Oksana Matiiash: Transforming Education in Ukraine

Oksana Matiiash is the Chief Executive Officer of Teach For Ukraine, a nonprofit organisation dedicated to ensuring that children across the country have access to quality learning opportunities — no matter the circumstances.

Before the full‑scale invasion in 2022, Oksana already played a central role in expanding education with Teach For Ukraine, helping grow the programme to 30 schools reaching 10,000 students across five regions. Rather than pausing operations when conflict intensified, she pivoted the organisation’s work to address urgent needs, launching emergency responses to support both academic and psycho‑social learning for children and teachers affected by the war. Through partnerships with major global agencies such as UNICEF, Save the Children, and the World Bank, her team delivered crucial assistance to tens of thousands of learners and educators.

Oksana’s leadership extends beyond the classroom. She has mobilised technology companies and philanthropic partners to raise significant funding — over $2.5 million — and expand the organisation’s teacher base tenfold. Her commitment has earned international recognition, including being named in Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe for social impact and receiving the Peres Heritage Award. She also brings her voice to global leadership circles as a member of the Board at Ukraine’s Presidential Fund for Education, Science, and Sports.

Oksana holds a master’s in public policy from the University of Oxford and a degree in international law from the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, grounding her activism in rigorous academic and policy insight. Through her work, she continues to strengthen education as a foundation for Ukraine’s future resilience and reconstruction.