Conference Agenda 2026

4th US-CEE Connection Weekend - June 12-13, 2026

Agenda

Friday

June 12, 2026

Pre-conference events

9:00-10:00

Registration & Welcoming Coffee

Main Aula Foyer & 2nd Floor Foyer

8:30-09:30

CUA–UJ American Law Program Gala

Main Aula (1st Floor)

Main Program

10:00-10:25

Opening & Welcome Remarks

Main Aula (1st Floor)
Łukasz Chyla Program Director for US-CEE Connection Weekend Prof. Paweł Laidler Vice-Rector for Educational Affairs, Jagiellonian University Prof. Piotr Dobosz Dean of the Faculty of Law and Administration, Jagiellonian University Prof. Stephen Payne Dean of the Columbus School of Law, The Catholic University of America Prof. Christopher Ross Director, CUA-UJ Programs
10:25-10:35

Address by The Honorable Gretchen McKeever Cureton

U.S. Consul General in Kraków

Main Aula (1st Floor)
10:35-11:35

Opening Keynote Panel (Plenary Session)

Poland at the G20

Main Aula (1st Floor)
Under the patronage of Alvarez & Marsal and Greenberg Traurig
Michał Bobrzyński Partner, Greenberg Traurig, Poland Prof. Małgorzata Podrecka Vice-President, Canpack S.A. Dr. Kamil Pruchnik Senior Regional Representative for Poland, European Investment Fund
Allegro Representative TBC
Moderator: Krzysztof Maruniak Senior Director, Alvarez & Marsal
11:40-12:50

Panel 1

Compliance: Still Relevant in Changing Times?

Main Aula (1st Floor)
The Honorable Phyllis C. Borzi Former Assistant Secretary for Employee Benefits Security, U.S. Department of Labor Tomasz Chmal Partner, Trzeciak|Chmal Christopher D. Christian Global Co-Chair, Financial Services Group, Dechert LLP Dawid Daniel Malinowski Corporate Senior Associate, Bexley Beaumont Witold Strzelecki Managing Director, Business & Science Poland Moderator: Prof. John Polanin Catholic Law Board of Visitors

Panel 2

Pixels & Prose: Poland’s Video Game Industry on the World Stage

Room 52 (2nd Floor)
Piotr Gnyp Board of Directors, European Federation of Video Game Archives, Museums and Preservation projects Piotr Mańkowski Project Manager, Creative Industries Institute Dr. Paweł Schreiber Assistant Professor, Kazimierz Wielki University Moderator: Dominic Kisielewski Senior Associate, Peak Legal
12:50-14:00

Lunch break

2nd Floor Foyer

14:00-15:10

Panel 3

AI Without Borders: Can the US and EU Align on AI Regulation?

Main Aula (1st Floor)
Under the patronage of Peak Legal
J.C. Boggs Partner, King & Spalding Lee Carosi Dunn Catholic Law Board of Visitors Marcin Ledworowski AI Leader & Senior Advisor, Financial Services Accenture Poland Prof. Alain Strowel Professor, UCLouvain Saint-Louis Brussels University Dr. Małgorzata Wilińska Counsel, Peak Legal Moderator: Anna Olszewska Partner, Peak Legal

Panel 4

Poland+Texas. Why? And Why NOW?

Room 52 (2nd Floor)
Under the patronage of Polish-American Chamber of Commerce in Texas
Prof. Jim Mazurkiewicz Chairman, Polish-American Chamber of Commerce in Texas Fred Schmidt MBE Partner, Capital Factory, Austin, Texas Bobby Gutierrez Mayor, City of Bryan, Texas Artur Owczarski Filmmaker, Author, Texas–Poland Relations
15:15-16:25

Panel 5 (Plenary Session)

The Transatlantic IPO Divide: Bridging the Gap Between the US and EU Capital Markets

Main Aula (1st Floor)
The Honorable Mark T. Uyeda Commissioner, U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) Jon S. Rand Principal, Jon S. Rand LLC Prof. Jacek Jastrzębski Chairman, The Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) Elizabeth Lance Assistant Chief Counsel, Investment Company Institute (ICI) Jakub Michalik Chief Policy Officer, Euronext Moderator: Łukasz Chyla UJ, Kościuszko Mound Committee
16:25-17:00

Coffee break

2nd Floor Foyer

17:00-17:30

Keynotes (Plenary Session)

Main Aula (1st Floor)

17:00-17:20

Polish-American Initiatives of The Kościuszko Mound Committee in Kraków

17:20-17:30

Presentation: City of Bryan, Texas

17:30-18:40

Panel 6 (Plenary Session)

Courts, Counsel, and Compromise: Comparative Perspectives on Civil Dispute Resolution

Main Aula (1st Floor)
Jennifer Gartlan Lecturer, Catholic Law Att. Szymon Gostyński Managing Partner, Gostyński & Partners Judge Agnieszka Owczarewicz Regional Court in Warsaw Patrick M. Regan Catholic Law Board of Visitors Vincenzo Senatore Senior Partner, Giambrone & Partners Dr. Krzysztof Skawiańczyk Partner, Skawiańczyk & Stanek Moderator: Prof. Leah Wortham Professor Emerita of Law, Catholic Law
18:40-18:55

1st day Closing & Thanks

Main Aula (1st Floor)

19:00-22:00

Friday Reception for UJ-CUA Community & Program Supporters (by invitation)

Saturday

June 13, 2026

Pre-conference events

9:00-10:00

Registration & Welcoming Coffee

Main Aula Foyer & 2nd Floor Foyer

9:00-9:45

CUA-UJ American Law Program Information Session

Main Aula
Dr Wojciech Bańczyk JU Head of the American Law Program, Jagiellonian University
9:00-9:45

Young Leaders Panel

Room 52 (2nd Floor)
Emilia Wawer NewGenPolitics International Daria Malec AFET, Committee on Foreign Affairs Roksana Characzko President of the Poniatowski Institute Aleksandra Stańczak Fulbright Poland Moderator: Magdalena Błyskosz Co-founder, Middle Bridge

Main Program

10:00-10:10

Opening & Welcome Remarks

Main Aula (1st Floor)
Prof. Michał Kowalski Vice-Dean for International Cooperation, Faculty of Law and Administration, Jagiellonian University Prof. Leah Wortham Catholic Law Director of CUA-UJ Cooperative Programs
10:10-10:50

Keynotes (Plenary Session)

Main Aula (1st Floor)

10:10-10:35

Address by The Honorable Mark T. Uyeda Commissioner, U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission
10:50-11:40

Keynote Panel (Plenary Session)

American Polonia as a Co-Architect of Poland's Global Presence

Main Aula (1st Floor)
Under the patronage of The Kościuszko Mound Committee in Kraków
Elwira Kelly Senior Vice-President, Moog Inc. Prof. Jim Mazurkiewicz Chairman, Polish-American Chamber of Commerce in Texas Fred Schmidt MBE Partner, Capital Factory Beth Łachut Spiess Strategic Aerospace & Defense Leader, Moog Inc. Moderator: Łukasz Chyla UJ, Kościuszko Mound Committee
11:40-12:50

Panel 7 (Plenary Session)

Securing Europe's Future: Poland's Role in NATO and Transatlantic Defense

Main Aula (1st Floor)
Under the patronage of The Kościuszko Mound Committee in Kraków
Piotr Kochański Managing Partner, Kochański & Partners Piotr Krawczyk Former Head, Polish Foreign Intelligence Agency (Agencja Wywiadu) Beth Łachut Spiess Strategic Aerospace & Defense Leader, Moog Inc. Tomasz Zakrzewski Executive Director, Poland, RTX Jacek Zygmunt Strategic Advisor, PONAR Wadowice S.A. Moderator: Mateusz Jurczyk Branch Director, AmCham Poland
12:50-14:00

Lunch break

2nd Floor Foyer

14:00-15:10

Panel 8

Reindustrializing Europe: Lessons from the United States and EU on Competitiveness and Manufacturing

Main Aula (1st Floor)
Under the patronage of AmCham Poland
Weronika Duda Counsel, Kochański & Partners Sharayah Heidenhain Political-Economic Officer, U.S. Consulate General in Kraków Elwira Kelly Senior Vice-President, Moog Inc. Dr. Eng. Piotr Rosikowski Technical & R&D Director, PONAR Wadowice S.A. Mariusz Wawer Head of Governmental Relations, 3M CEE; AmCham Board Member Moderator: Mateusz Jurczyk Branch Director, AmCham Poland

Panel 9

Sustainable governance. New value-based approach to organization

Room 52 (2nd Floor)
Dr. Agnieszka Hajos-Iwańska Of Counsel, B2RLaw Prof. Justyna Maciąg Head, Public Management Department, Jagiellonian University Zofia Piwowarek ESG Chapter Leader, Erste Bank Prof. Stanisław Rybicki Cracow University of Technology; Kościuszko Mound Committee Prof. Piotr Szwedo Head, Centre for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Jagiellonian University Moderator: Dr. Wojciech Bańczyk JU Head of the American Law Program, Jagiellonian University
15:15-16:25

Panel 10 (Plenary Session)

Bridging the Chain: U.S.–EU Approaches to Blockchain and Digital Assets

Main Aula (1st Floor)
Jurand Drop Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Finance Maciej Kliś Vice-President, Polish Development Bank (BGK) Artur Rudnicki Director, JASPERS Office, European Investment Bank Adrian Whelan Managing Director, Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH) Moderator: Prof. Jack Murphy Director, Securities Law Program, Catholic Law
16:25-17:00

Coffee break

2nd Floor Foyer

17:00-18:30

Keynotes (Plenary Session)

Main Aula (1st Floor)

17:00-17:20

Address by Jurand Drop Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Finance

17:20-17:30

Address by Dr. Kamil Pruchnik Senior Regional Representative for Poland, European Investment Fund

17:30-17:50

Fireside Chat: A Conversation with The Honorable Phyllis C. Borzi, Former Assistant Secretary for Employee Benefits Security, U.S. Department of Labor

Moderator: Wojciech Jarosiński Partner, Peak Legal

17:50-18:30

Keynote Panel

The Long Arc of Partnership: Law, Leadership, and Stability Across the Atlantic

18:30-18:45

2nd day Closing & Thanks

Main Aula (1st Floor)

19:00-22:00

Saturday Reception for UJ-CUA Community & Program Supporters (by invitation)

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