We believe in simple ideas, strong relationships, and lasting impact.

maria

After studying art, Maria continued her education in technology and business management, building a career that combines creativity with strategic thinking. Born in Ukraine and now living in New York, she has long believed that art and creative education play an essential role in helping people grow, connect, and navigate an increasingly complex world.

Maria founded the organization from a simple conviction: you do not have to wait until you have unlimited resources to make a meaningful difference—you begin with what you have and build from there. She is passionate about creating partnerships that connect artists, educators, and cultural institutions to expand opportunities for children and creative communities, particularly in times of crisis. Outside the organization, she enjoys traveling, creating art, and meeting people from different backgrounds, believing that every conversation offers a chance to learn something new.

Creativity gives people confidence to solve problems they have never seen before.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariabuyalskaya/

olga

With more than 25 years of leadership experience spanning finance, operations, media management, and large-scale community initiatives, Olga brings a rare combination of organizational discipline and creative leadership. She brings extensive expertise in budgeting, financial controls, regulatory compliance, audit preparation, and transparent reporting. Her reputation for accuracy, accountability, and impeccable financial management provides a strong foundation for stewardship of donor funds.

From 2011 to 2021, Olga served as Director of Odesa Mama 106.0 FM, one of Odesa’s best-known local radio stations. During her tenure, she directed several large city-wide cultural festivals and community events, coordinating municipal agencies, sponsors, media partners, contractors, and volunteers from concept through successful execution.

She believes that effective nonprofit work requires not only compassion, but also rigorous governance, operational excellence, and complete transparency.

oksana

Oksana is an operations and project management professional with experience leading international collaborations across the nonprofit, corporate, and humanitarian sectors. She holds an M.A. in English and German from Minsk State Linguistic University.

Early in her career, Oksana served as a Program Officer for the Eurasia Foundation, a USAID-funded organization supporting civil society initiatives across the former Soviet Union.

A long-time advocate for education and community engagement, Oksana has served on the Board of Every Voice Choirs, a nonprofit based at Teachers College, Columbia University,

As Director of Operations for Lastivka, Oksana brings exceptional organizational skills, cross-cultural communication experience, and a deep commitment to supporting Ukrainian children through creative education. She oversees project coordination, partnerships, logistics, and the day-to-day operations that enable the program to deliver meaningful opportunities for young artists and the children they serve.

Lucy

Lucy is a senior partner in IBM’s management consulting business, with a career shaped by creativity, curiosity and a commitment to helping people and organisations achieve positive change.

She began her professional life as a dancer, an experience that gave her a deep appreciation for discipline, expression and collaboration, and a lasting belief in the power of the arts to build confidence, connection and opportunity for young people. She later studied Economics and Politics before specialising in Strategy and Innovation at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School.

Lucy has held leadership roles within the consulting profession, including Vice President and Board Member of the Management Consultancies Association and Board Representative for the Young MCA. She has also served on the Chartered Management Consultant Oversight Board, contributing to professional standards, governance and the development of future talent.

Today, Lucy works with senior teams across industries on complex transformation, combining strategic insight with a deeply human approach to leadership. Alongside her professional work, she remains committed to widening access to the arts and supporting initiatives that help young people build confidence, creativity and opportunity.

LINDA

Linda brings decades of leadership experience spanning international finance, education, and nonprofit governance. Following a distinguished career as a senior executive at Lehman Brothers, Nomura Securities, and Credit Suisse First Boston, she founded Renaissance Afterschool Corporation, providing high-quality after-school programs for public schools and creating opportunities for children to learn, compete, and grow through activities.

Linda studied at the Universidad de Madrid before earning both her BA and MBA from McGill University, and later completed a Master's degree in Latin American Economics at the University of London. She currently serves as a Trustee of the American University of Rome and has previously served on the board of the Long Island Ice Hockey Association.

Having raised four children and remaining actively involved in the lives of her six grandchildren, Linda brings a practical understanding of children's educational and emotional needs. A lifelong learner and avid traveler, she combines an international outlook with a deep commitment to helping young people discover their confidence, creativity, and potential.

Meet ODESA Team

  • OLGA

    REGIONAL DIRECTOR

    With more than 25 years of leadership experience spanning finance, operations, media management, and large-scale community initiatives, Olga brings a rare combination of organizational discipline and creative leadership. She brings extensive expertise in budgeting, financial controls, regulatory compliance, audit preparation, and transparent reporting. Her reputation for accuracy, accountability, and impeccable financial management provides a strong foundation for stewardship of donor funds.

    From 2011 to 2021, Olga served as Director of Odesa Mama 106.0 FM, one of Odesa’s best-known local radio stations. During her tenure, she directed several large city-wide cultural festivals and community events, coordinating municipal agencies, sponsors, media partners, contractors, and volunteers from concept through successful execution.

    She believes that effective nonprofit work requires not only compassion, but also rigorous governance, operational excellence, and complete transparency.

  • YANA

    Yana is a psychoanalyst, child psychologist, and psychotherapist based in Odesa, Ukraine. For more than fifteen years, she has worked with children, adolescents, and families, helping them navigate emotional challenges and build resilience. She completed advanced training in psychology, child psychotherapy, and psychoanalysis, earning her International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA) qualification.

    Since invasion of Ukraine, Yana has volunteered with internally displaced children and adults, providing psychological support to families affected by war. Her work has reinforced her belief that creativity, play, and trusted relationships are powerful tools for healing and healthy development.

    As an advisor to Lastivka, Yana helps ensure that the program creates emotionally safe, nurturing spaces where children can express themselves, develop confidence, and rediscover joy through art.

  • Olha

    Olha is a Ukrainian painter and member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine. A graduate of the Odesa Art College, where she studied under artists Dmytro and Tamara Yehorov, she has worked as a professional artist since 1988.

    Working primarily in portraiture and landscape, Olha’s painting explores contemporary Ukrainian life through the traditions of the Southern Ukrainian school of painting. Her work has been exhibited extensively in Ukraine and internationally, and her paintings are held in several Ukrainian regional and municipal collections.

    Alongside her own artistic practice, Olha has devoted significant attention to teaching and charitable work, making her particularly connected to Lastivka’s mission of bringing creative opportunities to children while supporting the next generation of Ukrainian artists and educators.

    As a juror for the workshop stage of the Emerging Artist Fellowship Competition, Olha will be present in person as finalists develop and deliver their workshops for children. Her perspective as both a practicing artist and educator will help the jury consider not only the artistic quality of each proposal, but also the creativity, engagement and care with which it is brought to life for young participants.

  • Kateryna

    Kateryna is an English language educator from Odesa. She has worked with students of all ages and backgrounds, helping them develop not only language skills but also confidence, critical thinking, and meaningful communication.

    Kateryna holds a degree in Philology from Odesa I. I. Mechnikov National University and is a CELTA-certified teacher.

    Having lived and worked in Odesa throughout the challenges of recent years, Kateryna brings a deep understanding of the local community and the realities facing young people in Ukraine today. As the project's Independent Workshop Observer, she will monitor workshop delivery, provide impartial feedback, and help ensure that every participant experiences a supportive, inclusive, and high-quality learning environment.

Meet the ADVISORY

  • Lisa

    Lisa Anderson is an American journalist with more than four decades of experience reporting and editing for leading international news organizations. A graduate of Manhattanville University in New York, she began her career at WCBS-TV News while still in college before going on to work for organizations including the Chicago Tribune, Reuters, and the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

    Throughout her career, Lisa has reported from around the world on some of the most challenging humanitarian issues of our time, with a particular focus on the experiences of women, children, and communities affected by conflict and disaster. As an editor and bureau chief, she also mentored and developed the next generation of journalists, championing not only accuracy in reporting but empathy and compassion in storytelling.

    Lisa is especially proud of creating and leading the Thomson Reuters Foundation's global coverage of the social, economic, and political issues affecting women and girls. Her reporting has taken her from the wars in Afghanistan and Kosovo to humanitarian crises in Africa and the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in Sri Lanka, always seeking to amplify the voices of those too often unheard.

  • Anna

    Anna Brodsky earned her Ph.D. in Slavic Studies from Yale University, where she specialized in modernism and the avant-garde in literature and the arts. For more than three decades, she has taught literature at Washington and Lee University in Virginia and for nearly twenty years she served as Chair of the East European and Russian Studies Program.

    In the classroom, her work explores Russian colonialism and the long history of Russian imperial expansion, examining how literature and culture both reflect and challenge systems of power. A native Russian speaker, she recently learned Ukrainian as an expression of solidarity with Ukraine following Russia's full-scale aggression.

    Beyond academia, Anna is an active journalist and public intellectual. She is a regular opinion columnist for the Kyiv-based Ukrainian newspaper Mirror of the Week (Dzerkalo Tyzhnia), where she writes about social justice, democracy, human rights, civic responsibility, and the importance of defending freedom and equality in the face of authoritarianism. Through both her scholarship and her journalism, she seeks to foster historical understanding, critical thinking, and a deeper commitment to democratic values.

  • GOLDA

    Golda Tatz is an internationally acclaimed concert pianist, educator, and arts leader whose career spans performances, teaching, and cultural leadership across Europe, Israel, Asia, and the United States. She studied at the Juilliard School after immigrating to New York and has appeared as a soloist with orchestras and chamber ensembles worldwide.

    A dedicated educator, Golda serves on the faculty of the Juilliard School Pre-College Division, Manhattan School of Music, and other leading music institutions. She has mentored generations of young musicians whose students have gone on to win national and international competitions.

    In addition to her performing career, she has extensive experience organizing and leading prestigious international music competitions. Since 2003, she has served as Director of the Rosalyn Tureck International Bach Competition in New York, overseeing artistic programming, adjudication, and the development of emerging young artists. Her experience evaluating talent and creating meaningful educational opportunities brings valuable expertise to Lastivka’s competition and mentorship programs.

    Golda is deeply committed to using the arts to inspire excellence, resilience, and cross-cultural understanding.

Meet the Jurors

  • Elizabeth

    JUROR

    Elizabeth Allison is an American artist based in New York City. Born in Chicago, Illinois, she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Michigan and a Master of Fine Arts from The City College of New York, and also studied at The Art Students League of New York.

    Elizabeth’s work has been recognized with numerous prestigious awards, including the Raluca Popescu Memorial Scholarship, a Nessa Cohen Grant, and three Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grants. Her monumental sculpture, originally commissioned for Riverside Park South in New York City, is now permanently installed on the campus of Rockland Community College. Her work has also been featured in The New York Times.

    An accomplished painter and sculptor, Elizabeth is a member of the International Watercolor Academy and is widely respected for her commitment to artistic excellence, technical mastery, and arts education. As a member of Lastivka’s international jury, she brings a thoughtful, professional perspective and extensive experience in evaluating emerging artistic talent.

  • Geraldine

    JUROR

    Geraldine Cox is an interdisciplinary artist whose work bridges physics, visual art and public engagement. She holds degrees in Physics from Loughborough University and Fine Art from City & Guilds of London Art School.

    In 2011, Geraldine was awarded a prestigious Leverhulme Trust Artist in Residence Award for a residency in the Department of Physics at Imperial College London, where she explored new ways of connecting scientific research with artistic practice. Her work has been exhibited internationally, and her films have been featured at science and arts festivals in New York, Moscow and Belfast.

    In 2020, Geraldine received the Andrew Gemant Award from the American Institute of Physics, recognising her outstanding contribution to the cultural, artistic and humanistic dimensions of physics. Together with choreographer Emma Bellerby, she co-founded Falling Apple, an organisation that creates large-scale participatory events that bring science to life through movement, art and play.

    Passionate about fostering creativity across disciplines, Geraldine has spent her career helping people discover unexpected connections between art, science and everyday life. As a juror for the Lastivka project, she brings an international perspective and a deep commitment to encouraging emerging artists as they develop both their creative practice and their confidence.

    Photo credit Leonora Saunders for Nature magazine

  • Emmanuelle

    JUROR

    Emmanuelle Tiberi, born in Nice, is Director of Studio M and ACFA Higher Education Schools in Montpellier, institutions dedicated to training future professionals in creative industries, audiovisual production, design, and communication. With more than 25 years of experience in communication, marketing, and management, she spent nearly 18 years with the Transdev Group, where she held several leadership positions in marketing, business development, and communications. Throughout her career, she has been committed to promoting talent, supporting innovative projects, and fostering knowledge transfer. Since 2019, she has also served as a volunteer mentor for the Télémaque association, helping to promote equal opportunities for young people. Passionate about artistic expression in all its forms, she is particularly interested in works that combine creativity, emotion, and meaningful engagement. Her perspective blends professional rigor, curiosity, and empathy, qualities she brings to her role as a jury member in recognizing and encouraging emerging artistic talent

  • Polina

    Having grown up in Latvia and living in Dublin since 2005, Polina has dedicated her career to empowering children, young people, and local communities through creative education and youth development initiatives.

    She works at a community youth centre, where she designs, develops, and delivers festivals, cultural events, and summer camps for children and teenagers. Her work combines strong organizational skills with an innovative approach, creating engaging and meaningful experiences that foster learning, inclusion, and community participation.

    As an active Scout Leader, Polina is passionate about developing leadership, teamwork, and resilience in young people. Her extensive background in youth work, event planning, and community engagement enables her to respond quickly to challenges, think creatively, and deliver practical solutions in dynamic environments.

    She believes that successful community work is built on creativity, collaboration, and the ability to inspire young people while creating safe, inclusive, and memorable experiences for all participants.

  • Emma

    Emma Dillon is a mental health and wellbeing specialist with extensive experience developing and leading initiatives that promote psychological safety, resilience and wellbeing in education, nursing and the wider community.

    During her career at the University of Northampton, Emma led award-winning Mental Health First Aid and wellbeing programs, including initiatives supporting student nurses and healthcare professionals. Her work has been recognised nationally, including through the Inside Out Awards and Community Changemaker Awards, and she has presented internationally on wellbeing in nursing and the NHS.

    Emma brings particular expertise in creating environments where people feel safe to talk about mental health, develop resilience and access appropriate support. She has also contributed to professional education and advocacy through the Professional Nurse Advocate programme.

    For Lastivka, Emma will advise as a volunteer on the development of our mental health and resilience workshops, helping us create age-appropriate, thoughtful and psychologically safe programming for children and the educators who work with them.

  • Nelli

    Born and raised in Odessa, Ukraine, Nelli immigrated to the United States in 1996, where she built both a successful career and a fulfilling life. She graduated from New York University with honors and has dedicated more than 25 years to caring for people as a dental hygienist. Throughout her career, she has earned a reputation for her ability to build trust, put people at ease, and create a welcoming environment for individuals of all ages and backgrounds. Guided by empathy, kindness, and a genuine desire to help others, she approaches both her profession and volunteer work with warmth and compassion.

    While maintaining strong ties to her hometown, Nelli has embraced the opportunities that life in the United States has provided. Her connection to both communities inspires her commitment to creating educational and creative opportunities for young people in Ukraine. As the proud mother of two children, she has witnessed firsthand the transformative power of education and believes that every child deserves the opportunity to discover their talents, build confidence, and reach their full potential.

    Nelli believes that art and creativity foster confidence, resilience, curiosity, and self-expression—qualities that empower children not only to overcome challenges, but to imagine new possibilities for themselves and their communities.

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