engineer and Logistician, he filled Executive Positions in the Canadian Charity sector for 13 years. He is currently consulting with a start-up Lubricants Blending Company.
Mr. Hetmanczuk is actively involved with the Ukrainian Canadian community through a number of leadership roles, including as Treasurer of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada, and Treasurer of the Ukrainian World Foundation. He served seven years as the founding President of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada Foundation and is a past President of the St.Volodymyr Cultural Centre in Oakville. He served a three year term as a Director of the Ukrainian Care Centre in Toronto. Mr. Hetmanczuk recently visited His All Holiness Bartholomew 1, Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch in Istanbul to review the status of Orthodoxy in Ukraine. He has visited Ukraine on a number of occasions seeking business ventures in the oil sector.
Mr. Hetmanczuk is a Graduate of the University of Toronto with two degrees: a Bachelor of Applied Science and a Bachelor of Arts. He was a member of the Logistics Institute. In his spare time, he collects Philatelic material from Western Ukraine during the period 1750 to 1945.
Bohdan Romaniuk
Vice-President, Alberta
Bohdan Romaniuk is a lawyer, economist and an experienced business executive having held a number of senior executive positions in both very large and smaller enterprises over a business career spanning 30 years. 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.
Between 2001 and 2012, Bohdan served on the Investment Committee of the Shevchenko Foundation. He has also served on the Executive Committee of the Calgary Ukrainian Canadian Professional and Business Association since 2007 and has been President since 2011. Bohdan was an active member of SUSK in the mid-1970s and has been involved in the Ukrainian Youth Association of Canada in various capacities since 1962.
Bohdan is a member of the International Telecommunications Society, where he has held the position of Secretariat since 2005, after serving 10 years on the Board of Directors. He also served for several years on the Board of the Calgary Opera Association. He has been a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada (Ontario) since 1988. Bohdan is also an avid fly fisherman and maintains a lifelong interest in amateur astronomy.
Gerald Luciuk
Vice President, Saskatchewan
Vice President, Ontario
Yaroslav Baran is a partner with the Earnscliffe Strategy Group, Ottawa’s oldest public affairs consultancy. 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.
The Hamilton, Ontario, native has lived in Ottawa since 1997. He worked for several years as a House of Commons proceduralist in the Office of the Chief Opposition Whip before embarking on a career in political communications. He managed the press office of the Office of the Leader of the Opposition for numerous years, served as Director of Communications in former prime minister Stephen Harper’s leadership campaign, and ran “war room” communications for the conservative Party through three successive election campaigns – in 2004, 2006 and 2008.
Mr. Baran currently serves as President of the Ottawa chapter of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. He has a lifetime of involvement in the Ukrainian Youth Association, is also active with the League of Ukrainian Canadians in Ottawa, Euromaidan Ottawa, and is on the advisory committee for Buduchnist Credit Union in Ottawa.
He is also on the board of directors of the Parliamentary Centre, an Ottawa-based NGO focused on capacity-building and democratic development internationally. Mr. Baran has organized, managed and run democracy promotion projects on four continents, including a leadership role in four Canadian election observation missions to Ukraine.
Vice President, Manitoba
Ostap Skrypnyk is a consultant and researcher working in the not-for-profit sector, government relations and community development. Past clients have included Canadian post-secondary institutions, community organisations, foundations, and religious associations.
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.
Ostap has been active in facilitating economic relations between Canada and Ukraine and civil society development in Ukraine as well as humanitarian assistance. Since 2004, he has participated in numerous international election monitoring missions to Ukraine.
Chair, Finance and Audit Committee
Roman Litwinchuk, CPA, ACUIC is the Chief Operating Officer of Ukrainian Credit Union Limited. 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.
Roman studied engineering at the University of Toronto before embarking on his financial career. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant and an Associate of the Credit Union Institute of Canada.
He is the President of the Board of Compass Charitable Foundation (non-profit housing foundation), and past Treasurer of the Ukrainian National Federation, a member of the Credit Union Manager’s Association and a member of St. Elias Ukrainian Catholic Church in Brampton.
Chair, Governance Committee
Andrew Tarapacky is principal of Projects at Work Inc. providing project and program management consulting services for the development and delivery of new products and services, technologies and processes. His clients include Sprint, TELUS Communications, Rogers Communications, Loblaw and Blackberry (previously known as Research in Motion).
Prior to starting Projects at Work, Andrew worked in Insurance, Banking and Telecommunications industries in progressively more senior management positions.
Andrew is a graduate of University of Toronto where he majored in Economics. He holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) and ITIL designation and is a member of the Project Management Institute.
In addition to the Board appointment at CUF, Andrew is on the Board of multiple organizations. These include as follows: 1) Secretary of the Board at BCU Financial (Buduchnist Credit Union) where he also chairs the Audit and Technology Committees, 2) Executive and treasurer of Plast Canada, 3) Executive and treasurer of the Council of Ukrainian Credit Unions (CUCUC), 4) Executive and treasurer of the League of Ukrainian Canadians (LUC National). In addition to these roles, Andrew chairs the Audit Committee at Ukrainian Canadian Congress (Toronto Branch) and is Audit committee member for Homin Ukrainy (Ukrainian Echo) Newspaper.
Chair of Education Committee
Bohdan Kolos is President of Plast, Ukrainian Youth Association of Canada (Ukrainian Scouting). Bohdan graduated from Western University, earned a Masters of Education degree from the University of Toronto, and became a Certified Health Executive and Certified Management Accountant. 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.
Bohdan has filled many leadership roles with Plast. Locally, nationally and internationally he contributes to Plast programing and governance. Bohdan has been actively involved on the Boards of a number of charities: Canadian Ukrainian Art Foundation, Shevchenko Scientific Society of Canada, Children of Chornobyl Canadian Fund, Dzherelo Children’s Rehabilitation Centre (Lviv), and St. Nicholas church parish council.
In Ukraine, Bohdan developed and regularly teaches courses for secondary school administrators, and coordinates a students’ stipend fund in seven universities and schools in Western Ukraine. On four occasions Bohdan worked as an observer and team leader in short term election monitoring in Ukraine for the Canadian government, and once, in Moldova for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Bohdan considers himself a seasoned traveler, an adventure hiker-camper, and an arts and culture admirer.
Bohdan Onyschuk
Chairman, Chair of Investment and Fund Raising Committee
Bob Onyschuk is the President and CEO of Onyschuk Strategic Advisors and Quadrant Developments Ltd. He is a retired senior partner at Gowlings WLG, and recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada as one of the leading real estate lawyers in Canada. Founding member and first President of the Canada Ukraine Chamber of Commerce, and former advisor to three Presidents of Ukraine. Current CEO of the Australia-Canada Economic Leadership Forum, and Past Chair of the Canadian Urban Institute.
Mr. Onyschuk represented the Government of Ukraine in Canada on a number of trade and government matters, including acting as counsel to the National Bank of Ukraine in negotiating the printing of Ukraine’s currency in Canada by the Canadian Bank Note Company. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto with an Honours Degree in Political Science and Economics, and a Juris Doctor Degree in law.
Victor Hetmanczuk
Vice-Chairman, Chair of Medical Liaison Committe
Victor Hetmanczuk is the President and CEO of the Canada-Ukraine Foundation and a member of the National Board of Directors of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. After spending 30 years in the oil sector working as a Chemical Engineer and Logistician, he filled Executive Positions in the Canadian Charity sector for 13 years. He is currently consulting with a start-up Lubricants Blending Company.
Mr. Hetmanczuk is actively involved with the Ukrainian Canadian community through a number of leadership roles, including as Treasurer of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada, and Treasurer of the Ukrainian World Foundation. He served seven years as the founding President of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada Foundation and is a past President of the St.Volodymyr Cultural Centre in Oakville. He served a three-year term as a Director of the Ukrainian Care Centre in Toronto. Mr. Hetmanczuk recently visited His All Holiness Bartholomew 1, Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch in Istanbul to review the status of Orthodoxy in Ukraine. He has visited Ukraine on several occasions seeking business ventures in the oil sector.
Mr. Hetmanczuk is a Graduate of the University of Toronto with two degrees: a Bachelor of Applied Science and a Bachelor of Arts. He was a member of the Logistics Institute. In his spare time, he collects Philatelic material from Western Ukraine during the period 1750 to 1945.
Orest Sklierenko
President and CEO
A successful and experienced sales and marketing professional who has worked at global leaders in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, Orest is well respected for his leadership capability, strategic planning expertise and passion for delivering results. Orest’s successes in industry include leading the launches of a novel, highly specialized therapy for an ultra-orphan blood disorder, and a blockbuster drug for advanced cancer patients. Orest co-founded and launched Men’s Health Solutions, a company focused on the optimization of patient outcomes in male-specific diseases, which evolved to become Canada’s largest network of male health clinics.
Orest has also worked as a healthcare consultant, helping clients evaluate and re-focus their strategic plans and programs. His past clients include: multi-national pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, professional associations, healthcare start-ups, specialty and community pharmacies. He is currently a member of the Oncology team at Sanofi Genzyme Canada, helping bring new cancer therapies to Canadian patients.
Orest has dedicated a significant amount of his time volunteering for ethnic arts & culture organizations, and grassroots community organizations. Orest is a member of the Board of Directors at the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko (2016-present) and was appointed UCC’s National Advocacy chair in 2019, after leading the Education Committee at UCC Toronto (2014-2018). At the Shevchenko Foundation, Orest has played central roles on the governance and communications committees, as well as the launch of several novel initiatives including the MITACS and REACH programs, and the inaugural TRYZUB Awards Gala.
Orest’s ability to align a diverse set of stakeholders around a common cause and come to a mutually agreeable solution has been demonstrated on several education and arts-related issues over the past decade.
Major (Retired) Oksana Kuzyshyn, CD1
Chief Operating Officer (COO), Chair of Civil Society Committee
Major Oksana Kuzyshyn graduated from McGill University in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts (Economics). She joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1985 and completed her training as a Logistics Supply Officer.
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.
Oksana and her husband John moved to Montreal in 2017, where they plan to retire. Oksana is a member of the Ukrainian Youth Association CYM, a board member of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, an active member of the Ukrainian community in Montreal, and currently is the President of the League of Ukrainian Canadian Women.
Bradley Sutherland
CFO and Treasurer
Chief Financial Officer, Ukrainian Credit Union Limited
Peter Stephen Sochan
Corporate Secretary
Peter Sochan has an M.B.A. and B.A. from the University of Western Ontario. He has been the Chief Executive Officer of several corporations and a Member of several Corporate Boards
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.
Peter developed and taught MBA banking and finance courses at International Management Institute (IMI) in Kyiv, developed training courses, and lectured on economics, finance and banking for the World Bank, the European Union-TACIS Center for Privatization, the Institute for Public Management and Government and KPMG Barents.
Peter has been involved as a Long Term Observer for the CUF Election Observer Mission in Ukraine in 2012 and as Chief Observer for the Ukrainian World Congress for reruns of parliamentary elections in 2013.
Peter has been involved in Ukrainian Canadian community organizations including parish councils, as an executive member of local Ukrainian Canadian Professional and Business Clubs, and social services and a senior citizen’s home and community care centre.
Bohdan Romaniuk
Vice-President, Alberta
Bohdan Romaniuk is a lawyer, economist and an experienced business executive having held a number of senior executive positions in both very large and smaller enterprises over a business career spanning 30 years. 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.
Between 2001 and 2012, Bohdan served on the Investment Committee of the Shevchenko Foundation. He has also served on the Executive Committee of the Calgary Ukrainian Canadian Professional and Business Association since 2007 and has been President since 2011. Bohdan was an active member of SUSK in the mid-1970s and has been involved in the Ukrainian Youth Association of Canada in various capacities since 1962.
Bohdan is a member of the International Telecommunications Society, where he has held the position of Secretariat since 2005, after serving 10 years on the Board of Directors. He also served for several years on the Board of the Calgary Opera Association. He has been a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada (Ontario) since 1988. Bohdan is also an avid fly fisherman and maintains a lifelong interest in amateur astronomy.
Gerald Luciuk
Vice President, Saskatchewan
Yaroslav Baran
Chair of Marketing Committee
Yaroslav Baran is a partner with the Earnscliffe Strategy Group, Ottawa’s oldest public affairs consultancy. 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.
The Hamilton, Ontario, native has lived in Ottawa since 1997. He worked for several years as a House of Commons proceduralist in the Office of the Chief Opposition Whip before embarking on a career in political communications. He managed the press office of the Office of the Leader of the Opposition for numerous years, served as Director of Communications in former prime minister Stephen Harper’s leadership campaign, and ran “war room” communications for the conservative Party through three successive election campaigns – in 2004, 2006 and 2008.
Mr. Baran currently serves as President of the Ottawa chapter of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. He has a lifetime of involvement in the Ukrainian Youth Association, is also active with the League of Ukrainian Canadians in Ottawa, Euromaidan Ottawa, and is on the advisory committee for Buduchnist Credit Union in Ottawa.
He is also on the board of directors of the Parliamentary Centre, an Ottawa-based NGO focused on capacity-building and democratic development internationally. Mr. Baran has organized, managed and run democracy promotion projects on four continents, including a leadership role in four Canadian election observation missions to Ukraine.
Ostap Skrypnyk
Vice President, Manitoba
Ostap Skrypnyk is a consultant and researcher working in the not-for-profit sector, government relations and community development. Past clients have included Canadian post-secondary institutions, community organisations, foundations, and religious associations.
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.
Ostap has been active in facilitating economic relations between Canada and Ukraine and civil society development in Ukraine as well as humanitarian assistance. Since 2004, he has participated in numerous international election monitoring missions to Ukraine.
Roman Litwinchuk
Roman Litwinchuk, CPA, ACUIC is the Chief Operating Officer of Ukrainian Credit Union Limited. 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.
Roman studied engineering at the University of Toronto before embarking on his financial career. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant and an Associate of the Credit Union Institute of Canada.
He is the President of the Board of Compass Charitable Foundation (non-profit housing foundation), and past Treasurer of the Ukrainian National Federation, a member of the Credit Union Manager’s Association and a member of St. Elias Ukrainian Catholic Church in Brampton.
Andrew Tarapacky
Chair of Governance Committee
Andrew Tarapacky is principal of Projects at Work Inc. providing project and program management consulting services for the development and delivery of new products and services, technologies and processes. His clients include Sprint, TELUS Communications, Rogers Communications, Loblaw and Blackberry (previously known as Research in Motion).
Prior to starting Projects at Work, Andrew worked in Insurance, Banking and Telecommunications industries in progressively more senior management positions.
Andrew is a graduate of University of Toronto where he majored in Economics. He holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) and ITIL designation and is a member of the Project Management Institute.
In addition to the Board appointment at CUF, Andrew is on the Board of multiple organizations. These include as follows: 1) Secretary of the Board at BCU Financial (Buduchnist Credit Union) where he also chairs the Audit and Technology Committees, 2) Executive and treasurer of Plast Canada, 3) Executive and treasurer of the Council of Ukrainian Credit Unions (CUCUC), 4) Executive and treasurer of the League of Ukrainian Canadians (LUC National). In addition to these roles, Andrew chairs the Audit Committee at Ukrainian Canadian Congress (Toronto Branch) and is Audit committee member for Homin Ukrainy (Ukrainian Echo) Newspaper.
Roman Waschuk
Roman Waschuk (born 1962 in Toronto, Ontario) holds BA and MA degrees in History from the University of Toronto. After working as a historical researcher for the Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals (1985-1986), he joined the Canadian Foreign Service in 1987. In Ottawa, he worked on Soviet affairs, Central and Eastern Europe, EU relations, policy planning, and stabilization/reconstruction programming. Representing Canada abroad, he was posted to Moscow, Kyiv, and Berlin, and served as Ambassador to Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia (2011-2014) and as Ambassador to Ukraine (2014-2019). He retired from Global Affairs Canada in December 2019. He is a recipient of the Canada 125 Medal, the Minister’s Award for Foreign Policy Excellence, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Shevchenko Medal, and Ukraine’s Order of Merit.
Andrew Robinson
Andrew Robinson, a retired Canadian diplomat, had a thirty-six year career in the Canadian foreign service, focusing primarily on the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe. His Middle East experience consisted of postings in Beirut during the civil war, in Cairo as Counsellor and Chargé d’affaires, and as Ambassador to Jordan, while at Headquarters it included Director General for Africa, Director-General for the Middle East Peace Process, and Director of Middle East Relations Division. For five years he served on behalf of Canada as Gavel (Chairperson) of the Refugee Working Group in the Multilateral Peace Process. From 2001 to 2005 Andrew Robinson was Ambassador of Canada to Ukraine, including during the Orange revolution. During his assignment in Ukraine he was actively involved in support of the rule of law and free and fair elections in Ukraine, as well as support for Canadian business and for a closer relationship between Ukraine and western institutions. Subsequently he was Ambassador-in-residence at the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre.
In July, 1982, as part of a small team who voluntarily remained on post at the Embassy in West Beirut during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, he was commended in a House of Commons motion for “unflinching devotion to duty”. In 1991 he was a recipient of the Government of Canada Merit Award for an exceptional and distinguished contribution to the Public Service, in connection with his leadership of the Gulf War Task Force, 1990 – 1991.
In association with Carleton University he developed and taught courses on diplomatic privileges and immunities, the Vienna Convention and consular management to trainee diplomats. He has also helped to design, develop and deliver peacekeeping and stability operations exercises for training and mentoring of military officers with NATO, the German Bundeswehr, and others.
A graduate of Trent University, Andrew Robinson undertook graduate studies in political science at the University of Manchester and Queen’s University, and attended the Advanced Management Program of the Banff School of Advanced Management. He is currently a Senior Fellow with the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University. He has authored a variety of published scholarly or opinion pieces on international affairs.
Andrew Robinson serves or has served on the board of various charitable and not-for-profit organizations, including the Canada-Ukraine Foundation, the National Capital branch of the Canadian International Council, and Ashbury College.
Roman Petryshyn
Roman Petryshyn is a founding member of the Canada Ukraine Foundation (CUF) and the former director of the Ukrainian Resource and Development Centre (URDC) at Grant MacEwan University where he held the Drs. Peter and Doris Kule Chair in Ukrainian Community and International Development. He 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.
Since 1991 he engaged in structuring and delivering technical assistance projects in Ukraine and Russia through MacEwan’s representative office. He was Project Manager for the “Agricultural Curriculum” and the “Agri-Business Learning Materials” projects (1991-95); coordinator of research for the study “Reform of the Novosibirsk Health Care System”; Manager of the “Yamalo-Nanetsk and Tyumen Organizational Readiness” project in 1996-97; and co-director of the “Canadian Business Management Project in Ukraine” (1997-2000) and the “Health Education Learning Project” in Russia (2000-04). He was director of the Canada Ukraine Research Team, administered jointly with the Faculty of Education, University of Alberta studying and improving the educational services available to children with disabilities in public schools of Alberta and Ukraine.
In 2008 to 2013 he led MacEwan’s participation in the project that introduced legislation, policies and pilot schools practices on Inclusive Education in Lviv and Simferopol which have now been accepted throughout the entire educational system in Ukraine.
Gerry Luciuk
Gerald Luciuk is a retired Saskatchewan born and educated resident with a distinguished history of public service and dedicated community involvement.
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.
Gerald extended his Canadian experience to international development in sustainable agriculture beginning with scientific cooperation in Russia. With the collapse of the Former Soviet Union, his agricultural background led to participation in the first Government of Canada technical planning mission to Ukraine charged with establishing sector programs of development assistance to the newly independent Ukraine. Subsequently, he has been an instrumental leader in numerous strategic policy and technical assistance initiatives in Ukraine including a project as policy mentor in 1993 with the Deputy Minister of Economic Planning in the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine. His work in international development continued as a director to a China-Canada CIDA funded project on sustainable agriculture in Inner Mongolia. His involvement in the promotion of sustainable agriculture in Canada and abroad resulted in the publication of a number of scientific papers, presentations and reports on issues of environmentally sustainable land and water management.
Throughout his professional career, Gerald Luciuk has been actively involved in the Ukrainian cultural and religious community. He is a long time director of the St. Petro Mohyla Institute. At the local level, Gerald has maintained an active participation in his local Ukrainian Orthodox Parishes in Regina and earlier in Saskatoon. As a member of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Regina Council he was instrumental in establishing interim programs for English language learning for new Ukrainian immigrants to Saskatchewan. At the national religious community level, Gerald served a Board member of the Consistory of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada from 1999 through to 2010. As a Consistory member, he chaired an Episcopal Search and Development Committee that was instrumental in securing two new young Bishops for the UOCC in 2008. He continues to chair the By-Laws and Joint UOCC-Ukrainian Self Reliance League Standing Committees.
In the area of Provincial community affairs, Gerald Luciuk served on successive advisory committees to the Saskatchewan Government on Saskatchewan Ukraine relations. In 2009, he was appointed as Chair of the Saskatchewan Ukraine Relations Advisory Committee. He is also a Board member and Vice Chair of the Canada Ukraine Centre Inc, a not-for-profit group dedicated to the promotion of mutually beneficial collaboration between Ukraine and Canada on science and technical innovation.
Kristina Waler
Krystina was born and raised in St. Catharines, the granddaughter of immigrants who came from Ireland and war-torn Ukraine to find a better life. She earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from Wilfrid Laurier University, and a Master of Science in Health Technology Assessment and Management from the University of Toronto with a focus on how to best use health care technology to improve the quality of life of people around the world.
Krystina’s career has been centered around helping people who need it most. She is currently the Interim Executive Director at Help Us Help, a foundation that focuses on helping children in Ukraine who live in residential institutions with mental health supports and learning skills to prepare them for life as adults. Krystina helped organize 7 medical missions with the Canada Ukraine Foundation. Canadian medical teams travelled to Ukraine to treat persons injured from military conflicts. She has also served as the Director of a Surgical Education & Training Partnerships in association with Sunnybrook Health Sciences.
Andrew Witer
Andrew Witer is the Founding Partner and President of Romyr & Associates. 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
Bohdan Cherniawski
Bohdan Cherniawski is a military veteran who served over 23 years with the Canadian Forces. He has also held various volunteer and leadership roles with various Canadian volunteer organizations such as St. John Ambulance, Ride to conquer Cancer and the Canadian Red Cross.
From 2014 to 2016 Mr. Cherniawski travelled extensively implementing Tactical Medicine and Combat Medic training throughout 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.
Mr. Cherniawski is also actively involved with the Ukrainian Canadian community through a number of operational, consultative and leadership roles.
Bohdan Cherniawski holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Ryerson University. In 2008 Mr. Cherniawski was inducted into the Venerable Order of St. John of Jerusalem. He is a Registered Nurse and member of numerous professional associations.
Bohdan Kolos
Chair of Education Committee
Bohdan Kolos is President of Plast, Ukrainian Youth Association of Canada (Ukrainian Scouting). Bohdan graduated from Western University, earned a Masters of Education degree from the University of Toronto, and became a Certified Health Executive and Certified Management Accountant. 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.
Bohdan has filled many leadership roles with Plast. Locally, nationally and internationally he contributes to Plast programing and governance. Bohdan has been actively involved on the Boards of a number of charities: Canadian Ukrainian Art Foundation, Shevchenko Scientific Society of Canada, Children of Chornobyl Canadian Fund, Dzherelo Children’s Rehabilitation Centre (Lviv), and St. Nicholas church parish council.
In Ukraine, Bohdan developed and regularly teaches courses for secondary school administrators, and coordinates a students’ stipend fund in seven universities and schools in Western Ukraine. On four occasions Bohdan worked as an observer and team leader in short term election monitoring in Ukraine for the Canadian government, and once, in Moldova for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Bohdan considers himself a seasoned traveler, an adventure hiker-camper, and an arts and culture admirer.
Linda Dudar
Linda Dudar’s educational journey includes a Bachelor of Education and Music Degree, a Master of Arts in Administration and Curriculum and a Doctorate in Philosophy.
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.
As an award-winning musician, educator, and school administrator, she has shared her research and her teaching nationally and internationally including in the United States, Ukraine, Taiwan, Italy and England.
As well, Dr. Dudar has been appointed the chair of the Association of Alberta Deans of Education.
In addition to numerous teaching and administrative awards, Dr. Dudar is the recipient of the Hetman Award presented by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress acknowledging her leadership work in the Ukrainian Canadian community in Alberta and the Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Ukrainian-Canadian Professional & Business Association of Calgary in recognition of her contributions over the course of several decades to the social, cultural, educational and spiritual fabric of communities in Canada and Ukraine as an educator, university administrator, choral director and social visionary.
Dr. Dudar has been the music director of St. Stephen’s Ukrainian Catholic Church Choir for the last 37 years. Her leadership in this music ministry has led to several music recordings and performances within and outside of Canada.
Her doctoral research in educational leadership at the University of Calgary focused on time-sensitive organizational change. This study reports new findings of how difficult changes are implemented much faster than previously thought. Emerging from this study is a model that depicts a sequential and systematic process which is evidence-based, research-informed and encompasses insights from leaders and stakeholders. Key elements for the success of a time-sensitive change initiative are presented.
Her current research and recently co-authored book Accelerating Change in Schools explored her research of leaders and stakeholders’ perspectives.
Dana Bagan
Over the past 25 years Dana Bagan has been involved with the Children of Chornobyl Canadian Fund. 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.
She currently serves on the Board of the Ukrainian Canadian Care Centre where she chairs the Quality and Risk Management Committee.
Dana Bagan holds a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Toronto, is a licensed pharmacist and member of numerous professional associations.
Tania Melnyk
Tania Melnyk is a retired senior public servant with more than 25 years experience at both federal and provincial levels of government, primarily in the areas of economic development and financial administration. She has represented Canada at international negotiations regarding Canada’s participation in the World Bank and Regional Development Banks and has played a major role in developing regional and local economic development strategies for the Province of Ontario. Her early career was spent in financial control and results-based management. After retiring from the public service, Ms. Melnyk was appointed to two terms as a member of the Committee of Adjustment in Toronto.
A large part of Ms. Melnyk’s volunteer activity has focused on Ukraine. She has been a lifelong member of PLAST Ukrainian Youth Association, as a leader and community organizer. She served on the Board of Directors of the Children of Chornobyl Canadian Fund and was active in all aspects of the Help us Help the Children Project. More recently Ms. Melnyk has devoted most of her efforts to fundraising for the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv. Ms. Melnyk graduated from the University of Toronto in Honours Political Science and Economics. She completed course work toward an MBA at York University and holds an Ontario Securities Course Certificate.
John Boyko
Brotherhood of Ukrainian Catholics of Canada
Olesia Luciw-Andryjowycz
Ms. Luciw-Andryjowycz is a health service professional with a Master’s of Science in Administration (Health Services), a Baccalaureate of Science in Nursing and over thirty years of experience in the field of health care and as an active community volunteer. Currently working with the Government of Alberta, Department of Health.
Olesia grew up in the Ukrainian Youth Association (CYM) and took on many roles in the organization before stepping in other community organizations. She is an active leader and mentor, working to engage, educate and advocate for the Ukrainian community. Olesia is active in both the Provincial and National Ukrainian community. She is currently the Past- President of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress-Alberta Provincial Council and serves as the Vis-President of the National Ukrainian Canadian Congress. In these roles, she fosters unity and cooperation for all Ukrainian organizations within the province and works to preserve Ukrainian Heritage, history, culture and language. In addition, Olesia is also active on the Board of the Alberta Council for the Ukrainian Arts (ACUA) and a member of the Board of Directors of SHUMKA.
Director/ Member of the “Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (CIUS) Advisory Panel” and the “Canadian Ukraine Foundation”. Also served as a member of the “Government of Alberta Advisory Council on Alberta-Ukraine Relations (ACAUR)” for the past 6 years.
Awarded the Yaroslav the Wise medal from the Former President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko.
Leda Hewka Lada
Leda is a strategy and business development consultant in the life sciences sector and enjoys interfacing with and connecting stakeholders and influencers at all levels. She has an education in bioengineering and languages, and a background in project management and product development.
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.
Nazar Poshelyuzhnyy
Olexandr Vasetsky
Olexandr is an experienced public service professional working in the area of utility regulation. He currently holds the position of Director, Technology and Innovation at the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC). 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.
Olexandr was born and raised in Ukraine, before moving to Canada for his graduate studies. He holds a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Calgary and a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) professional designation. Olexandr has been an active volunteer with the Ukrainian Canadian Professional & Business Association of Calgary since 2007 and has been an executive member since 2010.