Our board of directors consists of the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Membership Chairperson. Board members are voted by the membership at the general meeting every two years. Here are our current board members, sworn in as of December 2018.
President: Ewa O’Neal
President Ewa O’Neal was born in Poland, and came to America while in her teens. A college graduate with a degree in Civil Engineering, she works as a licensed professional engineer. Married with two adult children, Ewa enjoys hiking, camping, world travel and live music.
Vice President: John Kopczynski
John Kopczynski was born and raised in Buffalo, NY. Growing up in a city with a large Polish-American community along with his family’s observance of Polish customs and traditions nurtured a deep appreciation and pride in his ethnic heritage. As a member of the Boy Scouts of America he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout while in high school.
John is a graduate of American University in Washington, D.C. where he earned both graduate and undergraduate degrees. While a student he was an intern at the Embassy of Poland in the Culture, Science and Information Section. He is currently a Public Information Officer with the City of Los Angeles and previously worked in technology and entertainment public relations on both the agency and studio sides.
John is an active member of the Kosciuszko Foundation, Polish American Congress of Southern California and the Dom Polski Association. He is a Board Member of the Death Valley Natural History Association, a non-profit cooperative agency for the National Park Service. John is also a Board Member of the Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council in Los Angeles.
He has served on the Polish University Club’s Scholarship Committee since 2017 and was its 2018 Scholarship Chair. John is also involved with the Kopczynski Family Foundation, a non-profit charitable organization established by his Grandfather. He enjoys travel, history and genealogy.
Secretary: Jakub Truty
Treasurer – Paul Kaymark
Membership: Theresa Dudzick
Theresa was born and raised in Los Angeles and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and French from Santa Clara University. Additionally, she completed certificate programs in Fundraising & Institutional Development and Entertainment Studies at UCLA. Theresa has worked in the translation and entertainment industries.
Theresa has been on the Board of the Polish University Club of Los Angeles since 1998. She has served as Secretary for three terms from 1998 to 2004, as Vice President for two terms from 2004 to 2008, and as President for three terms from 2008 to 2014. Theresa now returns to the position of Secretary for the 2014-2016 term. Theresa is a former PUCLA scholarship recipient.
Theresa’s other Polish community involvement includes the Polish American Congress of Southern California where she serves as Treasurer. She is also a friend of the Jagiellonian University Medical College program for Polish medical students who do clinical rotations at UCLA (http://www.medschool.cm-uj.krakow.pl/). Theresa has attended the American Council for Polish Culture Youth Leadership Conference in Washington, DC and the Poland in the Rockies Conference in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Theresa speaks Polish and French fluently.
Outreach Chair: Graziella (Grace) Malolepszy
Grace Malolepszy was born in Germany. She moved to San Pedro, CA in 1950. Her father was Polish. Grace has been an educator with the Los Angeles Unified School District since 1971. In addition to her many years of teaching, Grace has a long history of service to the Polish community. During the 1960s and 1970s, she participated in Polish folk dancing and the Polish Millennium celebration. Over the years, her involvement has grown to include many prominent organizations: Children’s Medical Care Foundation, Polish American Cultural Network, Polish American Historical Association, Polish National Alliance, Polish American Congress, and the Polish University Club of Los Angeles. Grace’s goal is for young people — both Polish and non-Polish — to develop a greater understanding of their own ethnic heritages and the cultures of other people, carrying out that knowledge into their adult lives. She also aims to see young Polish-Americans become active members of the Polish-American community.
Scholarship Chair: Regina Sikora
Regina is a native of Los Angeles, CA. She completed her Bachelor’s degrees in English and Music (emphasis Musicology and Harpsichord Performance) at the University of California at Davis. She also holds a certificate in Grant Writing Fundamentals from Rio Hondo College in Whittier. Regina currently works on the management team of an independent bookstore.
Regina is a former PUCLA scholarship recipient. She has served on the Scholarship Committee since 2007 and been the Scholarship Chair since 2014. She has also served three terms as Vice President beginning in 2010 and one term as Secretary beginning in 2008.
Regina’s other interests include drawing/painting, reading and writing.
Webmaster: Monica Kozlowski Zaitooni
Monica is a Los Angeles native whose parents immigrated from Poland in the 1970s. She was a PUCLA scholarship recipient during her college years as an Illustration and Animation major at California State University, Long Beach. She now works as Creative Director at YETT Marketing, a full service production agency in Los Angeles. Monica has been webmaster for the PUCLA since graduating in 2011.