Who we are

We are a dedicated team of scientists, educators, and psychologists. Amid war’s hardships, we support the academic growth of Ukrainian children and the psychological well-being of refugee families.

Earthlings Hub is a non-profit international educational initiative [formed under the auspices of the 501(c)(3) science nonprofit Blue Marble Space Institute of Science (EIN: 27-0184094)] organized by leading educators, scientists, and psychologists from the USA, Canada, Europe, and Ukraine to provide children displaced by war in Ukraine (including those in refugee camps and evacuated orphanages) an opportunity to strengthen their motivation in learning and expand their education via the multidisciplinary, inquiry-based, student-centered online environment, providing students with essential learning skills and habits of mind required in the modern world. In addition, we offer counseling and psychological support to parents and caregivers, recognizing their crucial role in children’s learning and well-being.

Our initiative is backed by renowned educators, researchers, and scientists from around the globe. We intend to share our educational content and best teaching practices with the general public and partner educational organizations, particularly those who help refugees across the world. 

Meet Our Team

FOUNDERS

Julia Brodsky
USA, Maryland

MSc in Astrophysics — founder and CEO of innovative Art of Inquiry online science program for middle school children, serving hundreds of students around the world; former NASA astronaut instructor; researcher and STEM Education Lead at Blue Marble Space Institute of Science.

Sasha Kaurov
USA, New Jersey

PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics, research associate in the Department of the History of Science at Harvard University, a visitor in the Program in Interdisciplinary Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study, and an affiliate research scientist at the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science.

Yulia Turchaninova
USA, Texas

Professor, PhD in Education, MSc in Physics; a world-renowned educator with over forty years of experience, leader of multiple international educational projects in the USA and Europe, involving hundreds of thousands of educators and students. Founder of Parents College and Education without School initiatives


Advisory Board

Gregory Chamitoff

Former NASA astronaut, Lawrence Hargrave Professor of Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Sydney, Australia and a Professor of Engineering Practice at Texas A&M University.

Joscha Bach

Cognitive scientist focusing on cognitive architectures, models of mental representation, emotion, motivation, and sociality; VP of Research at AI Foundation, and Principal AI Engineer at Intel labs.

Konstantine Sofer

MBA, FPAC – finance executive with over 25 years of experience in managing  budgets and finance operations of large non-profits and commercial organizations.

Yuli Fradkin

Attending Clinical Assistant Professor of Child Psychiatry, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, assistant professor at Rutgers and Yale medical schools.

Uri Wilensky

The Lorraine H. Morton professor of Learning Sciences, Computer Science and Complex Systems at Northwestern University. 

Tamara Yatsenko

Academician of the NAPS of Ukraine, Doctor of Psychology, Professor of the Department of Practical Psychology Ukrainian State Dragomanov University


SCIENTISTS & RESEARCHERS

Alena Kizenko
Austria

PhD candidate in Biology at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria

Anna Kogan
UK

PhD candidate in Biology
at Oxford University

Grisha Tagiltsev
Germany

Postdoctoral researcher
at Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry

Zlata Fedorova
USA, New York

PhD candidate, 
Research Assistant
at Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, Bonn

Evgeniy Amelchenko
USA, New York

Research Scientist
at Stony Brook University

Mikhail Fomichev
Germany

Researcher at Secure Mobile Networking Lab, TU Darmstadt

Alexander Missyul
Spain

Chemist and crystallographer at ALBA Synchrotron, Barcelona


Teachers

Boris Brodsky 
USA, Maryland

MS, cognitive psychology

Vera Boguslavskaya
USA, California

Math Teacher

Victoria Doronina
Great Britain

Biologist, biomedical writer

Oksana Germakovski
USA, New Jersey

translator

Elena Labrecque
USA, Massachusetts

MS, nanobiotechnology

Iya Rekhtman
USA, North Carolina

PhD, Chemistry

Rustam Kurbatov
Montenegro

Historian; Founder and director of the international online-school Open Kovcheg


PSYCHOLOGISTS

Irina Umnova
Canada

MS Psychology

Yuli Fradkin
USA

Professor of Psychiatry

Marina Shchedrovitskaya
Mexico

PhD, Family Psychology


ADMINISTRATORS

Maria Levin
USA

Operations Manager

Scroll to Top