By Andrew Cohen
Innovative and powerful leadership is evident throughout the UC Berkeley Law community, from students and alumni to faculty and staff. We will be highlighting various examples to showcase how such leadership advances justice, accountability, and the rule of law.
Tetiana Poudel LL.M. ’16 grew up in newly independent Ukraine, in a home where media, news, and the fight for freedom of expression were integral parts of daily life. Her father was a journalist, and as a teenager she advocated for democracy and transparent governance during the 2004 Orange Revolution — a mass protest movement sparked by election fraud.
“That became a defining moment for shaping my belief in free speech and civic discourse,” she says.
After her legal studies in Germany and the United States, where she earned her LL.M. degree at UC Berkeley Law, Poudel took flight on a fast-rising career in Silicon Valley at Meta and then Spotify. But when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, her focus shifted away from career advancement and toward helping her country.
When Spotify granted her a few weeks off, Poudel flew to Poland to be with her mother and sister, who temporarily fled Ukraine in the early days of the war. Poudel then went to Ukraine — where her father, Volodymyr Danyliuk, had volunteered to join the Ukrainian army on the invasion’s first day.
“His decision was incredibly brave and something I deeply admire,” she says, noting that he has received distinguished service awards from President Volodymyr Zelensky and General Valerii Zaluzhny. “But it also came at a high emotional cost for our family, especially during the months he was stationed near Bakhmut, a city that has effectively been wiped off the map.”
In September 2022, Poudel transferred to Spotify’s London office to be closer to her family and Ukraine. Her father rose to the rank of deputy commander, and with his unit lacking basic protective gear and supplies Poudel raised $13,000 for boots and tactical vests for his unit. She also helped pick up medications and deliver them over the border, in the wake of many Ukrainian pharmacies having been destroyed or lacking supplies.
“I spent as much time as I possibly could in Ukraine, using nearly all of my vacation days to be there and support my loved ones,” she says.
Venturing forward
Buoyed by her initial crowdfunding success — and viewing Ukraine’s long-term strength as reliant on economic and technological resilience — Poudel joined broader venture capital initiatives to help her country and joined the advisory board of Slava Ventures, a newly formed Silicon Valley-based fund focused on investing in Ukrainian startups.
“I supported their due diligence process and helped evaluate potential investment opportunities,” she says. “It was an exciting way to combine my legal experience with a growing interest in venture capital — and, most importantly, to help Ukrainian founders build during wartime.”
In March 2024, Poudel joined a London Business School-affiliated six-month initiative, Newton Venture Program, that equips investors with the tools and network to thrive in the venture capital world. She also got involved with another venture fund that supports defense tech innovation coming out of Ukraine or other allied countries.
“The most rewarding part of this work has been contributing to something bigger than myself,” Poudel says. “Spending extended periods in Kyiv — an incredible, defiant, and vibrant city despite constant air raids — has only deepened my belief in Ukraine’s future.”
Last fall, Poudel joined the wildly popular social media platform TikTok as legal counsel. True to form, she leaned right into the risks involved.
“I won’t lie: It felt like a bold move at the time, given the looming U.S. ban and the broader geopolitical scrutiny the company was under,” she says. “But I kept hearing one consistent message: TikTok is a place where people grow a lot. A mentor once told me, ‘You’ll inevitably be part of an organization facing a major legal challenge no matter what happens — and you’ll learn a lot from that experience.’ That advice stuck with me.”
Poudel credits TikTok for prioritizing professional growth and maintaining a startup mentality that encourages innovation and adaptability. Focusing on product compliance with European legal frameworks, she relishes working with top lawyers worldwide on complex, high-stakes issues.
“Every challenge here comes with a steep learning curve, and that’s exactly what I was looking for,” she says. “It is a truly global team affording exposure to multiple cultures, something I treasure in terms of work satisfaction and personal growth.”
Buoyed by Berkeley
Poudel’s role at TikTok reflects her post-LL.M. mission: Helping a global platform shape how people express themselves online. From Meta to Spotify to TikTok, she has worked on myriad issues, from advising on compliance with global regulations for various product launches to developing product compliance strategies to handling intellectual property infringement claims.
“My LL.M. year at Berkeley was truly life-changing,” she says. “It was a dream come true and a major stepping stone in launching my legal career in the U.S. — a dream I had since childhood, growing up watching American courtroom dramas on TV in Ukraine.”
Her degree opened the door to join the iconic law firm Wilson Sonsini, where Poudel was a corporate associate for almost two years before joining Spotify. She credits UC Berkeley Law for expanding her worldview, raising her aspirations, and inspiring her to view her career like a startup — creative, agile, and growth-focused.
“As an immigrant woman, I often felt like I had to work 10 times harder and be 10 times more resourceful to keep up and succeed,” she says. “But that experience also made me stronger, more resilient, and ultimately better prepared for the long term.”
The school changed her life personally as well. Poudel met her husband, Swaroop Poudel ’17, in accounting class. A startup mentor at Berkeley SkyDeck and co-president of the Berkeley Haas Blockchain & Cryptocurrency group, through which he also works with current law students, Swaroop often visits Ukraine with Poudel.
“Even though we’re happy to call London our new home,” she says, “we both love Berkeley and consider it to be our forever home.”