Amazing Alumna:

Donna (Blado) Ulteig ’65, College of Arts and Sciences

Current life role:  Clinical social worker in private practice with Psychiatric Services in Madison, Wis.

Donna Ulteig never imagined that her passion for social work would lead her to the site of the world’s most deadly nuclear accident at Chernobyl, Ukraine. But since 2000, when she visited a Russian community impacted by the disaster.” Ulteig has been working to improve the lives of the children and adults who continue to cope with the affects of the disaster 20 years later.

Restoring health

Ulteig initially got involved through FOCCUS (Friends of Chernobyl Centers U.S.), an organization dedicated to educating the public about the ongoing effects of the Chernobyl disaster and helping individuals and communities who were affected to fully recover. During her first trip to Ukraine, Ulteig helped train professionals at community centers (established by UNESCO) in mental health practices. “Because of the former Soviet regime, they have no mental health system over there,” she explains. “No therapy or counseling, so consequently people didn’t have the tools to deal with the huge mental health issues surrounding the disaster.”

That first experience was life changing. “Once you visit and stay with the people, you’re hooked,” Ulteig says. “It was amazing to me that people who have so little can be so loving and generous. And their resilience was incredible, too.” 

Welcoming children

Ulteig also got her parish, Bethel Lutheran in Madison, involved by connecting Sunday school children with children served by the Chernobyl Community Center in Borodyanka, Ukraine. This relationship blossomed into a summer exchange program with children from Ukraine in need of “respite care” staying with local families for six weeks during the summer. “The families sort of fall in love with the kids,” Ulteig says. “Some of the children from Belarus have come back five years!” During their U.S. stay, they have English and computer classes, as well as free medical and dental care.

“We hear so much about globalization. I thought we might be able to make a difference, even in a small way, by bringing children over here or by going over there to teach mental health professionals,” Ulteig says. “And now I see clearly how those things can make a tremendous difference in how people live their lives. It’s pretty amazing what can happen if you decide you’re going to learn about something—it can change your life.  It changed mine.”