In Real Life with Elena Salaks—Human rights activist

As a young girl, Elena Salaks found herself in a new country with a new status—refugee. Born in Ukraine, her family re-founded itself in the United States when she was still a little girl.

A long-time product and program manager at Microsoft, Elena vividly remembers her early days in her new country, and the compassion and support her family received from strangers. Those core memories drive her modern mission as a human rights activist and motivational speaker who encourages women and non-binary people to stay true to their authentic selves. She told me about her activism work in this short interview.

“Being a young refugee, I really bought in to the hustle culture and pleasing others. But my choices weren't healthy, and many of my decisions were based on my own self-talk or what I grew up hearing was my role in society,” Elena told me. “Now, I focus on trying to model a shift in my approach to work and life as a leader in a way that is more aligned to my own values. And I continually communicate to others by my words, writing, and actions in hope that it inspires others to do the same.”

And her actions support her words and writing. When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Elena jumped into action.  

“Hearing the news and what was going on had a strong emotional connection for me. I was donating, but it just felt so distant. When my sister told me about an organization she's affiliated with that was looking for volunteers to help at the border, I was on a plane within a week,” Elena said.

That flight took her to Poland, where she and others provided aid to Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war at the Poland/Ukraine border.

“It felt really gratifying to be able to do something tactical on the ground to help people feel important and cared for,” she said.

You probably get the feeling that Elena is quite confident in herself and her outreach efforts these days, and while that’s true, it hasn’t always been that way. Tapping into a growth mindset, Elena told me that it took plenty of false starts and trial and error to get where she is today—and she’s always learning.

“I've ended up doing quite a bit of fundraising for organizations that are helping Ukraine. But when I was still back in college, I tried to do a charity dinner to raise funds to help fight human trafficking, and it was a complete failure,” Elena told me. “That misstep made me so uncomfortable with asking for money, even for good causes. But this past year, I put myself in situations where I was fundraising, and I was able to do that successfully. Experiences that don’t go how you want challenge you to grow and expand and get more comfortable with what you've not been able to do before.”

Elena, thanks for reminding us that perceived failure only means more data for future endeavors, and that every person can make a difference in their own way.

If you’d like to learn more about Elena, find her on Medium, where she publishes regularly on topics such as work/life balance, activism, and human rights. You’ll even find an article about what it was like to volunteer at the Ukraine border for two weeks. Her takeaway from that experience: “Слава Україні,” which translates to ‘glory to Ukraine,’ a common salute used to show support of Ukrainian sovereignty and resistance.