Russia

Maria Melnikova has over ten years of experience in marketing project management, where she developed skills in BTL, CRM and events, that she is eager to apply for social good. Maria’s childhood years in Libya, Syria, and Iraq provided her with an understanding of cultural diversity and the challenges faced by different communities, which subsequently led to her further interest in working in a global environment. Maria has extensive volunteering experience for AIESEC Brazil, UNV online, todogood, and ProCharity platforms in Russia. Maria graduated from the Allrussia Academy of Foreign Trade with a Bachelor’s degree in Foreign Trade Management and from Moscow Higher School of Business MIRBIS with a Master’s degree in Marketing Management. Additionally, Maria joined the European Center for Peace and Development as a candidate for the MBA program in 2018. She is an enthusiastic lifelong learner in cross-cultural communication. Maria believes in a world without borders and in 2020 joined the Civic Assistance Committee to work with refugees and migrants in Russia. Maria enjoys traveling, water sports, and caring for her foster labrador Martha.

Irina Bogdanova is a Chief Specialist in SamaraNIPIoil Ltd, ROSNEFT, Russia. She became a technical reference due to her specialization in environmental project development for gas and oil areas. Irina develops safety and environmental guidelines for important clients who are based in various cities. The expertise and knowledge associated with environmental safety gave Irina the recognition of her company, and she presented and shared her work in the “Environmental Protection in Oil and Gas Complex” journal as the co-author of the article “Methods of Utilization and Processing Oil-Contaminated Soil.” Irina acquired a deep technical background, leadership, and communication skills during her professional career in diverse projects, which required her to be flexible and adapt to new environments.

Kate Korneeva has six years of professional experience in education and information technology. She earned a Master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Saint Petersburg in Russia. While working as a Premier Customer Success Manager at Wrike Inc., she helped companies efficiently manage their projects using online project management software. This allowed her to understand the value of lost profits if processes are not optimally structured. Previously, Kate worked for the largest private educational company in the world, Education First, where she placed students abroad to learn a new language. She was responsible for the entire sales cycle and was the first point of contact for parents. The strongest skills she developed there were management and negotiations under pressure. Kate volunteered as a program manager in Malaysia (AIESEC) where, for two months, she developed educational programs for students to increase entrepreneurial skills, sought funding for the project, and worked in an international environment. Through these experiences, she became passionate about equal educational rights. Kate enjoys focusing on the topics of girls’ education and has a strong passion for environmental protection.

Maria Medvedchikova is a Programme Associate at the Unit of ICT in health education of the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education. She works on awareness raising projects in topics such as HIV prevention, sexual and reproductive health, and violence prevention in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. She is a University of Nottingham graduate in International Media and Communications Studies and is currently focusing on using innovative ICT-powered tools in health promotion campaigns for adolescent and young population as well as for parent education. Maria’s areas of interest include integrating persuasive health communication into social media and gaming formats, the use of chatbots and Al for sexual and reproductive health campaigns, tackling stigma and misinformation on HIV and other health issues.

Ksenia Makovetskaya has seven years of experience in both the private and non-profit sectors. She has earned a Specialist’s degree in Law from one of the leading law schools in Russia. She also obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Translation from the same university. Since joining an international law firm in 2014, a major part of Ksenia’s work includes cooperation with non-profit organizations and providing them legal advice pro bono. Ksenia advised the biggest Russian non-profit organizations, such as World Wildlife Fund Russia and Enjoyable Aging, which provides care to elderly people. In addition to pro bono work, Ksenia coordinates donations to non-profit organizations on behalf of her company’s office and organizes the participation of her firm in charitable events in Russia. Through the unique combination of for-profit and non-profit experiences, Ksenia mastered the art of effective communication with people from different backgrounds, developed strong organizational skills, and learned how to ease the engagement of corporate professionals in community services. Ksenia is enthusiastic about the implementation of IT solutions in the non-profit sphere, especially she is interested in using technology for easement of animals’ adoption from shelters, development of e-democracy, and protection of civil and political rights.

Elina Valeeva has nine years of experience as an executive business consultant and is the founder and CEO of Meditivity, as well as an ambassador of Women in Tech in Russia. Meditivity is the positive behavior change app for people who want to achieve goals and live a mindful life. As a start-up founder and the leader of the Russian Women in Tech community, Elina is responsible for team management, communicating, and implementing the vision and overall direction of these organizations. Within one year under Elina’s leadership, Women in Tech Russia grew to include more than 2000 members and organized a series of events with an audience of more than 15 000 participants. In 2020, Elina got accepted to the StartUp Chile accelerator. In 2019, she was selected at the Young Transatlantic Innovation Leaders Initiative Fellowship, funded by the U.S. Department of State and the German Marshall Fund. Before Meditivity, Elina started Brainfest, an intellectual entertainment company, which, in two years, grew to include 14 cities and 25 000 participants.