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Our Volunteers

	Irina Jacobson: I was born in Moscow, and graduated from Moscow Pedagogical University with BA in Russian Language and Literature. In 1991 I moved to Houston, TX where I completed MBA in Finance (University of Houston, 98). Currently I work as a Manager of Financial Analysis for a leading Air Conditioning and Heating company and raise a 14-year-old daughter Nikki and an 8-year-old dog Max. In addition to supporting Advita Fund USA, I support a church in Moscow where my mother is a parishioner. I am a second year student of a Houston-based School of Transformation and Healing.PS. On a personal note - my favorite quote and guidance in life is this: Blessed Mother Teresa was once asked how she could, day after day, tend to sick people in Calcutta and she answered “It’s not hard, because in each one I see the face of Christ in one of His distressing disguises”.
	Antonina Kurtova: I was born and grew up in Leningrad Region, Russia. After graduating from St. Petersburg State University, I moved to Houston in 2007 and started working as a biologist at the Department of Leukemia, MDAnderson Cancer Center. Currently I’m a PhD student at Baylor College of Medicine focusing on translational biomedical research. While still at In St. Petersburg, I used to work at Pavlov State Medical University performing flow cytometry diagnostics of leukemia. Unfortunately, many of Advita Fund patients, children and adults, came through our lab. Being very familiar with all the problems of modern cancer healthcare in Russia, I really hope that Advita Fund USA will give these patients a chance. Chance for hope, cure and life.
	Vlad Litvinov: My childhood was spent between three countries: Kyrgyzstan where I was born, Moldova where I was raised and Mongolia where my parents worked. I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Education and one in Economics, and was involved in a broad area of professional activity from teaching in a public school to working as a banking analyst. For the last few years, I have been also volunteering for a home-based hospice care in Toronto. All this experience gave me a good grasp of the needs of various communities which I am currently enhancing by working towards an MBA in Community Economic Development.
	Olga Nilova: I was born and grew up in St. Petersburg (former Leningrad), Russia. In 1991 my family relocated to the USA and since then I live and work in New York. I am a librarian at one of the world-renowned centers for research and graduate education in the biomedical sciences. I’ve been helping Advita fund in St. Petersburg since November 2007, and few months ago I became a volunteer of Advita Fund USA.I dedicate my work to my beloved son Greg. In summer 2006 he was diagnosed with CML. Unfortunately, the first-line therapy with Gleevec didn’t help (Greg developed resistance to Gleevec) and doctors switched him to Sprycel, but told us right away that the only chance for Greg to overcome the disease is bone marrow transplant. My younger son, who was 11 then, became his brother’s donor (he was a 100% match). The transplant was performed on July 3, 2007, but 3 1/2 months later Greg lost his battle due to acute GVHD, which went out of control.
	Marina Ouano: Originally from Russia, I’ve been living in Houston, Texas since 1995. For the last few years, I volunteered as a translator for Advita Fund in St. Petersburg. Unfortunately, I saw that the fund had limited opportunity to support children with advanced stage diseases who had no further treatment options in Russia, but could be helped in countries with more developed healthcare system. This eventually led to the start up of Advita Fund USA.
	Yulya Pachos: Originally from Ukraine I came to US for a master’s degree in finance; subsequently, have been working in NYC for the large global financial trade association. I’ve been reading a lot about Advita’s efforts to support children in need of urgent cancer treatment in all post-Soviet countries, admire all the work and enthusiasm of founders and supporters, believe those efforts are really vital in the given situation of limited resources in former Soviet space and will try to do what I can to be a useful contributor starting from now.
	Semyon Sokolinsky: I was born and raised in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). In 1989, my entire family emigrated to U.S. and we settled in Baltimore, Maryland. I have received my Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from Towson University and recently completed an MBA program at University of Baltimore. I have been working as an Information Technology professional in banking industry for the past 10 years. Traveling to Russia since 2000 have made me realize how much help people really need in order to survive terrible diseases and receive the proper treatment they deserve. I started a search for a project to volunteer until I came across Advita Fund USA. Advita’s mission and success caught my attention right away. I strongly believe that Advita Fund USA will give patients’ life and happiness. I am glad to be a part of it.
	Elena Sviatova: I was born and raised in Nakhodka, a city in the Far Eastern part of the Soviet Union. I moved to the U.S. in 2000 and now live in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia with my family. I had close personal encounters with medical system in Russia and the United States and saw first-hand the huge difference between the levels of care and doctors’ training. Before joining Advita Fund USA, my main focus has been assisting children in Russia and Ukraine who needed urgent cancer treatment but could not receive it in their home countries.