CARE Poland Team

Daria Khrystenko

Education in Emergencies Manager

Daria Khrystenko is a refugee and humanitarian who has shared her journey of fleeing the conflict in Ukraine and rebuilding her life in Poland. She currently serves as the Education in Emergencies Manager at CARE Poland.

Before the escalation of the war, Daria co-founded and managed a language school in Kyiv. After arriving in Poland as a refugee, she participated in a teacher employment program organized by CARE Poland and its local partner, PCPM. This opportunity allowed her to transition professionally and join CARE Poland, where she now focuses on supporting education initiatives for displaced populations in crisis settings.

Daria holds a degree in linguistics, specializing in English, French, and literature, from Kyiv National Pedagogical University. Early in her career, she worked as a lecturer of English at the university.

A single mother to a 13-year-old son, Daria also has three cats. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, playing volleyball, and swimming.

Karolina Maciorowska

Women’s Health and Protection Coordinator

Karolina Maciorowska is a health systems and policy specialist with extensive experience in healthcare system strengthening, violence against women and girls (VAWG), and reproductive health. She serves as the Women’s Health and Protection Coordinator at CARE, supporting programs across Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to address health and GBV challenges in Ukraine’s emergency response.

Karolina has a strong background in evidence-to-policy translation and implementation, contributing to clinical guideline development, healthcare system improvements, and intersectoral training initiatives. Her career spans projects with international organizations, public health institutions, and NGOs, including policy research for the Polish Ministry of Health. She also has experience in pharmaceutical pricing policy, legal aid management, and e-health innovations.

She holds an MSc in Health Policy, Planning, and Financing from the London School of Economics and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and is completing an MSc in Psychology. Karolina is a member of Cochrane and the Systems Innovation Network, with multiple publications on healthcare policies and evidence-based practice.

Viktoriia Synelnyk

Program Manager for Women and Girls in Emergencies

Viktoriia Synelnyk is the Program Manager for Women and Girls in Emergencies at CARE International in Poland, where she oversees a portfolio of projects addressing issues that impact women and girls, such as violence prevention and reproductive health among Ukrainian refugees across Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary.

She has extensive experience in human rights, equality for women and girls, and humanitarian response, having previously served with the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine. In this role, she focused on the rights of internally displaced people and those living in occupied territories, as well as issues related to human trafficking and GBV. Earlier in her career, Viktoriia was a lecturer in English and Japanese at the National University in Luhansk, Ukraine.

Viktoriia holds an MA in International Relations and postgraduate qualifications in geopolitics and pedagogy. Her professional development includes certifications in international crisis management, mediation and negotiations, and GBV case management. A native Ukrainian and Russian speaker, she is fluent in English and conversant in Polish and Japanese, combining a global perspective with local expertise.

A proud mother of two teenage sons, Viktoriia enjoys spending her free time with them and her French bulldog.