Meet The QVX Team!

Ania Barycka

Position: Co-Chair 
From: Windsor, ON
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Ania was born in Windsor, Ontario. In 2008, she moved to Ottawa to pursue a political science degree and joined the Polish Students’ Society of the University of Ottawa. Together, with five other individuals, Ania co-founded Quo Vadis conferences in Canada with the very first conference taking place in Ottawa in 2009. In 2010, she became Co-Chair of the second Quo Vadis conference, “Building Bridges, Building Leaders”, in Windsor which gathered together 150 students and young professionals of Polish descent from all over North America.

While Ania was working towards her bachelor’s degree in Ottawa, she also completed numerous professional internships in Canada, Poland, Belgium and France. Between the years of 2008 and 2013, Ania interned at the Consulate of the Republic of Poland in Toronto, the Ministry of International Trade in Ottawa, the Ministry of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism in Ottawa, the Polish French Communication Agency in Toulouse, France, the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, the European Academy of Diplomacy in Warsaw, Poland, and the Senate of Poland in Warsaw, Poland. In 2013, Ania graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Social Sciences degree from the University of Ottawa, specializing in Political Science.

Ania moved back to Windsor in 2014 and started her Juris Doctor degree at the University of Detroit Mercy, School of Law. While completing her degree, Ania volunteered with many local and international organizations, such as Windsor Lawyers Feed the Hungry, Windsor-Essex Humane Society, the Canadian Diabetes Association, the Freedom House in Detroit. She was also elected as the National Representative for the United States by the International Bar Association. While she studied law, Ania also worked in the corporate group at Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone in Detroit, Michigan, a law firm with a strong Polish practice and three offices in Poland.

In 2016, Ania participated in the University of Detroit Mercy Immigration Law Clinic, where she appeared in Detroit Immigration Court and successfully represented an asylum seeker. Ania graduated from the University of Detroit Mercy in May 2017 and is currently working at Queen’s Park in Toronto.

Joanna Marks

Position: Co- Chair
From Toronto, ON
LinkedIn

Joanna was born in Wroclaw, Poland. After immigrating to Canada she joined the Polish Scouting Association (www.zhpkanada.org) as a girl guide and has become an experienced instructor dedicating over 20 years to the scouting movement with a strong focus on developing skills that aim to support young people in their physical, mental, and spiritual development so that they may play constructive roles in society.

Joanna has been very involved in Polonia; while earning two Bachelor Degrees at McMaster University she helped start the McMaster Polish Society (MPS) and was elected President in her 4th year. That year MPS was voted Cultural Club of the Year. Joanna is an Alumnus of Quo Vadis II Conference, as well as the Treasurer and Pre-Conference co-organizer of Quo Vadis III, Toronto. In 2012 she was selected to participate in the School for Leaders in the Polish Diaspora (SLP) 2012. Since 2018 she is a founding Director of the new and emerging Konekt Polish Canadian Professionals (www.konekt.ca)
Currently she is focusing on Co-chairing the 10th edition of Quo Vadis in Toronto, is a Director of Quo Vadis Conferences Canada and is leading the VIP Committee for Mississauga Polish Day taking place June 8th (http://mississaugapolishday.ca).

Professionally Joanna is a Strategic Sourcing and Procurement professional having worked at Aeroplan, Walmart Canada, PWC and currently, at Canada’s newest bank, Duo Bank of Canada. She is completing her MBA, supports local causes and her hobbies include playing volleyball, dancing (for fun) and travel. She hopes you will join in on this year’s very special celebration of young Polonia’s the past, present and future at Quo Vadis X!

Oscar Wasilik

Position at QVX: Sponsorship Director
From: Ottawa / Oxford Ontario
LinkedIn

Oscar is a business person and engineer who has started 6 companies. While an intern he wrote an energy paper that has been presented at the World Economic Forum.  He has volunteered at the Ottawa Polish school since 2007.  He got his engineering license while living in Nunavut, in Canada’s Arctic. His team built new power plants for Canada’s Inuit. After 10 years of work, Oscar started a business degree at the University of Oxford and was admitted to Harvard in 2012. He tutors high school students in his spare time.

Justyna Korczynska

Position at QVX: Sponsorship Director
From: Ottawa/Toronto, Ontario
LinkedIn

Kamil Podleszanski

Victoria Styrna

Victoria currently works for Sheridan College’s Facilities  Services – Projects department as a Project Coordinator.  In this role she part of an internal team that completes institutional design and project management work. Finding herself in a project management role was very unintentional, as she attained a Bachelor of Arts from Carleton University and a Bachelor of Interior Design from Sheridan College. Her major ambitions are to pass her NCIDQ exam, attain LEED certification and obtain project management certification.

Although, interior design is her everyday passion, throughout her life she has continued to reach out to her roots in the Polish community. Currently she enjoys attending Konekt Canadian Polish Professionals events and being a member of the QVX committee. She continues to be inspired when attending these networking events and making new connections, because of their ability to encourage a greater sense of community.

Mateusz  Slowikowski

Position: 10 Year Anniversary Book Committee
From: Ottawa, ON
LinkedIn

Matt moved to Canada with his parents as a young child as his parents saw little future in communism, however yearned to understand more about his roots. To help connect with his past, during university, he went on student exchange for a year to Politechnika Warszawska, taking a year of engineering courses in Polish. This allowed him to understand more of what it means to be a Polish Canadian. Matt has lived in the UK, Russia, Poland, Armenia, and extensively traveled. He has participated in numerous Polish Canadian organizations including student organizations, PISK, YPCPA, Tatry Dance, and numerous others. His polishes comes out in his every day interactions, sometimes inadvertently through things like his name. He currently works as a capital projects consultant for PwC, helping organizations succeed in developing their industrial projects.

Dominic Roszak

Position: Special Projects Advisor, Awards Committee Chair
From: Toronto, ON
Linkedin

Dominic Roszak is a seasoned political advisor, with over 13 years of experience at the Federal and Provincial levels of government. He has worked in the Prime Minister’s Office and advised senior Cabinet Ministers on Stakeholder Relations, Policy, Operations, Communications and Parliamentary Affairs. He also serves as the General Secretary on the Canadian Polish Congress National Executive Board. He has been involved with Quo Vadis Conferences Canada since QVII in Windsor in 2010, where he served on the Organizing Committee.

Krys Weiss

Position: Regional Coordinator Chair
From: London, ON
LinkedIn

Being apart of the polish community in London has been the foundation of my identity. An identity that is defined by our faith, language and culture. I want to inspire a new generation of Polish youth. That is why I am apart of the Quo Vadis organizing committee. After his father was adopted by a Polish family in Canada, he decided to go to Poland to find love. His father met his mother at a church in Poland. They decided to get married in Canada and start a family in London, Ontario. The Polish culture was a part of life for Krys, encompassing faith, language, music and dance. Krys has been involved with Our Lady of Czestochowa Roman Catholic Church’s different youth initiatives. Krys attended Polish School on Saturdays all the way to Grade 12. As a member of Cracovia Folk and Dance ensemble, Krys has performed at different festivals in Ontario, United States, and in Poland. Currently, Krys has been working as a Disability Support Worker in Community Living London. In his spare time, Krys loves to play on the accordion and sing a variety of Polish songs. Going on adventures and exploring is his greatest passion.

Zaneta Wiaderna

From: Zgierz, Poland
Position: QVX Expo Coordinator

Zaneta Wiaderna grew up in Zgierz. She received her education at the University of Lodz and completed Teachers College Diploma. Since moving to Canada she has been working in the hospitality industry. She has always been passionate about health, sports and being active. Zaneta has maintained her involvement with the Polish community and appreciates its importance. She joined QuoVadis to work with like-minded people to expand the Polish community network. Motto: “Nie uderzenia mlota lecz taniec wody czyni zwir tak pieknie okraglym”

Mike Kulasza

Position: Media Relations
From: Winnipeg, MB
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