The Board comprises of the ACU’s founding member organizations and key members from organizations such as Georgian Association in the U.S.A., MedGlobal, Klych and Shield of Freedom.
FOUNDING ORGANIZATIONS
BOARD MEMBERS
Marianna Tretiak
President
Marianna Tretiak, MFA, MBA is a proud 1st-generation Ukrainian-American and Philadelphia Native. She worked for over 10 years in the entertainment industry as a writer & producer before completing her MBA. Since the start of the full scale invasion of Ukraine, she has turned her attention to mobilizing support for Ukraine. She helped to start the National Advocacy Committee within the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America (UNWLA), North America’s oldest and largest Ukrainian women’s organization, and works to coordinate member advocacy nationwide as its chair. Marianna is also a founding board member of the American Coalition for Ukraine and one of the Ukraine Action Summit’s organizers. She serves on the board of education-related charity Ukraine Global Scholars & advisory board of Engin. Marianna is also an active member of the Rotary Club of Philadelphia
Mick Safron
Director, Chair of the Operations Committee
Mick Safron is a Founder and CEO of the Biohackers World and Senior Vice President of the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council, President of the Ukrainian Hub USA, patriot of the country.
Mick is a Ukrainian-American who is living in the great State of Texas. As an active community member and Senior Vice President at UACC, he is working on a national level with various US nonprofits as well as local nonprofits in Ukraine to help Ukrainians fight and survive during Russian attacks on Ukraine. As President of the Ukrainian Hub USA he is building strong and proactive Ukrainian-American business and entrepreneurial community. Also, Mick is a CEO and Founder of the Biohackers World conference and expo about healthy lifestyle, wellness and longevity as well as an advisor for Southern and Northern California, Nevada, Tennessee Ukrainian-American communities.
Dr. Maryna Baydyuk
Director, Chair of the Membership and Sponsorship Committee
Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, Dr. Maryna Baydyuk has successfully led United Help Ukraine as the President during the most trying and successful years of its existence. She has been with United Help Ukraine since its founding in 2014, served as a Board Director since 2017 and as President since 2019. Under Maryna’s leadership, United Help Ukraine provided over 65 million dollars in humanitarian, medical, and psychological assistance to Ukrainians affected by the war. Maryna has been awarded several prestigious honors domestically and internationally, including the Paul Harris Fellow and several awards from the Ukrainian government, including personal recognition by the Ministry of Defense and Ukrainian Commander in Chief, General Valerii Zuluzhnyy. The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, awarded her the Order of Merit, 3rd Class, which is given to individuals for outstanding achievements in economics, science, culture, military or political spheres of activity.
Maryna now serves on the Board of Directors of the American Coalition for Ukraine, which was co-founded by United Help Ukraine along with other organizations in May 2022. The advocacy work has been an important component of United Help Ukraine’s Raising Awareness Program since 2014.
Sashko Krapivkin
Director, Chair of the Outreach and Engagement Committee
Originally immigrated from Kharkiv, Ukraine, to Chicago, U.S.A., Sashko holds a Bachelor’s and a Master’s in Fine Arts in Acting. They are based in New York City and have performed at Lincoln Center, Off Broadway, regional theatres, and overseas. Their collaborative short film “The Fisherman and The Fish” was shown at international film festivals. They are also the Community Manager of North America for Klych, an organization focused on pro-Ukrainian cultural projects. Recently you could have seen Sashko hosting and performing at concerts raising funds for humanitarian aid at events like SXSW and Eurovision.
Dr. Igor Markov
Director, Chair of the Audit Committee
Dr. Markov grew up in Kyiv, Ukraine, and moved to the US in 1993 for graduate studies at UCLA. He worked at Google on Search and at Meta (Facebook) on AI platforms. Currently, he is a Distinguished Architect in AI Innovation at Synopsys. As a former professor at the University of Michigan and a visiting professor at Stanford, he co-authored 5 books, peer-reviewed over 200 publications, and supervised 12 Ph.D. degrees.
Dr. Igor Markov has been a Board director at Nova Ukraine since 2018. Before the invasion in 2022, he curated Nova Ukraine’s COVID-19 response, advertising efforts, and publicity materials. Since 2022, he’s led government and media relations, contributed to fundraising, and established and curated large medical projects and evacuation efforts.
Mira Rubin
Director, Secretary, Chair of the Operations Committee
Mira holds an undergraduate degree in Global Studies from the University of California Santa Barbara and a Masters in International Relations from the University of California San Diego. Mira is fluent in five languages, which enhances her ability to engage with diverse communities.
For over a decade Mira served on the board of directors for the House of Ukraine, a non-profit organization founded in 1960 in San Diego, CA with a mission to foster cooperation and understanding among various national groups in the United States and promotion of Ukrainian culture. From January 2022 to January 2024, Mira served as the President of the House of Ukraine (HOU).
Since February 24th, 2022, Mira has made supporting Ukraine’s defense and raising funds for humanitarian relief efforts her full-time, unpaid commitment. In August 2023, she launched the non-profit Shield of Freedom dedicated to supporting front line efforts in the Ukraine war.
Mariya Soroka
Director, Chair of Advocacy Сommittee
In 2014 at the peak of protests in the Maidan, Mariya joined several fellow Ukrainians living in New York City to create Razom, a young, energetic, and progressive start-up which seeks to amplify the voice of Ukraine to an American audience. An active member of the board, she is responsible for organizing cultural events as well as cooperating with government representatives, activists, and various civic groups and human rights organizations in support of Ukraine’s quest for democracy.
Veronika Metonidze
Director
Veronika Metonidze, a dynamic figure within the Georgian community and former President of the Georgian Association in the US, is known for her expertise and dedication. As a practicing US attorney and international consultant, she brings over twenty years of diverse experience to her role on the board of the American Coalition for Ukraine (ACU). Under her leadership, the Georgian Association became one of the first non-Ukrainian organizations to join the ACU, emphasizing the common history and challenges both countries face due to Russian aggression and the significant threat posed by Russian expansionism. Veronika has also been a relentless advocate for U.S. support of Ukraine, demonstrating her commitment to the cause through extensive advocacy and strategic initiatives.
Sarah E. Chadzynski, M.Ed.
Director, Treasurer, Chair of the Ukraine Action Summit Committee
Sarah is an experienced non-profit leader and activist. She played instrumental role in establishing various non-profit organizations. With the beginning of the russian invasion of Ukraine, Sarah joined forces with organization Dattallion, that worked on building awareness of the current situation in Ukraine among the U.S. legislators.
Kate Tremont
Director, Chair of Advocacy Committee
Kate Tremont is an award-winning advocacy professional with a decade of experience in government affairs. She initially fell in love with Ukraine while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer from 2010-11, teaching English in a small town in Rivne oblast and maintaining strong ties to her community to this day. After her service, she earned a M.A. in Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation from SIT Graduate Institute in Brattleboro, Vermont, focusing on culturally-appropriate peacebuilding projects in Ukraine. In the aftermath of the Russian invasion, Kate joined the Razom advocacy team, wearing many hats before finally settling in to manage Razom’s grassroots advocacy initiatives. At Razom, she built Razom’s advocacy network, coordinated advocacy initiatives with other non-profits, and oversaw Razom’s role as a founding member of the American Coalition for Ukraine. For her work at Razom, she was recognized by her professional peers in advocacy and government affairs as one of the Top 20 in Advocacy in 2023 by The Advocacy Association.
Dr. Zaher Sahloul
Director
Co-founder of the international organization MedGlobal. Dr. Sahloul is an experienced leader with a demonstrated history of working in the non-profit organization management and Medical Humanitarian Relief. Strong entrepreneurship professional skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, Budgeting, Business Planning, Grassroots Organizing, and Coaching.
Contact us at info@americancoalitionforukraine.org