Program Notes by Jeff Mushen
Valeriy Goloborodko, Honorary Consul of Ukraine and fellow Rotarian, gave a fascinating presentation of the shared history of Russia and Ukraine. His role as consul is to champion local Ukrainian cultural events, support local Ukrainians, and advocate politically for Ukrainian ideals.
During the presentation Valeriy discussed Russia’s long history of imperialistic aspirations. It’s easy to start wars, but difficult to end them. A whole generation of Russians have been brought up under the propaganda that Russian ideals are constantly under threat from Western powers. Breaking these beliefs will take heroic efforts and sacrifice by Western nations who share the democratic ideals of the Ukrainian people.
Supporting Ukraine through this difficult time can be done through several charities. Rotary International has created an official channel for donors to support the humanitarian crisis throughout the region. To find more information please use the following link: Rotary.org
Valeriy Goloborodko was born and raised in Ukraine. When he was 24 years old, he married and moved to the United States to start his family. Since his first day on American soil, Valeriy has shown great interest in serving his community and being an active member of both the Ukrainian and American communities.
Valeriy is a board member of the American European Bethel Mission. He served as chairman and then as a board member of the Friends of Ukraine organization. Valeriy founded Goel Payment Solutions, a company that provides a full spectrum of electronic payment transferring services, and has functioned as its president and CEO since 2009.
He also started the Ukrainian Business Association, to facilitate starting up relationships between American and Ukrainian businesses, which has merged with Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce, for which Valeriy served on the board.
In 2014 Valeriy was appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine as Honorary Consul of Ukraine. Consular post headed by Honorary Consul Valeriy Goloborodko has in its jurisdiction Washington and Oregon states.
Since 2016 Valeriy serves as a board member of Slavic Department at University of Washington advisory board.
In 2016 Valeriy co-founded and started NW Ukrainian International Festival, the biggest Ukrainian cultural event on the West coast of USA and Canada. Event is done by the Pacific Ukrainian Society, a nonprofit organization co-founded by Valeriy Goloborodko along with pillars of Ukrainian community of Washington State, that is focused on development and maintenance of strong and friendly relationships between Ukraine and USA, including through promoting culture, education, economic relationships and freedom.
Valeriy holds a Master’s degree from Shevchenko University in Law and a Management Information Systems Bachelor’s degree from International Christian University. Valeriy lives in Bellevue with his wife and four children.