Madison, WI, Region Businesses Positively Impact Ukraine

Jeff Adkins

Inesa Zolotarenko was still settling into her new life in the Madison, WI, Region when war came to Ukraine. Russia invaded her home country days after she started her job at the property management and development firm Gorman & Co. 

Zolotarenko couldn’t stop thinking about her family and friends back in Zaporizhzhia. There, she was a lawyer before marrying a U.S. citizen and moving across the world. She had to do something but had no idea it would involve opening a restaurant. 

Like the rest of the global economy, Madison-area businesses have felt the effects of the Russo-Ukrainian War, including shipping and supply chain disruptions. However, some have found opportunities to be a positive force. 

In July 2023, Zolotarenko opened Touch of Ukraine with her mother, Tetiana Yermolova, and friend, Kateryna “Katya” Temchenko. The restaurant specializes in the flavors of their home country and has a full bar. 

“We were looking for a place where we all could work, and created something that we all could call a home,” says Temchenko, who serves as manager. “And nothing reminds you of home more than the food you grew up on.” 

Zolotarenko and her husband, Travis Spencer, worked with their boss, Gary Gorman, to sponsor Ukrainians to come to the U.S. as refugees, including Temchenko and Yermolova. Now, the three women donate a portion of the restaurant’s revenue to nonprofits working on relief efforts. 

Artisans Making a Difference in the Madison, WI, Region  

James Ferrett and Manuel Ramminger, co-founders of Trade Co., took a different approach to promoting Ukrainian culture. Founded in 2015, the nonprofit store offers economic opportunities to artisans who would be at risk for exploitation or modern slavery. 

“Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, a refugee crisis ensued. Historically speaking, refugees are one of the most vulnerable groups to exploitation,” Ferrett says. “Our mission is to empower the vulnerable, and now, there were millions of Ukrainians that were vulnerable to exploitation.” 

Ferrett traveled to Ukraine, Poland and Moldova in early 2023. However, he found the right opportunity to help by partnering with Florida-based Creating Comfort Lab. This group employs Ukrainian artisans who produce stoneware through ancient methods. 

“Not only is Creating Comfort Lab one of the businesses that are creating jobs in war-torn Ukraine, they also donate 40% of their profits to refugee relief efforts,” Ramminger says. “We were thrilled when we made this connection, as it provides a practical way for us and our customers to stand with the people of Ukraine.” 

The Madison, WI, Region Looks to the Future

While some businesses are supporting Ukraine today, others plan to contribute to long-term efforts needed to repair the war’s environmental toll. 

“The contaminated ground from the war in Ukraine is eventually going to be playgrounds for kids,” says Dennis Hall, president and CEO of Clandestine Materials Detection. “Unexploded ordinance has now contaminated a third of the country. It’s been equated to the size of the United Kingdom.” 

CMD uses a technology developed at the University of Wisconsin–Madison to detect unexploded ordnance. A ground vehicle receives signals from drones designed to detect gamma rays, produced by the presence of landmines, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), nuclear weapons and chemical weapons. 

Traditionally, personnel needed to walk battlefields with magnetometers, and every blip from metal detectors had to be cautiously excavated as if it were a landmine. CMD’s drones can quickly inspect areas to identify unexploded ordnance. This can help other countries affected by war or with securing areas, such as before dignitaries visit. 

The government of Ukraine has a significant interest in CMD, especially as the country’s farmers are currently at great risk due to potential explosives in their fields. 

“It takes humanitarian organizations about a month to sweep an acre of land, where we could do it in less than eight hours,” Hall says. 

U.S. military branches have also shown interest in funding the Madison-area company. Through these investments, Hall anticipates the technology could be deployed as soon as summer 2024. 

What’s important, according to Temchenko, is to keep doing good and hoping for an end to the conflict. 

“No matter what, you need to keep your faith in goodness and kindness,” she says. “Work hard and believe that, if you were given a challenge, you will also receive the strength to overcome it.”