Raya Shelashska is from Kyiv, Ukraine. Raya and her husband, Oleg, started their journey as foster parents thirteen years ago by welcoming into their family a dozen of children who spent most of their lives on the streets.  Being a foster and adoptive parent led Raya to wonder about ways to help children with history of trauma, who struggle with behavioral, social, psychological issues, to heal and recover from trauma. In 2013, she discovered Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI), a practical and evidence-based intervention. She became TBRI Practitioner and Educator, and in the summer of 2018 she received her master’s degree in Developmental Trauma at the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development at TCU (Texas, USA).

Raya co-founded and directs the Institute of Child Developmental Trauma, a national non-profit organization which focuses on children with history of trauma and their families empowering them to build meaningful relationship and trust.

Raya and Oleg are proud parents of four children and are passionate about making a difference in their country and worldwide providing training and support for foster and adoptive families and child welfare professionals