Olya Odynsky-Grod

BIO

Olya’s enthusiasm and commitment for her community is deeply rooted. Olya was born in Toronto where she took full advantage of the vibrant Ukrainian Canadian community that nurtured her community activism. Olya is a graduate of the Univerity of Toronto, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts & Science. Her early leadership abilities were demonstrated by her work with the Ukrainian Youth Association (SUM), Dibrova Choir, Baturyn Band and as a volunteer for the Saskatoon Branch of the UCC as well as the Saskatchewan Arts Council.
As First Vice President of UCC -Toronto Branch she distinguished herself as a member of the organizing committee for the XXIV Triennial Congress in Toronto and as a key member of the Euromaidan Committee in leading rallies and organizing fund raising events. Olya is a constant presence at almost every major banquet and event in Toronto. But her work is not restricted to Canadian soil: she has organized multi-year UCC and government-sponsored Election Observer Missions in Ukraine.
Olya is a founding member of the Bloor West Village Ukrainian Festival where she has served for 20 years, including 17 years as vice-president. From 2010 to 2015, Olya served as a board member of the Canada First World War Internment Recognition Fund (CFWWIRF) and Chair of the UCC Internment Committee. Olya currently serves as a volunteer on the UNF Library Digitization Project.
For over a decade (1997 to 2010) Olya was consumed with the defence of her father, Wasyl Odynsky, who the Canadian government sought to denaturalize and deport. He was spared this fate by an Order-in-Council. Olya fiercely defended her father in the face of insurmountable odds and ensured that he would end his days, with his family, in Canada.