“I Came to Compete but Found a Community That Truly Listened to Me”: The Transformational Story of Daria Verbytska After the Aspen Institute Kyiv Seminar

“I applied to the seminar without high expectations. All I knew was everyone who graduated from the Aspen Institute Kyiv said: ‘It’s going to be incredible.’ But no one could explain exactly why. And now I understand—it’s impossible to put into words. You have to experience it.”
Daria Verbytska is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of the intelligence institute Molfar and Head of PR at Molfar. While participating in the seminar, she also held the position of Chief Operating Officer at the online media outlet AIN.UA. She says that before the seminar “Media and Reality: Dimensions of Responsibility,” she was used to clear algorithms, tight deadlines, and a competitive environment. At the same time, she wanted to understand how a different media ecosystem operates—not as numbers, but as a living organism.
That’s exactly why she applied to the seminar. Afterwards, Daria returned to her team with the realization that high-quality media work is not just about data accuracy but also about ethical understanding. She began speaking with her colleagues more about meaning, not just efficiency. And it turned out that even in an environment where algorithms and precision were key, there was a deep hunger for dialogue, trust, and depth.
You can read more about Daria’s transformational experience below.
Leaving the Comfort Zone and the Familiar Environment
Daria Verbytska says she thoroughly prepared for the seminar: she read all the texts, made margin notes, and expected intense intellectual competition. But the first thing that struck her was the atmosphere during the discussions.
“I thought I would come and prove I knew better. But it became clear from the first minutes that this wasn’t about competing. It was about shared understanding. I saw that media professionals I had considered ‘from other worlds’ could actually be kindred spirits. I had always been ‘inside the system’—communications, research, formality. But I lacked contact with the ‘human’.”
This experience not only shifted Daria’s perception of the professional landscape but also transformed her interactions with colleagues.
“I stopped thinking solely as a process manager. I started initiating deeper and more meaningful interactions at work and leisure. We began hosting informal gatherings, discussing exhibitions or films, and creating art reports. But even more important was that I became more curious about my colleagues’ cultural and ideological experiences—and began integrating that dimension into our work conversations.”
Dialogue as a New Managerial Practice
One of Daria’s most powerful insights came during a discussion on how media should report missile strikes—a painful and complex topic in wartime Ukraine:
“Should the media report when it knows for sure the target was military? That’s a profound moral dilemma. And what amazed me was how we all—with such different backgrounds—came to a shared understanding. It was an incredible feeling: there was no battle over ‘who’s right,’ only a shared desire to seek the truth.”
Daria also brought that experience back to her team: She introduced regular in-depth discussions, started welcome booklets with recommended sources, and fostered a microclimate of trust and idea sharing.
“Now, I care more about how a colleague thinks and what they believe in—whether they’re ready to listen and truly hear. And I realized that this is the foundation of a strong team.”
A Community That Lasts Beyond the Seminar
Daria continues to stay in touch with her fellow seminar participants: they share events, invite each other to meetings, and initiate partnerships.
One notable continuation of this community is a joint project with Nataliia Tkachenko, who is also a graduate of the Aspen Institute Kyiv seminar. Together, they conducted a large-scale study on contemporary Ukrainian art—its value and investment potential.
“It’s one of those cases where all you need to say is: she’s the Aspen Institute Kyiv alumna—and you already know you can work together. Because there’s a shared mindset, shared ethics, and depth,” Daria says with a smile.
Ultimately, Daria’s most profound transformation wasn’t just professional—it was in her leadership approach. She co-founded a research institution with her colleague Artem Sterosek, also an Aspen Institute Kyiv seminar graduate. The creation of that institution began with hours-long conversations.
“We didn’t write strategies—we talked: we listened to one another, compared experiences, questioned the obvious. Only after that came the actual text. That was Aspen, too—just in a different form.”
“This Wouldn’t Have Happened Without the Aspen Institute Kyiv”
“If I hadn’t taken part in the Aspen Institute Kyiv seminar, I wouldn’t have believed that a project could be built from dialogue. That the media community isn’t about rivalry—it’s about shared responsibility. And that a team isn’t about control—it’s about a shared rhythm of thinking. These are things that change everything. I don’t know where else, besides the Aspen Institute Kyiv seminar, one could live through that.”
For Daria, the seminar became a turning point that led to new professional choices, partnerships, and a whole new way of thinking.