Board Members and Operational Team
Nataliya Miller
Nataliya’s journey in serving children started when she was in her 20s helping children from an orphanage located in her hometown in Ukraine. When Nataliya moved to the United States she continued helping children.
One morning Nataliya learned about a little boy who suffered from a rare genetic disease, SMA Type 1. She immediately started looking for a way to help this baby and found out about BfS. Nataliya joined the team inspired by the BfS’s mission.
Nataliya’s favorite cartoon character, Ariel, said: “I don’t see how a world that makes such wonderful things could be bad”. As a society, we can inspire each other to find the means to help, open our hearts and be willing to provide whatever we generously can.
Matt Lambert
Matt got involved in Birds for Sofia in 2022 right after the Ukraine conflict broke out, in the darkest times for Ukrainian kids with rare diseases. “After studying the situation with the SMA kids, it quickly became clear to me that we had a very brief window to really help these kids and it was unlikely anyone else or any other program was going to get to them in time, if at all.” In his proactive manner, Matt was instrumental in finding the US hospitals that would help our USA Resettlement Program patients.
Matt received a Bachelor’s of Arts in English from Brigham Young University. He also holds a Master’s of Arts in International Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master’s of Business Administration from the Wharton School of Business also at the University of Pennsylvania. He lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with his wife Whitney. They have five children. He and his family enjoy skiing, swimming and hiking.
James Brewer
James Brewer, M.D., Ph.D. is a prominent expert, who chairs the UC San Diego Department of Neurosciences and directs the Shiley Marcos Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. He joined UC San Diego after completing MD and PhD degrees at Stanford and neurology residency training at Johns Hopkins.
Dr.Brewer’s research program focuses on applying advanced brain imaging approaches to detect the subtle and progressive changes that accompany aging and neurodegenerative disease. He has developed tools to support the detection of abnormal brain atrophy for patients being evaluated in the clinical setting and in clinical trials of new Alzheimer’s disease therapeutics and interventions. Sharing with us a deep sympathy for children with rare diseases, James joined BfS in 2024.
Sage Hancock
Sage’s first nonprofit job was working at a neurological rehabilitation center, advocating for adults and children with acute and chronic neurological conditions. In 2022, Sage started working on Ukrainian efforts, including managing product donations, support for children, and advising on other nonprofit projects.
Having entered the BfS team as the executive director, Sage focuses on overseeing strategic development and planning. Sage prioritizes the foundation’s financial success by fostering valuable relationships with major donors, nonprofits, and corporate partners, as well as persistently pursuing partnership opportunities.
Sage completed a Master of Business Administration degree in 2021, and has 9 years of experience with nonprofit management. Sage and her husband have been married for 7 years and have a dog. They love spending time boating, hiking, and camping. Health, primarily exercise and nutrition, are one of Sage’s biggest passions.
Tetiana Gudyma
Back in 2022, Tetiana was invited to join the BfS team by Nataliya Miller, being united by the goal to help Anri Surmanidze. The onset of the war in Ukraine brought more cases like that to light, rapidly expanding the Program from serving 10 children to over 100 in several months, and to more than 600 year-to-date. Here’s where Tetiana’s management talent came in handy. Since September 2023, she is the Head of Programs who coordinates all the processes and volunteers inside the BfS team.
Tetiana shares Mahatma Gandhi’s vision that the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members. She believes that while institutional support is vital, caring of vulnerable members is also a social and individual responsibility. “This is what BfS incorporates, which is why being a part of this great mission has turned into a personal life mission for me” – she admits.
Tetiana earned a degree in German Studies and in Literature, as well as holds a B.A. in Sociology and Communication Studies from Gutenberg University. Tetiana is married, she’s a mother to a 3 year old Theodor, and is a huge Harry Potter fan.
Aliona Kuznetsova
Aliona joined the BfS team at the beginning of 2022, when the need to report on the urgent issues facing the Ukrainian RD kids became critical. As an experienced communicator, she took charge of covering BfS activities and events across multiple platforms, with a particular focus on the impact our organization and its partners have on the rare disease community in Eastern Europe.
Aliona holds an M.A. in Sociology and Mass Communications and is currently a PhD candidate in Social Sciences at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. She has 17 years of experience in event, talent, and brand management, and believes that the strongest words come from people who know their true purpose.
Despite the difficult times, Aliona remains in Kyiv with her husband and 5-year-old daughter. Her greatest passions in life are traveling and theatre.
Alexandra Mayer
With a background in economics and technical studies, Alexandra worked in retail for over 15 years, holding positions from a manager to store director. Life took an unexpected turn when the war forced her family to leave their home and seek help for the younger daughter, who suffers from an ultra-rare genetic disorder. During this challenging time, Alexandra came across BfS, and Tetiana Gudyma was the first to respond, helping with Varvara’s rehabilitation and treatment.
Inspired by Tetiana’s dedication, Alexandra realized she wanted to contribute to this mission and share her experience. For the past two years, she has been part of the volunteer team and recently took charge of the Genetic Testing Program.
Alexandra’s three guiding principles are: “Nothing is impossible,” “Progress happens step by step,” and “Obstacles exist only in our minds.” These beliefs keep her moving forward and enable her to provide others with the support her family once needed so desperately.
Polina Nazaykinskaya
Polina Nazaykinskaya is an award-winning American composer, an Adjunct Lecturer of Composition at Brooklyn College Conservatory, and a Teaching Artist at the Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven.
Polina’s music has been performed by the Minnesota Orchestra, the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, the Yale Philharmonia Orchestra, and the Russian National Orchestra. She has collaborated with top conductors, including Osmo Vänskä, Teodor Currentzis, Fabio Mastrangelo, Hannu Lintu, and internationally renowned choreographers such as Pascal Rioult, Jonah Bokaer, and Ulyana Bochernikova.
One of Polina’s latest chamber works, the trio “Songs for Tasya”, was dedicated to Tasya Larionova, a child with SMA from Russia with denied access to life-saving medicine. Polina and her energy were crucial in Tasya’s campaign. Today Tasya is alive and has received her life-saving therapy thanks to Polina and hundreds of other musicians worldwide who helped spread awareness about Tasya’s problem. Since then, Polina is an irreplaceable friend and ambassador of the BfS Foundation.
Zina Lara
Zina’s journey in helping others started when she joined a gene therapy fundraiser for a Canavan disease patient a few years ago. Since that time, Zina was involved in many complicated cases of SMA patients helping to raise money on time including baby Sofia. After Sofia’s fundraiser, Zina created a nonprofit to help other babies like Sofia worldwide.
Zina resides in Austin, TX with her husband and four-year-old daughter. Besides helping children, she likes to spend time traveling and eating delicious food at the local restaurants in the Austin area.
Dina Minibaeva
Dina is a small business owner and a student majoring in molecular biology at SEAN University, NJ. Dina’s journey in helping others started many years ago when she supported orphans with disabilities in her hometown.
One day her close friend called with terrifying news. He told over the phone: “Dina, the daughter of my childhood friend is dying”. He was talking about six-month-old Sofia Darbinyan. Sofia needed a life-saving treatment that cost $2,125,000 for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).
Dina helped to launch an original #birdsforsofia campaign on social media that became viral. Now Dina can’t imagine her life without helping children.