Anna Budnyatsky is the director of the Russian School of Orange County. She came to the U.S. from the Soviet Union in 1988 and graduated from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in economics. She later received an MBA and worked as a strategic consultant for the Eastern European markets from 1996 to 2002. Anna gave birth to a daughter, and was determined for Russian to be a main part of her daughter’s upbringing. She was discouraged to discover that there were no Russian schools in her area. As a result, Anna started the first Russian School in Orange County, CA with a small group called “Mommy and Me” in 2002. The school has become the largest and most prominent weekend Russian school on the West coast, with over 300 students. It provides children, ages 2 to 17, with subjects such as Russian language, Russian literature, history, geography, mathematics, physics, drama, dance, music, journalism, and the arts. The school provides a strong academic program with a multitude of extracurricular events. In 2015, the Russian School of Orange County was awarded first place for the best Russian school in the U.S. for its achievements in promoting Russian language and culture.