Our team
Badamshyna Svitlana
Svitlana Badamshyna heads the public organization "Ukrainian Humanitarian Initiatives", using her rich experience in management, entrepreneurship, and working with people to implement humanitarian, educational, and social projects.
Management experience and entrepreneurship:
Svitlana has many years of experience organizing and managing service projects that combined customer service, resource planning, and creating favorable conditions for the implementation of complex tasks. She has led the work of several teams in various fields, including sports projects, business ventures, and educational initiatives, ensuring their effectiveness and achievement of goals.
Consulting activities:
As a personal development specialist, Svitlana organizes and conducts trainings, consultations, and authored courses on personal growth. Thanks to her deep understanding of psychology and interpersonal communications, participants receive practical tools to unlock their own potential.
Community support and team development:
Svitlana specializes in building and strengthening teams, motivating people to work together towards a common goal. Her approach is based on a comprehensive understanding of people's needs and characteristics, which allows for the creation of strong communities and their development.
Community activities:
At the head of the organization, Svitlana focuses on creating projects that support the most vulnerable categories of the population, as well as on implementing innovative solutions for community development.
Svitlana Badamshina is an advocate of an active lifestyle, integrating her passions into her professional activities and inspiring others with her example. She believes that through effective governance, humanitarian initiatives and education, a better future can be created for all.
Oleksandr Komareus
Oleksandr Komareus is an experienced program manager and project management professional with over 15 years of expertise in leading large-scale humanitarian, educational, IT and organizational projects. He has significant experience in strategic planning, process optimization, team leadership and partnership management with international donors and government agencies.
His professional expertise includes:
- Program and project management (humanitarian, educational, IT sectors)
- Project coordination and implementation supervision
- Financial management and budget planning
- Donor reporting and compliance (UNICEF, Google.org)
- Audit and micro-assessment management
- Strategic planning and organizational development
- Managing partnerships with international donors
- Team management and capacity building (teams up to 60 employees)
- Process optimization and implementation of management systems
- Stakeholder engagement and coordination with government agencies
- Digital transformation and e-government systems
- Monitoring, evaluation and reporting
- Change management and organizational restructuring
Oleksandr has successfully coordinated humanitarian and educational projects in partnership with UNICEF, including the project “Supporting the Return to Full-Time and Blended Learning in Kharkiv Oblast” at the Ukrainian Humanitarian Initiatives organization. He has demonstrated strong capabilities in managing all project processes, preparing comprehensive donor reports, successfully completing audits and micro-assessments, planning and adjusting budgets, and ensuring full compliance with donor requirements.
As the CEO of the State Institution "Open Public Finance" under the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, he built and scaled a national IT enterprise that manages 11 national IT projects with a multidisciplinary team of 60 employees. His experience spans the roles of CEO, Project Manager, PMO, and Product Owner, demonstrating versatility in leadership and technical management.
Oleksandr holds an Executive MBA from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium) and an MBA from MIM-Kyiv Business School with a specialization in International Marketing, Strategy and European Cooperation. He also holds specialist diplomas in Electronics and Management and Marketing.
Maryna Loshadkina
Marina Loshadkina is an experienced HR Director and HR Manager with significant expertise in team management, recruitment and curriculum development in the humanitarian sector. She has strong competencies in learning and development, project planning and implementation of large-scale initiatives.
Since July 2024, Maryna has been working as an HR manager at the NGO "Ukrainian Humanitarian Initiatives" in Kharkiv region. As part of the UNICEF project "Supporting the return to full-time and blended learning in Kharkiv region" (October 2024 - April 2025), she managed the full recruitment cycle for the project, recruited all project staff, including 10 psychologists, developed HR policies for the organization, ensuring the successful implementation of training programs for teachers in the region.
Her previous experience includes working as a Learning and Development Expert at UNICEF's Children's Points Together initiative with SportLab (September 2021 - October 2024), where she designed and implemented training programs for over 400 staff, increasing their capacity to support children and families affected by war. She also worked as a regional manager at the Kateryna Osadchaya Foundation, coordinating humanitarian initiatives on the ground.
Maryna has completed specialized professional trainings, including the HR Manager Program (Changers.education, 2024), PSEA training (UNICEF, 2024), fundamental training in child protection for educators (childsafeguarding, 2024), and first aid (Ukrainian Red Cross Society, 2022), which strengthens her professional expertise in HR management and humanitarian work.
Olesya Danyshenko
Olesya has been working in the UNICEF Children's Points "Together" social project since March 2022, providing information support to IDPs and implementing developmental, entertainment, educational and creative activities for children who have been affected by the consequences of the war in various ways. Olesya, as a supervisor, organized the work of eight "Together" children's points in two regions with a team of 40 employees, where hundreds of activities were held for children and parents during her work, including large-scale educational events on important topics such as vaccination, breastfeeding, and increasing children's knowledge of their rights. She has implemented positive parenting courses, English language courses for children, a chess club, mental arithmetic, etc. at one of the locations.
For ten years, Olesya worked in a managerial position at the State Treasury Service of Ukraine, responsible for the formation of information policy and the implementation of international cooperation. During this time, she created and implemented strategies for the development of the organization and its communications, ensured the content of the web portal, conducted information campaigns, press events of various levels, published a scientific and methodological journal, organized all-Ukrainian campaigns and events with the participation of the institution's employees, ensured international correspondence with partner institutions and the holding of all events with the participation of foreign colleagues, prepared program documents within the framework of the TWINNING program, ensured the translation of documents and meetings with the participation of the institution's management.
Olesya has experience working in both public organizations and business structures. She and her team have organized events of various levels and scales in the entertainment, educational, and educational areas for both adults and children.
Olesya has two higher educations. She has a Master's degree in International Relations with a specialization in Political Science, International Relations, and Translator (I. Franko National University of Lviv) and a Master's degree in Public Administration (National Academy of Public Administration under the President of Ukraine).
Vasyl Nesterov
Vasyl Nesterov is an experienced project manager and regional coordinator with over 15 years of professional experience in project management, regional coordination, marketing, and event organization. He has significant expertise in creating and implementing projects for youth and children, managing humanitarian centers, and coordinating large-scale initiatives.
Since 2022, Vasyl has been working as a regional manager at SPORTLAB LLC in Kharkiv and Kharkiv region, managing the network of humanitarian centers "Spilno Tochki" from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). His key responsibilities include developing and implementing project concepts for 12 locations, negotiating with representatives of local authorities and military administration, managing staff (up to 62 people), organizing mass events for children and families, preparing financial and marketing reports, and ensuring compliance with UNICEF standards and requirements.
His previous experience includes working as the Director and ideological co-founder of the entertainment and educational project "Fransylvania" for children (2017), where he managed a team of 120 employees and collaborated with major brands including BMW, Volkswagen, IMAX and Raiffeisen Bank. He also has significant experience in franchise management and retail marketing, having worked as a co-owner of the franchise "ANDRE TAN" (2018-2021) and as the Head of Marketing and Development of "ANDRE TAN" (2016-2017).
Vasyl has a master's degree in political science from Kharkiv National Pedagogical University and a bachelor's degree in hotel, restaurant and tourism business management from the Zaporizhzhia National University of Tourism and Hospitality Management.
Vladysla Troyan
Vladyslav Troyan is an experienced monitoring and evaluation specialist with significant expertise in humanitarian programming, data collection and analysis, and program quality assurance. He has extensive experience working with UNICEF projects and international humanitarian standards.
From October 2024 to April 2025 (6 months), Vladyslav worked as a Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist at the NGO "Ukrainian Humanitarian Initiatives" within the framework of the UNICEF project "Supporting the Return to Full-time and Blended Learning in Kharkiv Oblast". In this role, he supervised the monitoring and evaluation of humanitarian activities to measure the effectiveness and impact of the program, collected, analyzed and systematized quantitative and qualitative data on participant coverage and training quality, conducted field monitoring visits to training sites to ensure compliance with UNICEF standards, maintained and updated the W5 reporting form for UNICEF ensuring accuracy and timeliness, and prepared analytical summaries and progress reports for management and donors.
His previous experience includes working as a regional supervisor in the UNICEF social project for children "TOGETHER" (May 2023 - October 2024), where he provided information support to internally displaced persons and organized developmental, educational, creative and recreational activities for children affected by the war. Under his supervision, five children's spaces "TOGETHER" operated in the Kharkiv region, where hundreds of activities were held for children and their parents. He also initiated and implemented educational activities on key topics such as vaccination, breastfeeding, psycho-emotional support, children's rights and digital education.
For five years, Vladyslav held a leadership position in the educational project "Country of Professions and Interests 'Francesylvania'" in Kharkiv, where he was responsible for effective personnel management, development and implementation of training programs, organizational growth strategies, and public communications.
Vladyslav holds a Master's degree in Sociology and a Master's degree in Social Work from the Kharkiv National Pedagogical University named after G.S. Skovoroda, as well as a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the same institution. He has completed extensive specialized trainings, including Introduction to KoboToolbox, MS Excel Level 2-3, Data Visualization (iMMAP Ukraine), PSEA training (UNICEF), Child Protection (UNICEF), First Aid (Ukrainian Red Cross Society), and numerous other trainings related to child protection, psychosocial support, and humanitarian work.
Iryna Lavrova
Iryna Lavrova is an experienced professional with significant experience in the public sector, social programs and humanitarian initiatives. She has strong expertise in administrative functions, document management, preparation of official correspondence, reports and analytical materials.
Since March 2025, Iryna has been working as an assistant program manager of an educational project (operation) at the NGO "Ukrainian Humanitarian Initiatives", where she provides administrative support to programs and prepares documents, reports, and correspondence. Her previous experience includes working as an administrator at the UNICEF Children's Point "Spilno" (May 2023 - February 2025), where she coordinated the work of the space, held events for children and parents, managed documentation and monitoring, and communicated with partners.
She also has significant experience in the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration, where she worked as a leading consultant in the Department of Interaction with State Authorities (December 2015 - present) and as a chief specialist in the Department of Family and Gender Policy (June 2013 - December 2015), implementing regional programs, preparing reports and regulatory documents, organizing events, and collaborating with civil society organizations.
Iryna has practical experience in organizing large public events and educational activities. She has skills in planning, structuring information, monitoring and following procedures in accordance with the standards of international organizations. She has strong competencies in business correspondence, cooperation with government authorities and NGOs, working with beneficiaries and vulnerable groups, conducting events and presentations.
Denis Dmytriev
Denis Dmytriev has over 5 years of experience in public procurement, tender management and legal support of procurement processes. He has successfully managed procurement operations in various sectors, including healthcare, wholesale and non-profit organizations, and has completed courses for purchasers and on ZSEN on the Agora platform.
His expertise includes:
- International and national public procurement (Prozorro system, UNICEF procurement procedures)
- Preparation and evaluation of tender documentation
- Legal analysis and compliance in procurement
- Intellectual property law
- Contract management and negotiations
- Market research and supplier evaluation
Denys has worked on several international projects funded by UNICEF and other donors, demonstrating a deep understanding of international procurement standards and donor requirements. He has experience in managing procurement for humanitarian and development projects, including the project “Supporting Care System Reform in Ukraine” and the Ukraine Recovery Podcast conference in Rome, Italy.
His analytical skills, legal background, and practical procurement experience make him well-equipped to manage complex procurement processes while ensuring regulatory compliance.
Elena Leonidova
Elena Leonidova is an experienced psychologist with over 20 years of professional experience working in the cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) model. She has significant expertise in providing psychological support to vulnerable populations, working with trauma, crisis intervention, and methodological development.
Her professional expertise includes:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and psychotherapy
- Crisis intervention and trauma-informed care
- Working with PTSD, anxiety and stress disorders
- Individual and family counseling
- Group facilitation and support sessions
- Training and capacity building for professionals
- Methodological development and program design
- Working with children, adults and families affected by war
- Psychological support for internally displaced persons (IDPs)
- Art therapy and creative therapeutic methods
Olena has undergone extensive specialized training, including courses from the Association of Clinical Psychologists and Psychotherapists of Ukraine on CBT for mental and neurotic illnesses, crisis psychology and CBT at Uzhhorod National University, psychotherapy for personality disorders, and cognitive-process therapy for working with PTSD in military personnel and veterans.
She has worked with leading international and national organizations, including Premier Urgence Internationale, NGO "FSA", NGO BO "Peace for the Future", and the All-Ukrainian platform "Tell Me". Her experience includes individual consultations, group therapy, conducting trainings, and methodological support of psychological programs.
Svitlana Naboka
Svitlana Naboka is an experienced psychologist with over 4 years of practical experience in providing psychological support, crisis counseling, and working with vulnerable populations. She has significant expertise in clinical psychology, trauma work, and psychostabilization.
Her professional expertise includes:
- Clinical psychology and psychotherapy
- Crisis intervention and psychological first aid
- Trauma-informed care and anxiety management
- Individual and family counseling
- Group facilitation and support sessions
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
- Art therapy and creative therapeutic methods
- NLP and Ericksonian hypnosis techniques
- Working with children with special educational needs
- Support for military personnel and their families
Svitlana has completed specialized training in cognitive behavioral therapy at the Center for Personal Development in Wroclaw, Poland, and has advanced qualifications in working with military personnel and their families. She is an active member of the NGO "Association of Clinical Psychologists and Psychotherapists of Ukraine" and the regional representative of the association in the Kharkiv region.
Her educational background includes degrees in psychology, clinical psychology, public administration, and agricultural management, providing her with a comprehensive understanding of both psychological practice and organizational management.