The Clear Blue Skies: Diaries from Ukraine

A former leader for the Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, Mr. Bonior was elected to Congress in 1976 after spending four years in the House of the Michigan Legislature. As the Democratic Whip, eleven years, he was a leading voice for progressive values. He spent 26 years in the U.S. House representing a district just north of Detroit which included Macomb and St. Clair counties. 

Mr. Bonior is of Ukrainian and Polish ancestry. His academic degrees at the University of Iowa and Chapman University centered on politics and history, specifically, around Ukraine, Poland, and Russia. 

Congressman Bonior is the author of six books including a recent novel entitled When Mercy Seasons Justice: Pope Francis and a Story of Migration (2021)

David and Judy Bonior have been married for 32 years and have a combined family of three children and eight grandchildren. They reside in Washington, DC and Port Republic, Maryland.  

He has recently returned from a two week tour through Poland and Ukraine bearing witness to the stories of Ukrainian refugees and their caregivers.   

Huebner's work has focused on supporting the development, strengthening, and coordination of programs and systems to enhance community-based and nationally-owned approaches to building young people’s resilience and supporting children at risk. She has done this work at home and abroad with the UN, the U.S. government, private foundations, multiple non-governmental organizations, and as an independent consultant. Huebner convened the Innovating Protection for Children on the Move Across the Americas forum, which was co-sponsored by Georgetown University’s Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues, Institute for the Study of International Migration, and Georgetown Americas Institute, in coordination with strategic partners. Huebner is a member of the Collaborative Design Team for Faith and the Family, a forum convened by Georgetown University’s Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues and Catholic Relief Services.

Ambassador William B. Taylor is vice president, Europe and Russia at the U.S. Institute of Peace. In 2019, he served as chargé d’affaires at the U.S. embassy in Kyiv and as the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine from 2006 to 2009. During the Arab Spring, he oversaw U.S. assistance and support to Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Syria. He served in Jerusalem as the U.S. government's representative to the Mideast Quartet. He served in Kabul in 2002 and in Baghdad in 2004.

In the 1990s, Ambassador Taylor coordinated U.S. assistance to the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. He earlier served on the staff of Senator Bill Bradley.

Ambassador Taylor is a graduate of West Point and Harvard’s Kennedy School and served as an infantry platoon leader and combat company commander in the U.S. Army in Vietnam and Germany.

Katya Pavlevych

Where Are Our People?, Razom for Ukraine

Katya Pavlevych is a US-based advocate of the return of deported Ukrainians. After the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Katya joined the Ukrainian PR Army as a volunteer. Since October 2022 she joined an initiative by PR Army — Where Are Our People? dedicated to exposing the deportation of Ukrainians to Russia. She is also a policy advisor on child deportation issues at Razom for Ukraine. She holds a master’s degree from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Institute of international Relations. With six years in PR, she previously provided  comms services to tech-related clients focussed on Ukraine and the US market. 

As the Theater and Policy Salon’s founder and a consultant in cultural diplomacy, Michael serves as a dramaturg and advisor for scripts and theater projects dealing with policy, cross-cultural, and global issues. Michael also serves as a judge for the Helen Hayes theater awards for the Washington region.

Awarded three D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities Fellowships and funded as a HumanitiesDC curator and project director, Michael works with Washington, DC area theaters and arts institutions, communities, and Embassies to organize theater and arts events that inspire action on local and global real world issues. The Theater and Policy Salon has partnered on Salons with NYU DC in collaboration with Mosaic, Shakespeare Theater Companies (STC) as well as Ford’s Theatre. Prior to the Salon’s 2018 launch, Michael conceived and curated the Talk Tank series for Forum Theater's 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 seasons. Michael served as an Editorial Team Member at Createquity - a virtual arts policy think tank and online publication - through its sunset in 2017.

Earlier in his career, Michael served as a director at PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief) and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. He served as professional staff on the Budget Committee of the U.S. Senate as part of a fellowship with the American Political Science Association. As a U.S. diplomat and cultural attaché, Michael served in Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, and the DRC as well as working on Central Africa, Brazil, Balkans, and European Union issues at the U.S. Department of State. Michael graduated from Wesleyan University and speaks German, Czech, French and Italian.