Oksana Prociuk Ciz

Biography

For 35 years, Oksana was honoured to lead Buduchnist Credit Union (operating as BCU Financial), a financial cornerstone of the Ukrainian Canadian community. Under her tenure as CEO, BCU experienced exponential growth and expanded its financial services to include wealth management and insurance. On her initiative, the Credit Union established BCU Foundation and Oksana was instrumental in building it into a valuable resource for the community - funding cultural, educational, sports and youth programs and most recently providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine and supporting her people throughout Russia’s brutal war of aggression in Ukraine.

Oksana began her community work as a member and then director of the Ukrainian Youth Association (CYM) in Toronto, later acting as program director, and Saturday Ukrainian school teacher at the Yuri Lypa Heritage Academy. Oksana is a long time member and director of the League of Ukrainian Canadians and the League of Ukrainian Canadian Women; Oksana was a key contributor and initiator respectively of the collection of one hundred video recordings of “Living History”, accounts of WW II resistance movement testimonies filmed in Ukraine and in Canada and the project, “Shores of Freedom” including testimonies of the post-WW II refugee arrival at Pier 21 in Halifax and early immigrant life in Canada. As Treasurer of the Ukrainian Cultural Centre Toronto, Oksana played a pivotal role in the community’s acquisition of the Old Mill Toronto.

“In recognition of her professionalism, career accomplishments and community leadership”, Oksana was recently named a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants. Oksana continues her community work principally with the Ukrainian Cultural Centre Toronto, the League of Ukrainian Canadians and BCU Foundation. Community work would not be possible without the support and understanding of family, husband Bohdan, children Olena (Nicholas) and Zenon (Marta), grandchildren Zakhar and Maksym and sister Marusia.