Anne Smith
Co-Chair and Policy Director
Anne Smith is a Kyiv-born regulatory attorney focused on immigration law and policy. She advises individuals, families, institutions, and nonprofits on short-term and long-term entry options into the United States, immigrant rights, humanitarian protections, status changes, and pathways to citizenship. As Policy Director for the Ukraine Immigration Task Force, she leads the group’s advocacy initiatives and provides guidance to the public on key immigration topics facing Ukrainians. She also interacts with federal agencies and informs the Task Force of regulatory updates affecting immigration processes. She is also the founder of Hands Helping Ukraine, a resource hub that shares avenues to donate, volunteer, and support Ukrainians. She is based in Washington, DC and volunteers as a pro bono attorney with Catholic Charities Immigration Legal Services of the Archdiocese of Washington.
Joy Ziegeweid
Co-Chair
Joy Ziegeweid is an immigration attorney based in New York City. In addition to her position as supervising immigration attorney at the Urban Justice Center Domestic Violence Project, she is Senior Visiting Fellow at the Immigrant Advocates Response Collaborative and serves as I-ARC’s liaison to the Ukraine Immigration Task Force. Joy is also a co-founder of Legal Information Network for Ukraine, a nonprofit organization that provides free immigration legal information, consultations, and webinars to people displaced by the war in Ukraine. She is active in local and national immigration advocacy and frequently trains and presents on topics relating to humanitarian immigration remedies.
Olha Khomyak
Community Education Liaison
Olha Khomyak (Olga) is an experienced immigration attorney based in New York City and serving clients in all U.S. states. As a Ukrainian-American herself who emigrated from Lviv, Ukraine, she understands the legal, logistical, and personal challenges facing new arrivals — particularly those in vulnerable situations. She is an activist for Ukrainian and immigrant-rights causes, including Razom for Ukraine, where she volunteers with legal and humanitarian efforts. As Community Education Liaison for the Ukraine Immigration Task Force, she shares educational guidance in legal clinics, webinars, and on social media forums.
Oksana Bandrivska
Lead Practice Counsel
Oksana Bandrivska is a seasoned immigration attorney with over a decade of experience advising individual and corporate clients. She started her legal career in Kyiv, where she clerked in the Kyiv court system, interned for the prosecutor’s office, and served as in-house counsel at a leading Ukrainian bank. Her broad range of expertise includes family reunification, employment-based immigration, student programs, adjustment of status, and naturalization. She also assists traders, investors, business creators, advanced degree holders, and persons with exceptional ability to pursue specialty visas. As Lead Practice Counsel for the Ukraine Immigration Task Force, she provides expert legal analysis on complex immigration topics, as well as practical guidance on handling unique situations encountered by Ukrainians seeking refuge in the U.S.
Alek Beynenson
Online Communications Lead
Alek is a New York attorney primarily representing healthcare professionals in matters of regulatory compliance, insurance disputes, and civil racketeering litigation. Working with volunteer organizations Alek has assisted Ukrainian arrivals with their immediate legal needs of establishing a solid foothold in the U.S. He has worked to streamline the application process for work authorizations, TPS, and various other benefits. Alek handles the Ukraine Immigration Task Force web presence and coordinates volunteer translators.