Students For Liberty

Name: Katya Akudovich

Position: International Director

Email: kakudovich@studentsforliberty.org

School: George Mason University

Bio: Katya Akudovich was born in Minsk, Belarus. Growing up in a totalitarian country, Katya started to fight for liberty at school, notably promoting the idea of individual responsibility among her schoolmates. The ever-developing communist regime in Belarus and its near-total ban on freedom set the course for her future as she has dedicated her life to the cause of freedom. During her second year at Belarusian State University, Katya founded an NGO called “Community of young economists and entrepreneurs” to help young people in Belarus achieve the proper economic education and aid in their first steps in scientific research or business. In January 2008, Katya began her internship at the Cato Institute where she spent a year working for Cato’s Russian language platform. In March 2009 Katya won first prize in James Buchanan Essay Contest on Public Policy. She is currently a student at George Mason University. Katya will be a Charles Koch Summer Fellow at Atlas Foundation in summer 2009.

Favorite Figures in Liberty: Friedrich Bastiat, Natasha Srdoc and Thomas Rustici

On Students For Liberty: “I have no doubt that students are exactly the people who make the difference. They are young, ambitious and energetic – essential ingredients to achieve big success. But sometimes students can be lost in this infinite world of ideas. Students for Liberty is a backbone for the young people who understand the importance of freedom and property rights, and ready to act on this ideas and for them.”