Maria Romanenko is a journalist, writer, public speaker, and activist from Kyiv, Ukraine living in Manchester, England. Having fled the war with her Mancunian partner, Maria continues to do what she can to help Ukrainian people. She has worked with the BBC, ITV, ABC News, and Sky News and was Editor-in-Chief of Hromadske International – an English-language Ukrainian publication – from 2018 to 2020.

She’s been helping Ukrainians in the area by running free walking tours in Ukrainian, campaigning on behalf of Ukraine, raising money for Ukraine, and spreading awareness. Most recently, she became the first Ukrainian recipient of the Prime Minister’s Points of Light award for her voluntary work in “advocacy for Ukraine”.

Sign up to her newsletter below to stay in touch, and you’ll get her 3-step Confidence Boost for free. To follow Maria’s public speaking fundraising efforts, please check out her and her partner’s Talks For Ukraine initiative.