Valeriy Kostyuk (BFA ’18) is a Ukrainian-Canadian producer who has had a successful career in art and entertainment. However, after hearing about the conflict in his home of Ukraine, he set forth to make a positive change in his community. Now, as the executive director of the Canada-Ukraine Foundation, he hopes to build bridges between the two countries he calls home.
“When I was in Grade 11, I watched The Producers by Mel Brooks and I thought, well that looks like a lot of fun,” says Valeriy. “I was always involved in drama at school, which made me want to work in the theatre industry.”
Valeriy recalls the diverse educational experience that York’s theatre program provided him to help carve out his career path.
“My first year at York, we were able to try different areas of the theatre world like acting, production and theatre history,” says Valeriy. “Professors like Peter McKinnon, John Mayberry and Shawn Kerwin were all hands-on specialists. Being thrown in the deep end and figuring out how to swim was an education I gained at York that really helped me with complex projects in my field.”
After graduation, Valeriy became an associate producer for Starvox Entertainment, a company founded by York alumnus Corey Ross (BA ’95, MBA ’00) that produces stunning immersive exhibits such as “Disney Animation: Immersive Experience” and “Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience.” While at Starvox, Valeriy was the producer of Ukraine's first immersive exhibition dedicated to Ukrainian icon Taras Shevchenko, “Shevchenko: Soul of Ukraine,” with 100% of the proceeds going to humanitarian aid in Ukraine.
While he was enjoying his career as a successful producer, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine shifted Valeriy’s focus towards a humanitarian cause that was close to home. In 2024, Valeriy was appointed the executive director of the Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF), a charitable organization which has sent over $95 million worth of aid to Ukraine, helping more than six million people, since 2022.
“Canada and the Ukraine are both so important to me,” says Valeriy. “Ukraine has given me a great opportunity to become who I am, while Canada has given me an education and opportunities to do things that bring me joy. I want to continue building these bridges between the two countries.”
Valeriy hopes to continue to advocate for Ukraine and help those in need. While he has accomplished a lot before the age of 30, he believes that the most complex things are still to come.
“At York, we studied a silent film called Battleship Potemkin that feature the iconic Potemkin Stairs in Odesa, Ukraine,” says Valeriy. “When you’re standing at the bottom of the staircase, all you see are steps and it seems daunting. But once you walk up the stairs and look back, you see the segments of the steps, and it doesn’t look so scary. It’s the same with projects; at the beginning they seem daunting, but when you look back at the end of the project, they didn’t seem as complex as they did in the beginning.”
Valeriy Kostyuk is a 2025 recipient of York University’s Top 30 Alumni Under 30 which recognizes inspiring and diverse alumni 29 years old and younger who are driven to make a difference locally and globally. View the 2025 Top 30 Alumni Under 30.