Olga Seredyuk Selected as the 2026 Recipient of the Richard E. Herman Leadership Award

Itasca, Ill. – We Raise Foundation is thrilled to announce that Olga Seredyuk has been selected as the 2026 Richard E. Herman Leadership Award honoree. The Leadership Award recognizes the commitment and service of one leader whose professional or volunteer efforts are helping under-resourced individuals and communities in the United States thrive.

Seredyuk is a nonprofit leader and strategic communicator whose distinguished career reflects a deep commitment to Christian service, community transformation, and the development of emerging leaders. Across Christian ministry, higher education, global health, and international service, she brings people together, strengthens mission-driven organizations, and helps communities recognize and build upon the gifts and resources already present within them.

Born in Ukraine and raised across cultures, including in Sweden and the United States, Seredyuk developed an early sensitivity to how people build trust, find belonging, and work across differences. She has built her leadership around noticing what others overlook—and then helping others see both the challenges and possibilities before them.

As Executive Director of The Whitefield Center in Savannah, Ga., Seredyuk leads a Christian community center that provides space for programs advancing literacy, workforce development, refugee assistance, and faith-centered artistic and cultural expression. Working alongside more than 15 local ministries, she has strengthened the Center’s operational capacity while expanding its role as a place of hospitality, collaboration, and support for organizations serving the city’s historically under-resourced neighborhoods.

Seredyuk also provides board governance and organizational leadership to YouthReach International, a Christian ministry that works alongside churches, donors, and volunteers to build mentoring communities for vulnerable youth in the United States and abroad. At Emory University’s Candler School of Theology, she serves as a strategic partner and advisor to the Youth Theological Initiative, supporting sustainable development and the formation of emerging Christian leaders.

Her commitment to Christian formation extends to her writing. Seredyuk has written stories for the devotional collections Hope for the Holidays, A Year of Hope, and The Advent Collection, and has three forthcoming children’s books focused on wonder, courage, and the transformative power of kindness.

Seredyuk’s leadership is also marked by a willingness to put faith into action. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, she helped evacuate 33 children from a Ukrainian orphanage. She later shared the experience in her TEDxSavannah talk, “Richard, Can You Help?” challenging audiences to move beyond detachment and decision paralysis and toward courageous, personal action. Her message is simple but powerful: we do not have to solve the whole problem to take responsibility for the part that is ours.

Her leadership has earned her the International Association of Business Communicators’ Golden Flame Award for excellence in strategic communication and the Association for Christian Fundraising’s Outstanding Executive Award. She also chairs the Association for Christian Fundraising’s Hospitality Committee and serves as a Champion Facilitator with Generous Giving, creating welcoming spaces for conversations about biblical generosity, stewardship, and purpose.

Seredyuk earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Emory University, focusing on Eastern Europe, with additional studies in French and pre-medical studies. She later completed master’s studies in writing and digital communication at Agnes Scott College and executive business education through Abilitie’s MBA program.

“We Raise is proud to add Olga to a distinguished list of recipients of the Herman Leadership Award for her work at the Whitefield Center,” said Paul Miles, President/CEO at We Raise Foundation. “She is an inspirational example to others through her commitment to bring nonprofit leaders and organizations together, envisioning what can be accomplished when we collaborate. Rick Herman has long championed the concept of partnerships, and Olga is the living embodiment of a leader who engages her whole community in the service of others. She lives her deep faith every day, and we are proud to lift her up and celebrate this remarkable leader.”

“What has always mattered most to me is the assurance that the Lord has placed me in the right place, at the right time, among the right people, for the right reasons,” said Seredyuk. “I return often to Proverbs 3:5–6: ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.’ I’m honored to receive the Richard E. Herman Leadership Award and grateful to We Raise Foundation for this recognition. It is a great encouragement that I am moving in the right direction.”

As the recipient of this award, Seredyuk will receive a cash award of $4,000.

The Leadership Award was established in honor of Dr. Richard Herman, We Raise Foundation’s fourth president (2006-2015), a passionate supporter and encourager of young adult Christian leaders.

---

About We Raise Foundation
Motivated by the belief that freedom is grace in action (Galatians 5:1a), We Raise Foundation funds innovative ideas and leaders that help individuals and communities thrive. We have a preference for funding solutions within the areas of education, workforce development, and reentry, and employ a unique approach to our investing by coupling program funding with a variety of robust value-added services that empower our grantees to grow their solutions. As a result of these value-added services, every $1 that donors invest through We Raise multiplies into more than double the benefit to the organizations we support. To learn more, please visit weraise.org. You can also find We Raise on Facebook, X, and Instagram.