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Ostap Korkuna

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Ostap Korkuna
Остап Коркуна
Born (1987-09-26) September 26, 1987 (age 37)
Lviv, Ukraine
Nationality Ukraine
Occupations
  • software company executive
  • nonprofit co-chair
Known forNova Ukraine
AwardsInternational Collegiate Programming Contest 2008 gold medal,

Order of Merit 3rd degree[1]

Ostap Korkuna (Ukrainian:Остап Коркуна; born 26 September 1987 in Lviv) is a Ukrainian American software engineer, executive, and humanitarian. He is a gold medalist of the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest, as well as co-founder and co-chair of the nonprofit organization Nova Ukraine that raised over a hundred millions of dollars for humanitarian aid to Ukraine. In 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded him the Order of Merit 3rd degree for his contributions.

Education and career

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Korkuna holds a master's degree in Informatics from Lviv National University in Ukraine.[2] While at university, he took part in competitive programming contests. He was a member of the team representing Lviv National University at the 2008 International Collegiate Programming Contest World Finals.[3] The team placed fourth overall and was awarded gold medals along with the other top four teams.[4][5] As a solo competitor, he placed 13th in the 2009 Topcoder Open Algorithm Competition.[6]

Korkuna's strong performance in programming contests attracted the attention of recruiters at Facebook, and he moved to California as one of the company's first Ukrainian employees.[7] Until 2024, he worked as a director of engineering at People.ai.[2]

Non-profit leadership and advocacy

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Korkuna co-founded Nova Ukraine in 2014 and remains its volunteer co-chair.[2][7][8]

Street rallies and advocacy

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In 2018 Korkuna led a rally in San Francisco to support Ukrainian sailors captured by Russia in the Kerch Strait incident.[9] In February and March 2022, in the first weeks of Russian invasion of Ukraine, he led street rallies in San Francisco to raise awareness about the situation in Ukraine.[10][11][12]

In Summer 2022, at a public discussion event at the Commonwealth Club of California, Korkuna outlined how Nova Ukraine helped Ukrainian refugees in Mexico and in the US with shelter, food, basic necessities, and communications, while advocating for additional aid.[13]

Non-profit leadership

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During the 2014 Revolution of Dignity, Korkuna helped organize the Ukrainian community in the San Francisco Bay area as a local branch of Euromaydan to show solidarity with Ukraine through street rallies.[7] He co-founded Nova Ukraine in 2014, and has led the organization for over 8 years, contributing to fundraising, recruitment and media relations.[14][8] Under Korkuna's leadership, Nova Ukraine raised funds for humanitarian aid for Ukraine and delivered tens of millions of dollars worth of aid in 2022.[2][15] In 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recognized Korkuna's contributions as the co-founder and co-chair of Nova Ukraine with the Order of Merit 3rd degree.[1][16]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Decree of the President of Ukraine №556/2023 on Recognition with State Awards of Ukraine". President of Ukraine, Official Internet Site (in Ukrainian). 2023-09-04. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
  2. ^ a b c d "Nova Ukraine Board of Directors". Nova Ukraine. 18 April 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  3. ^ "ICPC 2008 World Finals Results". Baylor University. 2009-04-01. Archived from the original on 2012-02-22. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  4. ^ "ACM ICPC 2008 World Finals". Competitive Programming Hall of Fame. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  5. ^ "Ukrainians won Gold at the world programming championship". Korrespondent.net (in Russian). 2008-04-15.
  6. ^ "Ostap Korkuna profile". Competitive Programming Hall of Fame. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c "How a 22 year old from Lviv got a job at Facebook" (in Ukrainian). 24 Kanal. April 19, 2016.
  8. ^ a b Khrystyna Shevchenko. "Nova Ukraine Featured on Voice of America News" (in Ukrainian and English). Retrieved 2023-07-02 – via YouTube.
  9. ^ ""Путин, руки прочь от Украины". В США устроили антироссийскую акцию с требованием освободить моряков". ТСН.ua (in Russian). 2018-12-02. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
  10. ^ Katsuyama, Jana (February 17, 2022). "Bay Area nonprofit worry Russia might be targeting humanitarian aid workers". Fox KTVU.
  11. ^ Narayanan, Shwanika (March 9, 2022). "'Get out of Ukraine right now.' Bay Area Ukrainians angry, frightened for families as Russia invades". San Francisco Chronicle.
  12. ^ Zhou, Shihui (February 27, 2022). "Ukrainians in America: Ukrainians can't lose in the fight for democracy" (in Chinese). Central News Agency (Taiwan).
  13. ^ "Crisis at the Border: Helping Ukrainian Refugees". Commonwealth Club of California. June 21, 2022.
  14. ^ Khrystyna Shevchenko (September 10, 2022). ""Історія масштабного благодійного фонду NOVA Ukraine з Каліфорнії"" (in Ukrainian). Voice of America. Retrieved 2023-07-02 – via YouTube.
  15. ^ "Nova Ukraine has raised $30M to help with relief in #Ukraine since #Russia's invasion (video)". First Move CNN. May 11, 2022 – via Twitter.
  16. ^ "President of Ukraine Recognized Two Californians with the Order of Merit" (in Russian). Slavic Sacramento. Sep 25, 2023.
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