The Polish Museum of America Staff

Maria Cieśla – President of The Polish Museum of America

Maria Ciesla, President of The Polish Museum of America, began her volunteer activities in the late 1970s as a Sunday docent. She served on the Museum Board for several two-year terms, and was elected President in 2004. She is active in Chicago’s Polonia, civic organizations, and in ovarian cancer awareness advocacy, and has served as President for several of these groups.

Jan M. Lorys - Director

Jan M. Lorys attended Catholic primary school and high school in Chicago. He graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle in 1971 with a B.A. in Political Science. He worked for the Federal Government for nineteen years before taking a disability retirement, after which he earned an M.A. in History, also from UIC. From September 1992 till June 1996, Mr. Lorys was a bilingual (Polish) teacher with the Chicago Public School System, teaching History and Social Studies. He is the co-producer and writer of a short film on Casimir Pulaski. Jan. Lorys is the Director of the Polish Museum since June 28, 1996.

Mr. Lorys played an important role as a Steering Committee member in the creation of the Chicago Cultural Alliance, a Chicagoland partnership of 20 ethnic museums and cultural institutions.  He has also initiated contacts with cultural and government institutions in Poland that have resulted in several beneficial exchanges and collaborations.

Małgorzata Kot – Head Librarian

Malgorzata Kot completed her education in Poland, and received a Master's Degree in Polish Philology from the Jan Kochanowski Pedagogical University (Swietokrzyska Academy) in Kielce, Poland. In 1995, she joined the staff at the Museum as the Head Librarian. Mrs. Kot’s chief responsibilities include oversight and maintenance of the permanent book and media collection; cataloging acquisitions; processing donations; keeping inventories; and updating records. She is the editor of and a contributor to the Guide to the History and Collections of The Polish Museum of America published in 2003.  She has several other publications to her credit and frequently writes articles for the Polish press. Mrs. Kot often represents the Museum on ethnic and local television and radio broadcasts.

Halina Misterka - Archivist

Halina Misterka completed her education in Poland where she was a schoolteacher for 10 years. Since coming to the United States, she has worked with children in Polish Saturday schools. Polish folk dance and song have long been her passion and she is Artistic Director and Choreographer of the Polish Song and Dance Ensemble Lajkonik. Since 2000 Mrs. Misterka is the Archivist at the Museum, organizing and overseeing the vast and varied collection of documents and valuable papers.

Barbara Mirecki - Museum Registrar

As the Museum Registrar, Barbara Mirecki is responsible for developing collection policies and supervising the care of the Museum collections. She carries out the registration of art works, acquisitions and gifts, and is responsible for the storage of objects as well as their proper handling. She maintains the permanent records of the collection and documents the movement of objects for installation, incoming and outgoing loans. She monitors the condition of objects and oversees conservation needs.

Ms Mirecki earned a B.A. degree in Art History from The University of Chicago in 1971 and subsequently spent a year at the Jagellonian University in Krakow, Poland studying conservation practices.

Her credentials include ten years as an Exhibition Coordinator at The Art Institute of Chicago, several publications, educational art-related audio-visual production, manuscript editing, as well as many years of activity in galleries and as an art consultant.

Krystyna Grell - Librarian

Krystyna Grell earned a Master’s Degree from the Department of Philology, with a major in Library Science and Scientific Information, at Wroclaw University, Poland. She has experience working in Polish libraries and at the Department of Culture and Art of the Governor’s State Office in Legnica, Poland. Ms Grell received the award for Meritorious Service to Polish Culture from the Minister of Culture and Arts of the Republic of Poland.  After her arrival in the United States, Ms Grell initially volunteered at the Museum and several Chicago Public libraries. As of 2004, she is a staff Librarian at The Polish Museum of America Library. She is also a co-organizer of many activities and cultural events that take place at the Museum.

Julita Siegel – Photo Collection Registrar

Julita Siegel came to Chicago after graduating in from the University of Adam Mickiewicz in Poznan, Poland, with a Masters Degree in Art History. Her work at the Museum consists of cataloging and digitizing documentary photographs in the permanent collection. These responsibilities combine Mrs. Siegel’s love of photography and art with an interest and respect for the past, as well as for Polish culture and heritage. She also serves as graphic designer for many of the Museum’s invitations, cards, bookmarks, and mailers. She oversees requests for reproduction of material from the collections and photographs objects in the collections.

As a photographer, her work appears in many publications, among them American Photo Magazine, Photographer’s Forum, Best of College Photography, and the 2007 book, Polish Chicago: Our History, Our Recipes, a project she coordinated with the publisher.

Mrs. Siegel excels in graphic design and her biggest achievement in this field to date is receipt of the Grand Prix in the Ex Libris (book plate) international competition organized by the Semper Polonia Foundation in Warsaw, Poland. Mrs. Sigel continues her education in photography and graphic design. She freelances as a professional photographer, often as a team with her husband Bart.

Richard Kujawa – Operations Manager

Richard Kujawa joined the Museum staff in 1999. In many ways, this was a homecoming since Mr. Kujawa’s ancestors were deeply engaged with the PRCUA, almost from the founding of the institution. After a long first career in industry and business, he has embarked on this second career in the non-profit sector. His duties include scheduling and conducting tours, scheduling programs and special events, overseeing the programs calendar, routine Museum maintenance, supervising installations and repairs, and managing the Museum’s Website. He is also the Curator of the Paderewski Collection and lectures on Ignacy Paderewski, as well as on Polish immigration.  More recently, Mr. Kujawa has become more involved with Cultural Connections programs and with the Chicago Cultural Alliance as a resource for teaching cultural diversity. Mr. Kujawa has a B.S. degree in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana.

Leonard Kurdek – Museum Assistant

Leonard Kurdek commenced his activities at the Museum as a volunteer in July, 2000, and was honored as the Volunteer of the Year in 2003 for his outstanding  contributions. Now on staff, he has prepared an inventory of the Museum's Polonica book catalogs eventually to be posted online. Leonard’s other duties are the review and organization of the Museum's music collection, which comprises sheet music, records, scores, player piano rolls, promotional material, etc. He has a B.A. in History from Loyola University  Chicago.

Agnieszka Migiel – Library Assistant

Agnieszka Migiel joined the Museum as an Assistant Librarian in 2003. A Chicago native, she is currently a fourth year student at Loyola University, pursuing a B.B.A. in International Business. She completed her primary and secondary education in the Polish language at Holy Trinity Polish School in Chicago.

Ms Migiel’s responsibilities at the Museum include: maintaining the Library’s book collection; translating material for PMA publications; undertaking translations for Museum patrons (letters, documents, articles, etc.); research; providing statistical analysis for the Library; book-keeping. Ms Migiel also assists with preparations for special events at the Museum and occasionally serves a tour guide.

Monika Nowak – Graphic Art Collection Curator

Monika Nowak received her Master’s Degree in Art History from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. In 2007, she completed her certificate of Museum Studies at Northwestern University.

Previously, Ms Nowak was a curator of exhibitions and a catalogue editor at the International Print Triennial Society in Krakow. She has collaborated with Professor Gerald Cerny from the U.S. in selecting prints by Polish artists for the permanent collection at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Ms Nowak resides in Chicago since 1999. She often writes articles for the Polish press. In the past, she was the curator of a Polish prints exhibition and worked for an art gallery. Currently Ms Nowak is preparing a large exhibition of prints from the permanent collection of the Polish Museum, which will be presented at two museum venues in Poland in 2009. Her responsibilities at the Museum are varied: She is a tour guide; she is in charge of the collection of art works on paper; and she frequently serves as an exhibition curator.

Anna Wolan – Museum Guide

Anna Wolan studied political studies at Rzeszów University in Poland. She came to the United States in 2004 and became a volunteer at the Polish Museum of America Library. Since December 2004 she has been employed as a guide at the Museum. In 2005 she joined the staff of Polish Roman Catholic Union of America.

Lisa Terlecki – Museum and Library Assistant 

Lisa Terlecki joined the Museum staff in 2000 as a tour guide, library assistant, and graphic designer. Ms Terlecki, a free-lance graphic designer, works on several projects at the Museum, including designing signage, preparing exhibition descriptions and information cards.

The Polish Museum of America volunteers

Joann Ozog 

Joann Ozog has been a volunteer since 1998. As the spouse of the President of the PRCUA, Wallace M. Ozog, she is the First Lady of the PRCUA. Mrs. Ozog devotes many hours at the Museum and is greatly appreciated by the Museum staff. She manages the Museum's membership program; chairs the educational programs committee; develops and oversees Museum workshops and special programs; supervises The Polish Museum of America Newsletter; provides advice and support to the staff. In short, she plays an important, indeed vital, role in the Museum.

Zbigniew Kobus

Zbigniew Kobus has been a volunteer since 1997. He works on reorganizing the Museum’s storage areas, exemplifying unparalleled knowledge and understanding of Polish and Polonia history, as well as a great deal of patience. Mr. Kobus has made some significant discoveries in the inventory. In honor of his dedication and amount of time expended on behalf of the Museum, the storage area, which is the site of his primary activity, is now officially named the Mr. Kobus Room.

Mary Jane Robles                         

Mary Jane Robles, a volunteer since 1997, is the Museum Gift Shop Manager and handles sales, supervises the inventory, orders merchandise, and organizes the annual Christmas Gift Show, as well as the Amber and Crystal Sale. She also serves as secretary to the Resident Vice-President of the PRCUA, generously donating her time for shop duties. Ms Robles also assists during Museum events, often volunteering for the much-appreciated task of clean up afterwards.

Mark P. Sorbi

Mark P. Sorbi was honored as the Volunteer of the Year in 2007 for his outstanding efforts. One of his projects was the restoration of the bust of Father Barzynski, founder of the PRCUA, which is now on display in the elevator lobby. Mr. Sorbi possess extensive knowledge on the history of the collection and the objects in the collection. He installs objects for exhibition throughout the Museum galleries. As an employee of PRCUA in the Secretary-Treasurer's Office, Mr. Sorbi is conveniently on hand to assist with displays or queries regarding the collection. He also participates in other community organizations: Polish Military History Society of America (President), Silent Film Society of Chicago (Treasurer/ Membership Chairman) and the Copernicus Foundation (Member/ Volunteer).