CDC appoints director for Ukraine

TROY, Mich. - The Citizens Democracy Corps based in Washington will be implementing its assistance programs for Ukraine starting in January. Under a special presidential order targeted for Eastern Europe and the newly independent states, the CDC will mobilize U.S. private sector expertise and resources to build democratic institutions and free market economies in Ukraine.

Steve Piwtorak, a Ukrainian American from Troy, Mich., was appointed by the CDC from among nearly 100 applicants to establish and direct operations in Kiev for all of Ukraine. While in Ukraine, his objective will be to work with American business and industry leaders to fulfill the needs of Ukrainian free enterprise and democratic activities.

To accomplish this objective, he will work closely with Ukrainian government and industry leaders to establish priorities and implement three assistance programs:

• The Corporate Assistance Program will enlist executives of Fortune 500 corporations, non-profit organizations and universities to provide long-term, high-level priority needs.
  
  
• The Business Entrepreneur Program will target business needs to small and medium-size companies.
  
  
• The Citizens Volunteer Program recruits teams of volunteers to participate in long-term institution-building projects such as public administration and higher education.

Execution of these programs will also require close working relationships with the American Embassy in Kiev and other organizations that serve the cause of free enterprise and democracy.

Mr. Piwtorak was born in the Ternopil region of Ukraine. He emigrated as a very young boy to Germany and then to Canada. He was educated in the U.S., where he obtained an engineering degree and an MBA and now resides in Troy with his family. As a senior executive of an international company, he has traveled extensively in Western Europe, the Orient and more recently Ukraine, where he had been working on several joint ventures and international trade transactions.

"Ukraine is facing numerous complex issues and hardships during this period of transition to democracy and a free market economy," he noted. "Resolutions, however, lie within the Ukrainian people and its leadership. They must initially exhibit a combined spirit and effort to overcome these obstacles."

"By mobilizing America's volunteer spirit, the Citizens Democracy Corps wants to further stimulate and provide the necessary expertise and resources that will continue to encourage and reinforce this momentum. This commitment will serve the immediate needs of Ukraine and ultimately the needs of everyone focused towards democracy in our expanding global economies," Mr. Piwtorak said.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, January 17, 1993, No. 3, Vol. LXI

| Home Page |