As Ukraine Project Coordinator with SAISIA, Olga will be responsible for supporting agencies that assist in settling displaced Ukrainians arriving to Saskatchewan.
Olga is originally from eastern Ukraine. With university degrees in English Linguistics and in Public Administration and International Law, she decided to combine her educational background in law and languages by working as a translator and interpreter in Kyiv.
In 2011 Olga and her husband left their busy life in Kyiv and moved to Saskatoon to start a family. She knows what it means to start from scratch in a new country, as well as how to integrate into a new culture without losing yourself. Olga’s natural talents for managing office life and for running projects helped her thrive in a local engineering company for several years. In order to make life more fun (and challenging too) she helped her husband establish and run a local lifestyle magazine, and had two children in the meantime.
In 2020 Olga took an opportunity to design and run a pilot program for Saskatchewan community interpreters and translators. The program benefitted the settlement sector agencies and community organization staff plus their volunteers and casual language aids.
Fun facts about Olga:
1) She has the best dill pickle recipe ever (and can share it).
2) She’s been keeping a sourdough culture alive for 4 years by baking bread every week.
3) She practices hot yoga and it keeps her spirits up on many Saskatchewan winter days.