ABOUT US
our organization & board
MEET OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Tatyana Borisovna Burns
President, Director
Tatyana grew up in Uzhhorod, in the Transcarpathia region of Ukraine, and immigrated to the Toledo area after finishing a bachelor’s degree and specialist degree in philology of the English and French languages at Uzhhorod National University. She received her master’s degree at the University of Toledo and is a teacher of English and French. She and Craig have a 19-year old son, currently at Miami University, and a 17-year old daughter, soon to attend Ohio State University. In her spare time, she plays piano and escapes into classic literature. She enjoys the company of her two dogs and two cats.
Craig P. Burns
Treasurer, Director
Craig has lived in the Toledo area continuously since 1990, when he began practicing business law, but his life only truly began when he met Tatyana. He has degrees from Miami University, the University of Virginia, and the University of Toledo. He is a member of the law firm of Marshall & Melhorn. Not at all coincidentally, he and Tatyana have a 19-year old son, currently at Miami University, and a 17-year old daughter, soon to attend Ohio State University. He is also a part-time Doberman wrangler.
Olha Mikolaivna Dyachenko
Manager of Ukrainian Operations
Olha manages our operations in Ukraine. She was born in Uzhhorod in the Transcarpathia region of Ukraine, to a family of factory workers. She completed her schooling in 1999. Her husband, Ihor Borisovich Dyachenko, Ph.D., works for the Ukrainian Ecological Inspectorate as a forestry inspector in the Transcarpathia Region. They live in Uzhhorod, and have a 17-year old son and an 11-year old daughter. In happier times, she enjoyed travel, especially beach vacations.
Ashlie Gora Dempsey
Director
Ashlie is a lifelong resident of the Toledo area. She is a proud graduate of Notre Dame Academy and the University of Toledo. She received her master’s degree at the University of Findlay and has been teaching for Toledo Public Schools since 2001. She’s been married to Michael Dempsey since 2007. She has a 21-year-old stepdaughter and a 10-year-old son. Her family is also home to 3 rescued pets: a dog and two cats. When she has spare time, she likes to walk her dog and escape in a good book.
Myra Oxender Frazer
Director
Myra is a lifelong resident of NW Ohio. She graduated from BGSU in 2001 with a degree in International Studies and worked in business and finance for several years. In 2016, Myra made a career change to education when she earned a Master of Education from University of Toledo, and has since been teaching social studies at Pettisville High School. She has been married to Israel Frazer since 2001. They live with their 3 children, dog, and cat just outside of Defiance, where Israel works as a lieutenant at the Defiance Fire Department.
Nancy Lee Atkins
Director
Nancy has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Toledo. Prior to retirement, Nancy served as Executive Director of Toledo Metropolitan Mission for 20 years and was also the administrator for Toledo Area Ministries and Metro Toledo Churches United. During these years, she especially enjoyed serving as chair of the ELCA church-wide Board for Outreach, which involved many meetings in Chicago at headquarters as well as across the USA. Locally, she served on numerous community boards, including ProMedica Toledo Children’s Hospital, the Ability Center of Greater Toledo, Family House, Toledo-Lucas County Mental Health Board, FEMA advisory board, YWCA, and Neighborhood Health Association. Currently she is active at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Toledo as a member of the worship, heart gallery, and mutual ministry committees, and its foundation.
She has been married for 57 years to Charles, who served as superintendent of Pike-Delta-York Schools. Her son Timothy and family live in Chicago, and her daughter Jill Sefcik and family live in St. Augustine, Florida.
Judi Lindsley Nath
Director
A perennial educator, Judi has spent her career in academics teaching at Lourdes University and Penn State University. As a lifelong learner, she has studied in both the United States and Austria having earned degrees in biology and German, culminating with her Ph.D. from the University of Toledo. In addition to serving as Past President of the Human Anatomy & Physiology Society (HAPS), she is also an internationally renowned author whose books have been translated into several languages. Higher education is a passion, so she and her husband, Mike, endowed the Nath Science Scholarship. When not researching and writing, Judi spends time in the dog world, training her German shepherd pup, Greta.
Mike Nath
Director
Mike is an attorney who traded his neckties for dog leashes. He attended Dartmouth College for his undergraduate degree and Cleveland-Marshall College of Law for his J.D. Eschewing the legal profession, he spent decades in management at Cedar Point. Since leaving the corporate world, he now spends time with the love of his life, Dr. Judi Nath. Together they have created the most wonderful home and yard for a dog menagerie including German shepherds, an American Eskimo, one Doberman, several mixed breeds, a Rottweiler, and an American Pit Bull Terrier. The couple also warmly welcome humans.
Jamie Sue Verbryke
Director
Jamie is a Toledo native graduating from Waite High School in 1998. Jamie graduated from Toledo Academy of Beauty Culture in 2004 with her full cosmetology license. She is part owner of Allure The Art Of Beauty salon In Maumee, Ohio, employing 17 Allure members. Jamie is married to Josh Verbryke and has four children: Allyssa, Cameron, Nolan, and Estelle. When she is not with her family, she spends time with friends playing cards, gardening, and snuggling with her French bulldog Bonnie.