Born in Ukraine, Olga Aksyonova discovered ballet, and it became one of her life’s greatest passions. Although she was a top ballerina, Olga faced the difficult decision as a teenager to choose between pursuing ballet or attending a traditional university.

At 16, Olga chose to focus on her education and enrolled at Kyiv National University, where she completed bachelor’s and master’s degrees in international law. After graduation, however, she chose a different path, working for eight years on gender projects for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Driven by a desire to help people, Olga transitioned into the sports world and became Head Of Development with Ukrainian Athletic Federation in 2013. Throughout her life, she knew she didn’t want to work only for a paycheck, but to actually make the world a healthier, unprejudiced, and more equal place. Olga is primarily focused on the transition of female athletes into post-athletic careers, and she aims to run a national campaign promoting women at top-level positions in sport. She is currently the Advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration at the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.