Gabriela Pawlus Kasprzak, Ph.D.
President
Gabriela Pawlus Kasprzak received a PhD in History from the University of St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto in 2014. Her dissertation examined the relationship between religious and ethnic identity amongst Polish immigrants to Canada in the interwar years. She specializes in ethnic, immigration, and religious Canadian history. Kasprzak has published in a variety of sources: peer-reviewed journals, collection of essays, and encyclopedia; and was the Guest Editor of the Polish American Studies Journal. She has presented at over 40 conferences. She is the recipient of numerous scholarships, including SSHRC and OGS, is a member of the Golden Key National Honour Society (since 1999), and has received the Skalny Civic Achievement Award. She is currently practicing as an Instructional Designer.
Michal Kasprzak, Ph.D.
Vice-President
Michał Kasprzak holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of Toronto. His main areas of interest include modern Poland, comparative intellectual history of socialism and Communism (especially the evolution of the European Left), theory of nationalism and assimilation/acculturation, the American Polonia, as well as American espionage in East Central Europe in the early Cold War years. He has published in several peer-reviewed journals including the Canadian Slavonic Papers, Nationalities Papers, The Polish Review, and Critique: A Journal of Socialist Theory. His work has been recognized through various achievements and awards. Currently, he teaches modern history and international relations at Ryerson University and works in the area of digital education strategies. He was elected vice-president in 2012.
Edward Sołtys, Ph.D.
Vice-President
Edward Sołtys was born in 1947 in Szczecinek, Poland. He served in the army in the Twentieth Armoured Division. In the years 1968 to1973, he studied Sociology at University of Łódź. From 1974 to 1977, he worked as an Assistant Professor at the Sociology Institute of the Silesian University in Katowice, while completing his doctoral studies. In 1978, Edward Sołtys graduated with a Ph.D. in Sociology. He worked at Catholic University of Lublin teaching and tutoring methodology and sociological techniques from 1983 to 1986. Sołtys was a member of the CPRI from 1987, becoming its President from 1995 to 2011. He was also a director of the Canadian Polish Congress from 1997 to 2002. In 2000 he was awarded the Silver Medal from the Canadian Polish Congress. Sołtys has published articles in Polish papers, such as Goniec, Nowy Kurier (Toronto), and Tygodnik Polski (USA); and peer-reviewed journals, such as Studia Filozoficzne, Studia Socjologiczne, Prakseologia, Organizacja i Zarządzanie, Przegląd Organizacji, Ruch Prawniczy, Ekonomiczny i Socjologiczny, and Ekonomika i Organizacja Pracy. Soltys is also the author of books on Polish Canadians, such as, Half a Century of Canadian Polish Congress, Parlament na obczyźnie, Trwanie w walce, Road to Freedom, and Black Ribbon Day.
Joanna Lustanski, Ph.D.
Secretary
Joanna Lustanski holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Warsaw, and a Project Management Certificate from the University of Toronto. As a doctoral student, she taught Polish historical grammar courses to students of the Polish Language and Literature Program, and also worked for the Polish Scientific Publishers PWN and Gazeta Wyborcza. In Canada, she's been a contract Faculty member in the Department of Linguistics and Languages at McMaster University teaching Polish and linguistic courses. She also works in the communications and marketing division of the Vice-Provost Office at York University. Lustanski is the author of many publications on Polish Canadians, including Jezyk polonijny w Kanadzie (based on her doctoral dissertation), and has published in peer- reviewed journals, including, Poradnik Językowy, Przegląd Humanistyczny, Linguistica Atlantica, and The International Journal of the Sociology of Language. In 2012-2013, she made a series of interviews about Polish in Canada for OMNI TV. She joined the Canadian Polish Research Institute in 2004, and was elected president of the Institute in 2011.
Renata Czyzycka, CPA, CGA
Treasurer
Renata Czyzycka is a Certified General Accountant, member of Certified General Accountants Association of Ontario. Since 2007, she has been working at Mongrel Media – a leading independent film distributor focused on bringing the best of local and world cinema to Canadian audiences. In her spare time, Renata enjoys gardening, cooking and traveling. In January 2015, she became a member and treasurer of the Institute.
