EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Artur Orkisz
President
Artur serves as the Congressional Affairs and Public Diplomacy Liaison Officer at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Washington, D.C. In his role, he assists in the drafting of and execution of the Polish Government’s legislative agenda through outreach to Members of Congress and their staff.
Prior to working for the Embassy, Artur spent three years as Manager of Regulatory Affairs at the Government Relations office at AAA. He began his professional career in Washington, D.C. at Accenture’s Government Relations/Strategy practice.
Artur received his B.A. in Political Science and International Studies with a minor in History from Northwestern University. He also studied at the London School of Economics in 2000 where he pursued a General Course degree in International Law and Central and Eastern European Politics. In 2008 he was named a Fellow at The Fund for American Studies. It was through the Fund that he also participated in the American Institute for Political and Economic Systems at Charles University in Prague in 1999.
aorkisz@americanpolishforum.org
Blaise Misztal
Programs and Strategy Director
Blaise received an A.B. with Honors in Philosophy and Political Science from the University of Chicago. He went on to pursue graduate studies in Political Science at Yale University, from which he holds an M.A. and M.Phil. Having also studied at the Charles University in Prague and Nuffield College at the University of Oxford, Blaise is currently completing his Ph.D. in Political Science at Yale.
In September 2007, Blaise joined the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington D.C. As Senior Policy Analyst for the BPC’s National Security Initiative, Blaise researches U.S. policy options for containing a nuclear Iran, as well as new approaches for stabilizing fragile states.
bmisztal@americanpolishforum.org
Paula Louise Olearnik
Events and Outreach Director
Paula completed her undergraduate studies with a B.A. in Philosophy from Trinity College, University of Cambridge. She continued her studies with a specialization in the work of Ludwig Wittgenstein at The Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome from which she graduated in 2004 with an M.A. in Philosophy. She is currently completing her doctorate in Political Theory with a minor in International Relations at Georgetown University. She also works as a research assistant at the Berkeley Center in Washington.
Prior to beginning her doctoral studies, Paula worked for a year as a research assistant at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. In the summer of 2007 she was awarded a DAAD Fellowship to study German at the Ludwig-Maksimilian University of Munich.
polearnik@americanpolishforum.org
Filip Mielczak
Finance Director
Filip is currently an attorney with the United States Small Business Administration. Prior to joining the SBA, he completed internships at the Polish Embassy’s Trade and Investment Section in Washington, D.C. and at the Global Indian Chamber of Commerce in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He also taught Environmental Science at a high school in Philadelphia.
Filip received his B.A. in Anthropology and Comparative Literature with a minor in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2001. He received his Juris Doctorate degree from the Washington College of Law at American University in 2006.
fmielczak@americanpolishforum.org
Margaret Lawrynowicz
Government Affairs Director
Margaret is currently Associate Director of Legislative Affairs at the National Association of Federal Credit Unions, where she serves as both an attorney and a lobbyist handling Congressional relations for the organization. Prior to joining NAFCU, she served on the legislative staff of Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (NY), where she focused on foreign affairs and immigration issues. She also spent time working at a law firm in Washington, D.C., as well as for The Atlantic Council of the United States.
Margaret earned a B.A. in International Relations and Economics from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. She went on to earn a Juris Doctorate with a Certificate in International Law from the College of Law at Michigan State University. Margaret also spent time studying international and European Union law at several European institutions, including Oxford University, the University of Vienna, and the University of Florence.
mlawrynowicz@americanpolishforum.org
Eva Blaszczynski
Sponsorship Director
Eva is a CEPA Associate Scholar, specializing in economic policy, trade and investment strategy, and private sector development in Central and Eastern Europe. She holds an M.A. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) with a concentration in Emerging Market Economics and European Studies. She received her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University with a double major in Political Science and International Studies. Eva has studied at the SAIS Bologna Center in Bologna, Italy, as well as at The Institute for International Mediation and Conflict Resolution in The Hague, The Netherlands.
Previously, Eva spent four years working in management consulting for firms including Booz Allen Hamilton, A.T. Kearney (Global Business Policy Council), and Censeo Consulting Group. She has also worked as an intern at the U.S. Department of Commerce Central and Eastern European Business Information Center. Prior to graduate school she was a Herbert Scoville International Security Fellow with the Henry L. Stimson Center.
eblaszczynski@americanpolishforum.org
Aleksandra Kulczuga
Communications Director
Aleksandra received her B.A. degree from New York University in Computer Science and Economics. She spent several years at the investment bank of Salomon Smith Barney in New York City, after which she pursued a career in business development. In 2008, she completed a M.A. in Liberal Arts from the University of Chicago, with a concentration in Philosophy. She is currently working as a journalist covering business and politics in Washington.
akulczuga@americanpolishforum.org
Michał Safianik
Warsaw Liaison
Michał is currently the Deputy Executive Director at the Community of Democracies in Warsaw, Poland. He joined the organization in 2009, after serving several years as the Director for Board and Corporate Relations at the Atlantic Council of the United States in Washington, D.C.
Michał graduated from the College of Europe in Poland in 2005 with an M.A. in European Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies. He also holds an M.A. in European Cultural Studies from Jagiellonian University in Poland, and in International Relations from Hogskolan Dalarna, Sweden.
In 2006, Michał was a visiting scholar at the George Washington University’s Elliot School of International Affairs, with the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies. He co-founded the College of Europe Belarus Working Group, which implemented the ‘European Belarus’ project from 2004 to 2005.