American Experts in Poland

Past American Experts in Poland

Professor Bob Friedhoffer

Professor Bob Friedhoffer is known around the world as a magician who does science, or sometimes, a scientist who does magic.  Bob is a performer and educational consultant to science centers and school boards, educational researcher,  and teaches class at City University of New York.  His academic work is in the field of science education and the history of science. His personal interests of magic and theatrical presentations of scientific demonstrations tie in with his academic pursuits to make for some unusual, though most interesting, lectures.  He has appeared on many television shows (including guest VJ on MTV) as a scientist, magician and science magician, written 35 books, designed 12 magic science kits for the general public, and has presented his programs in over 50 countries.  (more)

Minna Zielonka-Packer

Minna Zielonka-Packer at American Corner, Lodz (more photos)

American Filmmaker and Fulbright Scholar Minna Zielonka-Packer Presented Her Documentary “Back To Gombin” . Minna Zielonka-Packer presented her documentary “Back to Gombin” and talked about her work on the feature film “The Lilliput,” which she is filming in Poland, announced Cultural Attaché James Wolfe.  The filmmaker, a child of Holocaust survivors, chronicles the tragic history of the Jews of the town of Gombin (Gabin), a small town in central Poland and the birthplace of her father. She is currently in Poland as a Fulbright scholar. Her scheduled appearances took place in Lodz (May 14), Warsaw (May 15), and Krakow (May 27-28). Her appearances were arranged by the American Embassy, American Consulate General in Krakow, and the American Corner in Lodz.
Interviews of remaining survivors, who grew up as friends and relatives are interwoven with illuminating, historic footage filmed in 1937 by Sam Rafel on his trip to Gombin as a chairman of the Gombin Relief Committee. Survivors’ testimony of the ghettos, the camps and methods of survival are juxtaposed with images of prewar innocence, the Jews of Gombin celebrating and posing for the camera. This is further combined with candid interviews of the children of the survivors speaking about the impact on their lives of growing up in the shadow of death with their survivor parents. (more) 

Judge Mark D. Atkinson

Judge Mark D. Atkinson

Judge Mark D. Atkinson from Harris County Criminal Court at Law No. 13 in Texas will visit Poland in May 2008 to participate in a conference organized by the Adam Mickiewicz University in Pila. He will travel to Krakow and Warsaw on the invitation of the US Embassy and US Consulate to speak to students and professors at the Law Departments of Universities in Krakow and Warsaw. He will also be meeting with Ministry of Justice representatives and the Polish Judges Association IUSTITIA.
Judge Atkinson is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and South Texas College of Law. He started his legal career in the 1980s as an attorney specializing in criminal, family and civil trial practice. He is a recipient of various awards, including: Houston Police Officer’s Association, Judge of the Year; Mexican-American Bar Association Amicus Award; and Houston Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Judicial Award. (more)

Fulbright Professor participates in debate of the role of religion in society in Warsaw.

Dr. Jay Wexler at the debate

Fulbright Professor Jay D. Wexler participated in a panel sponsored by the Austrian Cultural Institute called "In God We Trust: Neofundamentalism in U.S. Society."  Dr. Wexler, a law professor at Boston University, spoke on the separation of church and state and how this impacts political life in the United States in light of the current presidential elections.  Wexler talked about how Americans want to know about the religious beliefs of the presidental candidates, where they go to church, and how these beliefs are reflected in their political views.  Wexler was joined in the panel by Marta Buchola of the Institute of Sociology of the University of Warsaw and Bohdan Szklarski of Collegium Civitas.  Buchola asserted that Americans are so religious because of the separation of church and state while Szlarski talked about how Americans can change their political view points completely, based on religious belief.  This debate is one of a series of six, and was organized to explore the role of religion in society as the European Union debates how religion should be included in the European Constitution.
(Biography)

Dr. John Karaagac visits Poland again.

Dr. John Karaagac

Dr. John Karaagac, lecturer on Public Policy at Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) and on American Foreign Policy at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington DC visited Poland again in May 2008.  He visited Warsaw and Krakow to lecture on U.S. foreign policy and US elections.
Dr. Karaagac is the author of four books on American politics:  “Between Promise and Policy: Ronald Reagan and Conservative Reformism,” “John McCain: An Essay in Military and Political History,” “The Bush Paradox,” and “The Fate of the Father.” He also contributed to the Polish historical quarterly “Dzieje Najnowsze” (number 4/2007) with an article titled "Republican Foreign Policy Tendencies in the Truman Years: Ideas, Traditions, Commentary." Dr. Karaagac’s academic interests include the American presidency, U.S. domestic and foreign policy, and political culture.  He holds degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, Cambridge University, and Johns Hopkins University. Originally from San Francisco, he now lives in Bloomington, Indiana.

Journalist and Author Andrew Nagorski To Visit Warsaw

Andrew Nagorski

Andrew Nagorski, senior editor of Newsweek International, visited Warsaw May 14-18 for the publication of the Polish edition of his latest book “The Greatest Battle: Stalin, Hitler, and the Desperate Struggle for Moscow That Changed the Course of World War II”. While in town, he also spoke for Polish audiences at the Ambassador’s Residence and Warsaw University students on May 15 at 18:00 at the Polish Academy of Sciences (Pałac Staszica, ul. Nowy Świat 72) (more). Nagorski played a big role in launching Newsweek Russia in 2004 and Newsweek Polska in 2001. He has served as Newsweek bureau chief in Warsaw, Moscow, Bonn, and Rome. Nagorski continues to write reviews and commentaries for Newsweek International. He has been honored three times by the Overseas Press Club for his reporting. (Biography)

Dr Paul Hollander

Dr. Paul Hollander

Dr. Paul Hollander of Harvard University and the University of Massachusetts will be in Warsaw April 12-16 to meet with journalists, students and foreign affairs experts. Professor Hollander is Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst and an Associate at the Davis Center of Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University. While in Warsaw, he will be speaking on:

• Disillusionment with communism in the West and in post-communist countries (April 14, 14:00, Polish Institute of International Affairs, ul. Warecka 1a),
• Anti-Americanism (April 14, 19:00 Gazeta Wyborcza, ul. Czerska 8/10) and
• Comparison of Western moral responses to Nazism and Communism (April 15, 16:00, University of Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, ul. Wóycickiego 1/3 ). (Biography)

Alan Elsner

Alan Elsner, journalist and senior editor of Reuters, in Washington, DC, visited Poland from March 31 to April 4, 2008. He first traveled to Krakow and Nowy Sacz  and then visited Warsaw and Bialystok speaking on the 2008 Presidential Elections and also on the state of journalism in the United States. Elsner gave presentations at the Nowy Sacz Business School, the Warsaw School of Economics, the University of Bialystok, and the Public Administration School in Bialystok. As a part of “America Presents,” Elsner spoke on “The Crisis in U.S. Journalism” at the residence of U.S. Ambassador to Poland Victor Ashe. (more)

Professor Rasma Karklins

Prof. Rasma Karklins

Professor Rasma Karklins, Professor of Political Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago, spoke at the upcoming conference: “Anti-corruption strategies in East European countries: Is the long-term anti-corruption strategy for Poland possible?” organized on March 17, 2008 in Warsaw by the Stefan Batory Foundation. The conference focused on anti-corruption strategies in East European countries and the Polish response to this strategy. Professor Karklins, a specialist in comparative politics and public policy, discussed anti-corruption strategies in East European countries and analyzed the following questions: Are there any East European countries realizing a long-term strategy? What differences are there in the approach to combating corruption? What steps have been made to elaborate them? How are the strategies implemented? Are they effective? Professor Karklins is an author of “The System Made Me Do It: Corruption in Post-Communist Societies” which will be translated and published in Poland later this year by Sic! Publishers. (more)

Susan Spencer

Susan Spencer

Susan Spencer, CBS News Journalist, recipient of Emmy Awards for 48 Hours reports, including one for a program about Bosnian refugees will come to Krakow Warsaw and Poznan on March 8-15 to meet with journalists, students of foreign affairs and journalism as well as women organizations. As a CBS News' White House Correspondent and the primary correspondent for the Eye On America segment on the CBS Evening News she will speak about “Women in the year of Hilary...” (more)

Tom Oliphant

Tom Oliphant

Tom Oliphant, renowned journalist of the Boston Globe and U.S. elections expert, is in Poland from March 8-15, 2008, to meet with journalists, students and foreign affairs experts.  While in Poland, he will be speaking in Krakow and Warsaw.  He will discuss U.S. elections at the American Studies Center, University of Warsaw, the National School of Public Administration and the Polish Institute of International Affairs. (more)

Gail Levin will visit Warsaw, Lodz and Krakow with a series of lectures on contemporary American art.

Prof. Gail Levin

Gail Levin, distinguished professor of art history, American studies and women studies at Baruch College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York,will visit Warsaw, Lodz and Krakow with a series of lectures on contemporary American art, announced Cultural Attaché James Wolfe. On Wednesday Feb. 27 at 18:00 Professor Levin will appear at the Center for Contemporary Art, Ujazdowski Castle under the Embassy’s “America Presents” program. She will speak on the topic: “Becoming Judy Chicago:  An Artist's Response to American Culture." (more)

John B. Van Sickle

John B. Van Sickle

A former Guggenheim grant recipient and three-time Fulbrighter, John B. Van Sickle is a professor of Classics and Comparative Literature at Brooklyn College, City University of New York.
Interest in poetics and poetic sequencing has led him through Virgil's Book of Bucolics to study of pastoral tradition (including Robert Frost and Derek Walcott), in which nature plays always a metaphoric role.
Hence he focuses too on the wider range and function of metaphor, understood as our most basic mode of thinking and knowing -- often operative in the etymological roots and semantic branchings of both technical and every-day language, nowhere more than in how we talk of plants and how plants enliven and enrich our talk about much else, thus his current interests in horticulture, garden design, and etymology.
Education: Ph. D., Harvard University, 1966 (Classical Philology); A.B. Harvard College, 1958.
Honors: Guggenheim, Fulbright (professor for the Virgil Bimillennium, University of Rome).
Author: The Design of Virgil's Bucolics (2004 Duckworth) and many articles and reviews.

John B. Van Sickle's web sites:
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/classics/jvsickle
http://www.flickr.com/photos/photophorica/collections/

Baker Spring, F.M. Kirby Research Fellow in National Security Policy in The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies at the Heritage Foundation

Baker Spring

Baker Spring, F.M. Kirby Research Fellow in National Security Policy in The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies at the Heritage Foundation is an expert on the analysis of the threat of ballistic missiles from Third World countries and U.S. national security issues will visit Poland, the Czech Republic, and Austria from February 10-20, 2008.  Spring met with foreign affairs experts to discuss security and defense issues, as well as the issue of missile defense in Krakow on February 13 and in Warsaw and Lublin on February 14-15, 2008. (biography)

On January 10, 2008 the U.S. Embassy hosted in Warsaw Dr. Dennis Leaf

Dennis Leaf

On January 10, 2008 the U.S. Embassy hosted in Warsaw Dr. Dennis Leaf, senior adviser for international programs in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality in Washington, DC.  Dr. Leaf provided advice to EPA’s senior management on international efforts aimed at reducing conventional pollutants and greenhouse gases through the deployment of clean fuels and vehicle technologies, including clean diesel. He has broad experience in urban, regional, and global air pollution issues, clean air and energy legislation, and domestic and international efforts to reduce acid rain, emissions from the transportation sector, ozone depletion and global climate change.
During his visit to Warsaw, on January 11 Dr. Leaf spoke in a conference organized by demosEuropa, entitled “European Union-United States-China. How to build transatlantic understanding in relations with the emerging Asian power?” (Biography)

Brookes discusses Missile Defense in Lodz and Warsaw

Peter Brookes speak about Missile Defense

Peter Brookes, Senior Fellow at the Heritage Foundation and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Department of Defense recently spoke in Lodz and Warsaw on global security challenges and missile defense issues to foreign affairs experts, students, and the media. On January 10, 2008, Brookes visited Lodz and participated in a roundtable discussion at the Lodz American Corner with American studies and foreign affairs experts and then later visited the University of Lodz to speak to students of the Department of International Relations and Political Science about American perceptions on national security, terrorism, and missile defense. His presentation was covered by the Lodz local television news channel TVP as well as by a correspondent from “Polonez,” a Canadian-Polish newspaper.

The next day in Warsaw, the Embassy, Brookes participated in the conference "European Union-United States-China: How to build transatlantic understanding in relations with emerging Asian power?” speaking in the panel "EU, USA and China in the multilateral world - geostrategy and security policy." During his panel presentation, Brookes focused his analysis on the security policy of the Chinese government and on the expansion of the budget of the Chinese military.  After the conference, Brookes was interviewed by the current affairs program Horyzonty which has an average audience of 800,000 viewers shown on TVN 24 - the all news satellite and cable channel. The first part of the program was devoted to American elections and Brookes commented that it is premature to name a Republican or Democratic front-runner. He also said that Republican nominees have been distancing themselves from President Bush’s domestic and foreign policy and have been promising a new conservative policy agenda. In the second part of his interview, Brookes discussed missile defense and supported the Embassy public affairs line saying that both Democrats and Republicans have the same position over missile defense and that he does not believe a newly elected Democratic leadership will change their policy on this issue and will be in support of developing missile defense bases in Poland. Brookes cited bi-partisan support for missile defense shown by both Republicans and Democrats in the Senate who had passed legislation allocating a higher budget for missile defense than suggested by the administration of President Bush.

This was Brookes’ third visit to Poland.  He has spoke about global security, terrorism, and missile defense issues at numerous events and conferences in Krakow, Wroclaw, Poznan, Warsaw, and now Lodz. After his first visit funded by IIP, two subsequent trips have been funded by outside institutions with PAS only paying for his local transportation, hotel, and per diem costs. PAS was not certain this type of repeat speaker would work – but it has because Brookes is now well-briefed and understands Polish audiences and the type of questions and responses he will receive during his presentations. We have also been able to target certain audiences outside of Warsaw and Krakow we would not be able to normally detect. (Peter Brookes Biography)

Dr. John Karaagac will visit Poland in December 2007

Dr. John Karaagac

Dr. John Karaagac, lecturer on Public Policy at Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) and in American Foreign Policy at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington DC will visit Poland in December 2007.  He will travel to Lublin and lecture on the U.S. foreign policy at the Catholic University of Lublin and the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University on December 17, 2007. 
Dr. Karaagac is the author of four books on American politics:  “Between Promise and Policy: Ronald Reagan and Conservative Reformism,” “John McCain: An Essay in Military and Political History,” “The Bush Paradox,” and “The Fate of the Father.” He also contributed to the Polish historical quarterly “Dzieje Najnowsze” (number 4/2007) with an article titled "Republican Foreign Policy Tendencies in the Truman Years: Ideas, Traditions, Commentary." Dr. Karaagac’s academic interests include the American presidency, U.S. domestic and foreign policy, and political culture.  He holds degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, Cambridge University, and Johns Hopkins University. Originally from San Francisco, he now lives in Bloomington, Indiana.

Chalmer Speaks On Future of NATO in Warsaw

Director Chalmer at the Institute for Strategic Studies

Lawrence R. Chalmer, Director of the NATO Staff Officer Orientation Course at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., visited Poland from December 5-7, 2007 to speak about the future of NATO.  He first spoke at the Institute for Strategic Studies in Krakow and then at the Department of European Studies, Jagiellonian University in Przegorzaly.  In Warsaw, Chalmer gave a presentation on NATO and security policy to a group of security policy analysts at the Polish Institute of International Affairs.  Discussion focused on the future of NATO and the U.S. approach to future security challenges. Participants outlined their views on the main problems and goals for NATO summits in 2008 (Bucharest) and 2009.  Chalmer also gave a presentation to a group of students entitled “NATO in the 21st Century – Expectations and Challenges,” at the American Studies Center of Warsaw University.  Students asked questions about how U.S. participation shapes NATO, Polish participation, and how NATO will address future issues related to treaties and cooperation with Russia.

Chalmer also visited the National Defense University and met with Rector Brigadier General Janusz Krecikij to discuss global security risks, issues concerning Ukraine accession to NATO, and the complexity of NATO-Russia relations.  Later, at the Military University of Technology, Chalmer met with Rector Brigadier General Adam Sowa, Vice-Rectors, Department Chairs, and other notable professors to discuss the U.S. viewpoint on future challenges for NATO and the development of military education and potential areas of collaboration between the Chalmer's and Sowa's institutions.  For additional information on Chalmer's visit, please go to the Military University of Technology’s web page at: http://www.wat.edu.pl/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1197293769&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&.
(Biography)

Ethnomusicologist Miles White Lectures on Music and Race Issues in Warsaw

Dr Miles White lecturing in American Studies Center (more photos)

Dr Miles White, an ethnomusicologist and music journalist who spent his early musical years traveling the "chitlin' circuit" as a trumpet player in R&B funk bands in the South, visited Poland December 4-6 for lectures on the role of “gangsta” imagery in rap music.  Dr. White is currently a lecturer at Charles University in Prague. As a part of the Embassy’s America Presents Program, Miles White delivered a presentation “From Hip-hop to Hardcore: Race, Representation and the New Culture of Masculinity” in Warsaw University’s American Studies Center, Al. Niepodleglosci 22, on December 6 at 4:00 PM. The subject matter of the lecture was an academic analysis of the roots and rise of the gang-related and violent imagery used by the performers who have come to dominate the rap music industry with lyrics filled with vulgar language, drug use, and violence against women.  Ambassador Victor Ashe welcomed Dr. White to Warsaw in a meeting at the Embassy on December 5.  Dr. White also delivered his lecture to Warsaw University Ph.D. students in the conference on December 4 and in Warsaw School of Social Psychology on December 5.(more)

Harris Fogel, the American documentary and fine art photographer, will be in Warsaw November 16-25

Harris Fogel

Harris Fogel, the American documentary and fine art photographer, will be in Warsaw November 16-25 to Chair the Jury of 2nd Biennial of Media Art Competition and open an exhibition of his works at the Academy of Fine Arts on November 19.
Fogel is an Associate Professor of Photography, Director of the Sol Mednick Gallery and Gallery 1401, and the former Chairman of the Media Arts Department at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. He has an extensive background in digital imaging, criticism, photojournalism, and photo history. His work utilizes various formats, including digital cameras, scanners, 8"x10" view cameras, 35mm, medium format , and digital video, with an emphasis on fine art printing. Some of Fogel’s projects include photographs from the set of the TV series The Wonder Years; portraiture; a series on Howard Finster’s Paradise Gardens; the large-format color project A Few American Cultures; the nuclear-inspired Towards Trinity conceptual project; artists books; and digitally based work. Mr. Fogel's stay in Warsaw is sponsored by InterContinental. (more)

Max Boot of the Council for Foreign Relations visits Poland

Boot addresses officers at Naval Academy in Gdansk, Poland (B. Milewska, U.S. Embassy)

Max Boot, Senior Expert of the Council for Foreign Relations, one of America’s leading military historians and foreign-policy analysts, visited Poland from November 13-16, 2007.  Boot spoke at the international conference “US and Europe – Common Security, Different Solutions?” organized by the Center for International Relations on November 15, 2007. Boot participated in the panel titled “Threats? What threats and how to respond to them?” which was moderated by Dr. Henryk Szlajfer of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland. Boot spoke along with Peter Flory, the Assistant Secretary General for Defense Investment at NATO, and Dr. Tim Williams, Policy Advisor on Aerospace Defence and Homeland Security at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies in London.

Boot also spoke to audiences at the Institute of International Relations at Warsaw University, the National School of Public Administration, and American Chamber of Commerce in Warsaw. On November 16, 2007, Max Boot traveled to Gdansk and made presentations at Gdansk University and the Navy Academy.  During his presentations, Boot spoke about such issues as U.S. foreign and security policy, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, defense spending, and participation of European countries in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other peace keeping efforts. Boot also discussed democracy promotion or President Bush’s “freedom agenda.” He said that “Poland is an example of how advancing the tradition of democracy can work. People may be cynical about it in other parts of the world, for example, such as for countries of the middle-east. But, here in Poland, it works without a long democratic tradition of government.”

Dr. Kenneth Katzman

Dr. Kenneth Katzman will visit Krakow and Warsaw from October 19th – 23rd to give presentations at universities, governmental ministries, and think tanks on the current political and security environment in Iraq. As a specialist with the Congressional Research Service, Dr. Katzman serves as a senior Middle East analyst for the U.S. Congress, with special emphasis on Iran, Iraq, the Persian Gulf states, Afghanistan, and terrorist groups operating in the Middle East and South Asia. He provides reports and briefings to Members of Congress and their staffs on U.S. policy and legislation on these countries and issues. He also has written numerous articles in various outside publications, including a book entitled "The Warriors of Islam: Iran's Revolutionary Guard," and given many presentations and briefings. (more) 

Prof. Cynthia Davis to Speak at Study Group for 19th-Century American Literature October 13-15 in Poznan.

Prof. Cynthia J. Davis

Prof. Cynthia J. Davis will Speak at the 2nd Meeting of the European Study Group for Nineteenth-Century American Literature October 13-15, 2007 in Poznan. The embassy is proud to support the second edition of the study group, which provides an excellent opportunity for European scholars to continue developing the forum for the exchange of information and ideas. European American Studies specialists are contributing to the increase of American literature aspects that are taught at European universities.  Prof. Davis, apart from speaking at the Meeting in Poznan and Adam Mickiewicz University, will also travel to Warsaw to speak at the English Institute of Warsaw University and to Krakow to speak at the English Institute of Jagiellonian University.

Dusan C. Stulik

Prof. Stulik is a Senior Scientist at the Getty Conservation Institute. He received his BS and MS degrees in Chemistry and BA in Art History from the Charles University and his PhD in Physics from the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in Prague.(more) (More on the lecture)

Shannon W. Lucid

Shannon W. Lucid

American Astronaut Dr. Shannon W. Lucid will visit Poland to participate in the international conference commemorating fifty years of space exploration organized by the Polish Academy of Science and Warsaw University of Technology on October 2-3, 2007. The U.S. Embassy in Warsaw and the U.S. Consulate General in Krakow will organize several speaking events with various academic institutions and scientific organizations. Dr. Lucid, America's most experienced and record-setting astronaut, will speak about her space flight experience during 223 days on five missions between 1985 and 1996.  Dr. Lucid currently holds the United States single mission space flight endurance record on the Russian Space Station Mir. In completing this mission, Dr. Lucid traveled 75.2 million miles in 188 days. (more)

John Hall

John Hall

John Hall, Director of Export Control and Interagency Liaison, of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will visit Poland from October 1-5, 2007 to participate in the international conference on space exploration organized by the Polish Academy of Science on October 2-3, 2007.  Additionally, the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw and the U.S. Consulate General in Krakow will organize speaking events at various academic institutions and planetariums. Hall will speak on the past achievements and future plans of the U.S. government’s space exploration program and the President Bush’s vision for future space exploration. Hall will also discuss the completion and management of the International Space Station, retirement of the Space Shuttle, and the development of future manned missions to the Moon and to Mars. The Embassy and Consulate will announce more details of his schedule in mid-September. (John Hall's Biography)

Judith McHale

Judith McHale

Judith McHale, former president and CEO of Discovery Communications Inc., will speak at the Economic Forum in Krynica, Poland on September 6th participating in the panel “Women in Business: A force for innovation” partially sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw. Additionally, McHale will also participate in several events in Krakow and Warsaw organized by the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw and the U.S. Consulate in Krakow. (more)

Robert Heller

Robert Heller

Robert Heller, associate professor in the School of Journalism and Electronic Media at the University of Tennessee since 1986, received his B.S. and M.A. degrees in photojournalism from Syracuse University. He taught photography and graphics for five years at the University of Miami, and was publications designer and photographer at the State University of New York at New Paltz and Elmira College in New York. Heller also taught photography at The Center for Photography at Woodstock, New York.  His photographs have been selected for numerous juried exhibitions and he continues to do freelance work in both graphic design and photography. Heller served as Photo Manager for the Ocoee Kayak and Canoe Olympic venue at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. A book of his photographs, “More Than the Game: The Tennessee Football Experience” has been published by Sports Publishing Inc., Champaign, Illinois. (more)

Robert Heller will speak on “Working on the long-term documentary project” at the Spokojna Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts, ul. Spokojna 15 at 17:00 on June 21 before the Living On exhibition opening at 18:00.

Stephen Goldsmith

Stephen Goldsmith, Professor at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and the Manhattan Institutes, visited Warsaw June 18-19.  Goldsmith, a former Mayor of Indianapolis, gave a presentation at the Embassy titled “Managing Cities for the Future: A Look at Recent World Wide City Innovations” on June 19 for 75 local government officials and others involved in city management and opinion and policy leaders from throughout Poland. Mayors traveled from as far as Sopot, Gdynia, Koszalin, and the Poznan region for Goldsmith’s talk.  Goldsmith focused largely on privatization of government services as opposed to privatizing assets, offering observations on when such schemes are effective and how they should be managed.  He noted that there are no one-size-fits-all solutions and offered examples from various U.S. cities of what has worked and what has not.  Questions concerned governance of larger municipalities, cooperation with non-governmental organizations, revenue issues and the role of city managers. Since Poland and Ukraine will host the final tournament of 14th European Football Championship there were questions concerning the influence of sports facilities on city development and investment.

Dr Robert Lieber

Dr Robert Lieber

Dr. Robert J. Lieber, Professor of Government and Foreign Service at Georgetown University, visited Krakow on June 11th, 2007 and Warsaw on June 12-13th, 2007 to participate in the Embassy’s Strategic Speaker Initiative. Professor Lieber is an authority on American foreign policy and U.S. relations with the Middle East and Europe.   He has also taught at Harvard, Oxford and the University of California, Davis, and has been Visiting Fellow at the Atlantic Institute in Paris, the Brookings Institution in Washington, and Fudan University in Shanghai. A new paperback edition of Dr. Lieber’s recent book, The American Era: Power and Strategy for the 21st Century (Cambridge University Press) was published in February 2007.  In addition, he is author or editor of thirteen other books on international relations and U.S. foreign policy. Professor Lieber has lectured widely in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. In the policy realm, he has been a foreign policy advisor in several presidential campaigns and consultant to the State Department and for National Intelligence Estimates.  His articles and editorial pieces have appeared in scholarly journals, magazines and newspapers.
In Krakow and Warsaw, Dr. Lieber spoke at a number of private and public events including a panel discussion on the topic: “Energy policy as a part of the U.S. Foreign Policy in the Twenty-First Century” organized by the Institute for Strategic Studies on June 11, 1007.  In Warsaw, Lieber participated in a seminar “Energy-Politics-Economics” organized by the CASE Foundation in cooperation with BRE Bank SA. Dr. Lieber spoke to students on “US-EU: Divorce or Honeymoon? The Future of Transatlantic Relations” at Collegium Civitas organized by the Pulaski Foundation.

David McCraw, Vice President and Assistant General Counsel of The New York Times newspaper, will be making public appearances in Warsaw, May 23-27, and Krakow, May 28-30, hosted by U.S. Embassy Warsaw and U.S. Consulate General Krakow.  Mr. McCraw will participate in the international conference "Freedom of Speech and the Role of Media" organized by the Polish Ombudsman for Human Rights May 24-25.  He will also meet with journalists, lawyers and students.  The Embassy, in cooperation with partner institutions, has organized several meetings that will be open to the public (free admission): May 23 at 17:00 at the American Law Studies Center of Warsaw University, and May 25 at 14:00 at Collegium Civitas and at 17:00 at the Association of Polish Journalists.  (biography of David McCraw)

Patrick Clawson

Patrick Clawson, Deputy Director for Research of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, will visit Warsaw May 27-29 to participate in the May 28 conference on “Security and Democracy in the Middle East: Towards Common Euro-American Approach” organized by the Embassy of Israel, the Institute of International Relations at Warsaw University, and the Polish Government.  At the conference, Clawson will participate in a panel on “Regional and Global Security Threats.”  On May 29, Clawson will meet with students from Poland’s Diplomatic Academy and participate in an invitation-only seminar organized by the Center for International Relations with experts on Iran and U.S. foreign policy. (more)

Fred Ritchin

Fred Ritchin is the associate chair of the Department of Photography &
Imaging at New York University. He is also the director of PixelPress, an organization working at the intersection of documentary, new media, and human rights. Previously he was the picture editor of The New York Times Magazine, the executive editor of Camera Arts magazine and the founding director of the Photojournalism and Documentary Photography educational program at the International Center of Photography. His book, In Our Own
Image: The Coming Revolution in Photography was the first to deal with the digital revolution's impact on photography. A Website that he created with photographer Gilles Peress, "Bosnia: Uncertain Paths to Peace," was nominated by the New York Times for a Pulitzer Prize in public service. Ritchin has curated exhibitions on subjects such as "Contemporary Latin American Photography" and "An Uncertain Grace: The Photographs of Sebastiao Salgado."
American Photo magazine recently named him one of the 100 Most
Important People in Photography. His new book, After Photography, will be published next year by WW Norton.

Saturday, April 21, 11:00 Cinema Hall, Academy of Fine Arts, Krakowskie Przedmiescie 5. Photography in the Digital Age

Sandra S. Philips Photo credits: Łukasz Kacperczyk

Sandra S. Philips will participate in the 3rd Warsaw Artistic Photography Festival which will begin March 22nd under the Honorary Patronage of Ambassador Victor Ashe.
The U.S. Embassy is inviting the public to the presentation by Sandra S. Philips “John Szarkowski and American Photography” on March 23, 2007 at 17:00 Cinema Hall, Academy of Fine Arts, Krakowskie Przedmieście 5.  (more)