About
Members of the Board of CEED
Ann Semotiuk
Ihor Bardyn
Ihor Bardyn is a Principal Partner of the Law Firm of Mitchell, Bardyn and Zalucky in Toronto. For over 30 years Mr. Bardyn has been the Director of the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Program, a parliamentary democracy internship initiative in the Canadian House of Commons, for university students from Ukraine and the Ukrainian diaspora world-wide. Mr. Bardyn is the President of the Chair of Ukrainian Studies Foundation supporting academic work at the University of Toronto and Co-Chair of the Trust Advisory Committee of the John Yaremko Chair of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Toronto.
Paul Magocsi
PAUL ROBERT MAGOCSI is professor of history and political science at the University of Toronto, where since 1980 he also holds the John Yaremko Chair of Ukrainian Studies. He completed his education at Rutgers University (B.A. 1966; M.A. 1967), Princeton University (M.A. 1969; Ph.D. 1972), and Harvard University (Society of Fellows 1976).
Professor Magocsi is the author of over 900 works, including 43 books primarily in the fields of political, cultural, and religious history, sociolinguistics, bibliography, cartography, immigration and ethnic studies. He has taught at Harvard University, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Prešov University in Slovakia, and on five occasions was historian-in-residence at
the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Halle, Germany. He was appointed a permanent fellow of the Royal Society of Canada—Canadian Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences (1996), a member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences in Cracow, Poland (2023) and has been awarded honorary degrees from Prešov University in Slovakia (doctor
honoris causa, 2013) and from Kamianets-Podilskyi National University in Ukraine (pochesnyi profesor, 2015).
Wiktor Moskaliuk
Wiktor Moskaliuk is a retired Toronto-based architect and respected Ukrainian-Canadian community activist. Over his career, Moskaliuk led more than 150 architectural projects across Canada, the U.S., the Middle East, and Asia, and holds a Canadian patent for retractable acoustic banners used in Toronto’s SkyDome. He served as the lead architect and project manager for Team Moskaliuk, which designed the winning concept for the Memorial to the Victims of Communism in Ottawa—a powerful monument symbolizing freedom, justice, and remembrance. Born to Ukrainian refugees who fled Soviet oppression after World War II and immigrated to Canada, he draws deep personal meaning from his heritage, which has shaped his lifelong commitment to civic engagement and public memory. He remains active in the Ukrainian-Canadian community, contributing to public discourse and democratic advocacy through writing, speaking, and his role as a senior advisor with civic organizations such as CEED.
Marcus Kolga
Marcus Kolga is a Canadian journalist, human rights activist, and leading analyst of foreign disinformation and influence operations. A senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, the CDA Institute, and the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, he has written extensively on Russian and Central and Eastern European affairs in major publications including The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, The Atlantic Council, and The European Observer. Kolga led the Canadian civil society campaign for Magnitsky human rights sanctions legislation and supported similar initiatives in multiple countries. He has testified before legislative bodies in Canada, the U.S., U.K., Australia, and Estonia on disinformation, Magnitsky sanctions, and Interpol reform, earning the 2018 Magnitsky Global Human Rights Award. In 2020, he founded DisinfoWatch.org to track foreign disinformation targeting Canada. He has worked with Russian pro-democracy activists, organizing Canadian visits for figures like Boris Nemtsov and Garry Kasparov, and now leads a project supporting Russian and Belarusian journalists through Journalists for Human Rights. Kolga is a recipient of Estonia’s Order of the White Star and Latvia’s Defense Ministry Medal of Honour, and has been sanctioned by both the Russian and Chinese governments for his advocacy.
Bob Onyschuk
Bob Onyschuk, K.C., is the President and CEO of Onyschuk Strategic Advisory Services and a retired partner of Gowlings WLG, where he specialized in infrastructure, municipal, environmental, and international trade law. Recognized as one of Canada’s leading lawyers by Best Lawyers in Canada and the Expert Guide to the World’s Leading Lawyers, he has also served on the International Commission of Jurists. Since 1989, he has been deeply involved in the post-Soviet transition of Eastern Europe, leading the first Canadian trade mission to Ukraine and later representing the Ukrainian government on numerous legal and diplomatic matters. He served as a foreign advisor to Ukraine’s first three presidents, helped negotiate the printing of Ukraine’s first currency in Canada, and assisted in securing international aviation registrations following Ukraine’s independence. He founded the Smith Lyons office in Kyiv, was the first president of the Canada Ukraine Chamber of Commerce, and sat on President Kuchma’s Foreign Advisory Committee on Investment. As Chair of the Canadian Urban Institute, he helped draft Ukraine’s public-private partnership legislation. For his contributions, he received Ukraine’s Presidential Order of Merit in 2008. He also led the Canada-Ukraine Foundation from 2007 to 2021, and in 2022 was permanently banned from Russia as part of the Kremlin’s sanctions blacklist.
Victor Rud
Victor Rud is a Ukrainian‑American international law attorney and former Harvard (’72) and Duke Law (’75) graduate with over 35 years of legal experience. In the pre‑1991 Soviet era, he represented Ukrainian dissidents persecuted by the KGB in the West and later served as Special Counsel to a member of the U.S. delegation to the Madrid Review Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. Rud has addressed audiences at the U.S. State Department’s Foreign Service Institute and West Point, and his commentary has appeared in Forbes, the Kyiv Post, CEPA, EUToday, and other outlets. He is actively involved in the Ukrainian‑American legal community, serving on the Board and chairing the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Ukrainian American Bar Association.
Lisa Shymko
Lisa Shymko is a Canadian political scientist, media consultant, and civic leader who serves as Chair and managing head of the Peterson Literary Fund in Toronto. With an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Toronto and a career spanning journalism, diplomacy, and non-profit leadership, she has authored op-eds in major publications, advised Ukraine’s first ambassador to Canada, and helped draft Canada’s recognition of the Holodomor as genocide. She has held leadership roles on the Toronto Public Library Board, the NATO Association of Canada, and various Ukrainian Canadian organizations. At the Peterson Fund, she oversees literary awards that spotlight works advancing global understanding of Ukraine and decolonization themes, including the CAD 30,000 Peterson Literary Prize. Her past roles include directing Forum TV, launching international cultural initiatives, and accompanying Canadian prime ministers on diplomatic missions to Ukraine.
Andriana Ozymtchak
Andriana Ozymtchak is a third year student in the French common law program at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law. She is a strong leader in her community and thrives in group collaboration. This is demonstrated through various volunteer groups she is involved with. Andriana is a proud Ukrainian Canadian and it is important for her to stay active in the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada. She is the current President of the Uottawa Ukrainian Students’ Club this year and the secretary of the Ukrainian Canadian Bar Association. Andriana also serves as the Editor-In-Chief of the blog for the Centre For Eastern European Democracy.
Yuri Grytsevych
Yuri is a student at the Schulich School of Business, York University Toronto, as a Bachelor of Business Administration Candidate – Expected Graduation 2022. He is also at the School of Public Policy and Administration, at York University Toronto, pursuing a Professional Certificate in Public Administration and Law (CPAL) – Expected Graduation 2022. He has been an Executive Member of the Ukrainian National Youth Association – Toronto Branch.
