History of the Center
Founded in 1989 as an initiative of the American Council for Polish Culture, the National Polish Center has been located in the heart of Washington, D.C., since October 1991. A milestone in the Center’s history was a major contribution from Alexander and Patricia Koproski, who also served on the Board of Directors. Donations and bequests came from across the country, especially from Americans of Polish descent.

The Center has a growing membership that has faithfully supported its programs as Polish influence and prominence has grown across the United States – a development that has come to be known as Polonia. Concerts, exhibitions, lectures, and seminars are frequently sponsored at the Center’s headquarters in the Dupont Circle/Embassy Row neighborhood in the nation’s capital. Its staff also conducts education programs for local children.

The first chair of the Center’s Board of Directors was Lisa Helling of the U.S. Department of State. She served on the Board during its first year. Businessman Albin D. Obal succeeded Ms. Helling and generously supported the Center and its programs throughout his tenure on the Board (1989-2005). Alexander Koproski was the Center’s next Chairman, serving from 2005 through 2007, when Dr. Jack Pinkowski was elected Chairman. Dr. Pinkowski, a professor at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., plans to continue expanding our collaborations with other Polonia organizations and to further promote commercial development in Poland as well as trade between Poland and the United States.

Dr. Kaya Mirecka-Ploss was the Center’s first Executive Director, serving from 1991 until her retirement in August 2005. The Board of Directors appointed Dr. Monika Krol to succeed Dr. Mirecka-Ploss in September 2005. Dr. Krol brings curatorial and managerial expertise from the both the United States and Europe to the Center. She did her graduate study at the University of California campuses in Davis and Los Angeles, and was awarded her Ph.D. from UCLA. Her professional career has been devoted to her passion for art and culture. Her focus is strengthening the Center’s membership base and developing interesting programs in partnership with other cultural institutions.

The Center has organized a number of recognition dinners to honor persons whose life and work have made significant contributions to the United States and to Poland. We will continue this tradition, which in has honored Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, Gen. Alexander Haig, Dr. Jan Karski, Jolanta Kwasniewska and Lech Walesa. The Center’s Founders Appreciation Dinner on November 12, 2005, honored Representative Marcy Kaptur of Ohio – the longest serving woman in Congress and a Polish-American -- for helping establish the World War II Memorial in Washington. The dinner also recognized past and present board members and major contributors who supported the center during its first two decades.

The programs the Center has conducted since 2005 show diversity in the areas of promotion and appreciation of Polish culture and art in the United States. The Center has also hosted lectures by leaders of Poland and the United States. As the Center’s outreach expands further, it will organize more events that focus on business and economic issues as they impact Polish-American cooperation.