In cooperation with the Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the U.S. Embassy, the Board of Directors of the Polish-U.S. Fulbright Commission has appointed Ms. Justyna Janiszewska as the Executive Director of the Commission. Ms. Janiszewska will assume duties May 1.
Prior to becoming the Executive Director of the Polish-American Fulbright Commission, Ms. Janiszewska served as the President of the Board of Education for Democracy Foundation (EDF) – a leading Polish non-governmental organization operating in the area of the former Soviet Union. From 2007 to 2016, she coordinated the Region in Transition – RITA Program, and other EDF projects. From 2003 to 2006, Ms. Janiszewska was the Secretary of the Zagranica Group – a coalition of Polish organizations working abroad, serving on its Board of Directors from 2008 to 2014. In fulfilling her duties, she cooperated closely with the One World Association, the School of Leaders Association and the Stefan Batory Foundation. Ms. Janiszewska is a qualified trainer in Polish, English and Russian, conducting workshops in the areas of global education, international cooperation, and project management.
Ms. Janiszewska received a Master’s degree in Political Science with specialization in international relations from the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań and a Bachelor’s degree in Management. She is a graduate of the School of Human Rights of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights and of the Management Program NGO PROMENGO. In her career, she has focused on sustainable development, global education, and democratization. In 2014, the Polish government awarded her the Gold Cross of Merit.
Ms. Janiszewska will join the Fulbright Commission as its Director on May 1, 2016.
The Fulbright Program in Poland was established in 1959. It was administered by the U.S. Embassy, on the American side, and the Ministry of Education, on the Polish side. On March 22, 1990, the Governments of the United States and Poland signed a bilateral agreement establishing the Office of U.S. Educational Exchanges, the first of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe. The next Fulbright accord was signed on October 22, 1995, by Mr. Nicholas A. Rey, Ambassador of the U.S. to Poland, and Mr. Władysław Bartoszewski, Minister of Foreign Affairs, changing the name to the Polish – U.S. Fulbright Commission. On March 10, 2008, in conjunction with Polish Prime Minister’s official visit to Washington, the United States and Poland signed a new Fulbright Agreement, which significantly raised the financial contribution of the Polish side, and, consequently, expanded the exchange of students, scholars and teachers between the countries.
The Polish Fulbright Program is the largest in Eastern and Central Europe as well as the most prestigious and continuous academic exchange program between Poland and the United States. The general objective of the Polish Fulbright Commission is to conduct educational and cultural exchanges. Through its various exchange programs, the Commission supports studies, research, instruction, and other educational activities of American and Polish educators, scholars, and institutions; it also administers visits and exchanges between the United States and Poland of students, trainees, scholars, teachers, instructors, and professors. In this way the Polish – U.S. Fulbright Commission contributes to the central goal of the Fulbright Program: to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and Poland through the sharing of ideas, knowledge, skills, and individual experiences by means of educational and cultural exchange.
