Our Team

Meet our passionate, talented, and dedicated team.

Larysa Dumenka

Larysa is the founder and head of the “Leeds Ukrainian Community Association” charity organization.

An accountant and project manager in the financial field by trade, she has been living in the UK for 20 years and has been engaged in volunteer activities since 2014.

Larysa initiates and implements several social and charitable projects. She has organised many fundraising events and donations to raise money to send aid to Ukraine.

She also actively conducts international and grant-search activities.

Viacheslav Semeniuk

Viacheslav is a trustee of the “Leeds Ukrainian Community Association” charitable organisation.

A cyber security specialist by trade, he has lived in Leeds since 2015.

Viacheslav has been volunteering since 2014 and specialises in technical issues and specifications for the selection of humanitarian aid. He also organises cultural events and the preparation of all equipment.

John Morrison

John is a public figure, a historian and retired military personnel.

He organizes events and contacts military bases where Ukrainian military personnel are trained in the UK.

John searches for channels to purchase appropriate humanitarian aid.

Julia Nelson

Julia is English and is a barrister in Leeds .

She became involved with the charity after sponsoring a Ukrainian family who came to the UK to live with her under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

Julia is our legal representative and provides advice on living in the UK. She is also engaged in advocacy and helps organise our events.

Bernadeta Bagaslauskaite

Bernadeta is a Lithuanian – great granddaughter of the Lithuanian partisan and has been volunteering and collecting aid for Ukraine in both UK and Lithuania since the beginning of war due to her family’s love for Ukraine and painful personal history with the aggressors country.

She currently works for Samsung B2B, is a business owner and an event organiser and planner, and has been living in Leeds for the 14 years.

Olena Sakhno

Olena works as an IT technology engineer and has lived in the UK since 2015 and has been volunteering since 2014.

She actively participates in the organisation and implementation of our projects.

Olena manages any issues related to hospitality in conducting events.

Ben McDougall

Ben works as a Strategic Lead at NHS England and brings years of project management experience and a deep commitment to charitable work — Ben has volunteered in a number of different charities before.

Since joining our team in October 2025, he has shared inspiring ideas for sustainable development of the organisation and has quickly become a valued and trusted member of the team.