Board
Tutoring
Supervision
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Małgorzata Balwicka-Szczyrba
Professor at the Faculty of Law and Administration, University of Gdańsk; Legal Counsel
Beata Kowalczyk
Assistant Professor at the Department of Roman Law, Faculty of Law and Administration, University of Gdańsk
Barbara Jacaszek
Conservator of Paintings and Polychrome Sculpture, Interior Designer, Colour Consultant
OUR TEAM
CONTACT US
Anna Fijołek
Manager and Entrepreneur
A graduate of the Faculty of Management at the University of Gdańsk and of a postgraduate programme at the Warsaw School of Real Estate Management, where she obtained a state licence as a property manager. She began her professional career gaining experience in banking and marketing, and subsequently spent over 10 years working in the real estate sector.
She served as Director of Tempo, a company responsible for the administration and management of numerous prestigious residential developments and buildings, including Gdynia's Sea Towers. She also headed a company providing specialised technical and ongoing property maintenance services.
As part of her community work, serving as President of the Board of the Fregata Educational Association, she managed the Fregata preschool and primary schools for girls and boys, contributing her energy, knowledge and passion.
Her university studies sparked her interest in Total Quality Management. Her professional experience taught her to embrace change and innovation, while everyday life has taught her excellent time-management and organisational skills. She is a wife and mother of five.
Her interests include architecture and painting, historical novels, civilisations and geopolitics, athletics, and basketball.
Life motto: “Demand of yourselves, even if others do not demand of you.” — John Paul II
Małgorzata Grela
Mathematician and Philosopher
She graduated in Applied Mathematics from the University of Warsaw and currently works as a data analyst. She studied Philosophy in Italy, where she completed her master’s thesis on intellectual abilities. She is passionate about the process of human cognition and the ways in which it can be developed and enhanced.
She loves jogging, Russian literature and hiking. For many years, she has been actively involved in social and educational work with young people. She welcomes new challenges and is passionate about motivating and supporting others in pursuing them.
She believes in the power of deeply held convictions to shape our lives and in the immense potential and richness within every individual.
Agnieszka Kowalkowska
Project Manager, University Lecturer, Tutor and Coach
She runs her own company, WieleOpcji.pl, and collaborates with an IT company in project management. She is a lecturer at University WSB Merito in Gdańsk, Faculty of Health Sciences. Previously, she worked at the Faculty of Biology at the University of Gdańsk, where she held a postdoctoral degree in biological sciences and the position of professor at the University of Gdańsk. She also worked as a tutoring expert and trainer at the Centre for Teaching Excellence and Tutoring at the University of Gdańsk, designing and delivering tutoring courses and Nonviolent Communication (NVC) training for academic staff.
Recently, she has become fascinated by Agile project management and completed postgraduate studies in Agile.
She enjoys travelling, photography and walking her dog. Her motto is “She will not take “no” for an answer” — meaning that it is always worth looking at things from different perspectives and searching for creative solutions.
At The Avenue, she is responsible for supporting the tutors in their work with programme participants.
Paulina Gorska
HR Business Partner
She has been supporting businesses in human resources for 25 years. Across various companies, roles and countries, she has been responsible for developing employee engagement strategies, supporting a culture of innovation, and implementing initiatives such as the pioneering “Scholarships for Girls” programme and development programmes for engineers and managers. She is currently an HR Partner at Intel.
She is a certified business trainer and a Gallup-certified coach.
Colleagues value her openness to challenges, honesty, out-of-the-box thinking and unwavering belief in success. She is an optimist who builds relationships on people's strengths and the inherent goodness within everyone.
She is the wife of Kuba and the mother of Zosia, Antek, Maks, Franek, Staś and Ignaś. She loves swimming, water skiing and downhill skiing. She prefers to spend her holidays with family and friends in Kashubia, though she also enjoys exploring the wider world. She draws strength from God's grace and recharges during silent retreats.
Katarzyna Glinka
Deputy Chief Accountant at Omida Group
A graduate of the University of Gdańsk, Faculty of Economics, where she studied Transport and Freight Forwarding as well as Banking and International Finance. Her two fields of study complement each other and support her in her everyday professional work.
She further developed her expertise at Gdańsk University of Technology, Faculty of Management, where she obtained an Accounting Certificate. Her professional career has been closely connected with the Transport, Freight Forwarding and Logistics (TSL) industry from the very beginning. She has worked in finance departments, specialising in HR, taxation and management accounting. Since 2012, she has served as Deputy Chief Accountant at Omida Group. She plans to continue developing her career in the field of taxation.
She believes that a healthy body supports a healthy mind, and regularly takes part in sports, particularly CrossFit and running. She spends her free time reading and enjoying active time with family and friends. She also loves good food.
In her personal life, she is a happily married wife to Bartłomiej and a mother of three. She believes that everything in life has its own time and place, and that we should therefore make the most of every moment.
Izabela Kapuścińska
Interior Designer, CEO of KI-Homes
A mathematician and theologian by education, she has been successfully designing and furnishing apartments and houses for over 20 years. She is fascinated by the concept of space as a Home, both in terms of functionality and aesthetics. She strives to create spaces tailored to individual people and families, taking into account their habits and preferences and helping them discover their own personal style, so that the resulting interiors are not only beautiful but also truly personal.
As co-owner of KI-Homes, she combines her roles as an interior designer and investor, giving new life to old, often neglected properties in Gdańsk.
In her personal life, she has shared her life with her husband, Marcin, for over 20 years. Together they are raising two daughters, Helena and Katarzyna, who are now entering adulthood, as well as two teenage sons, Maksymilian and Aleksander.
She relaxes by exercising her mind through bridge games.
Joanna Szlązak
Musician, Violinist, Teacher, and Communication and Empathy Trainer
Privately, she is a wife and mother to Hania and Janek.
She graduated from the Faculty of Instrumental Studies at the Academy of Music in Gdańsk, the School of Empathy-Based Communication Trainers in Warsaw, and a Mediation Studies programme. As a violinist, she has collaborated with numerous orchestras and ensembles, including the Polish Baltic Philharmonic in Gdańsk, Les Solistes Français in Lille, France, the Musical Theatre in Gdynia, the Pruszcz Gdański City Orchestra, and the Wybrzeże Theatre in Gdańsk, where she co-founded an ensemble performing Portuguese Fado music.
She began working as a teacher while still at university, and supporting others in their personal development has since become her mission. After completing her communication trainer training, she founded her own training company, where she conducted workshops, individual sessions, training programmes and open Empathy Café meetings. She currently works at Virtuo Music Centre, where she helps people discover their hidden talents.
Two guiding principles accompany her through life:
“If a person is born with wings, they should do everything they can to use them and fly.”
“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
Irena Moszczyńska-Janicka
University Lecturer, English Language Specialist, Tutor
She graduated in English Philology from the University of Gdańsk and completed a postgraduate programme in Public Relations (Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Applied Social Sciences at the University of Warsaw, and the Privatisation Centre Foundation).
She has been teaching English for Specific Purposes for two decades and currently teaches at the University of Gdańsk Language Centre. Her interests include the influence of language on the way we perceive the world around us, educational neuroscience, and the impact of relationships on learning—not only when it comes to foreign languages.
She enjoys cooking and baking. In a fast-paced world, she finds peace in knitting blankets for her friends.
Anna Siudem-Kopka
Art and Visual Arts Teacher
She studied Artistic Photography at the State Secondary School of Fine Arts in Gdynia Orłowo, Art Education at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk, and Care and Educational Pedagogy at WSB University in Gdańsk. She is a member of theatre, educational and project-based associations, as well as kayaking organisations. She is a Level II Kayaking Tourism Instructor with the Polish Canoe Federation (PZKaj), a Level II Kayaking Tourism Leader with the Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society (PTTK), and a PZKaj-qualified judge in recreational kayaking.
Her varied and interesting professional experience has provided her with skills and perspectives that she now brings to her work as a tutor, educator and art teacher. She works at the Catholic Schools Complex in Tczew.
She finds great joy in sharing her skills with others and working alongside passionate people—often going against the current and refusing to be confined to conventional categories.
She is a happily married wife and mother of two adult children, with whom she has shared some of her passions.
One of her life mottos is:
“What you can do is only a tiny drop in the vast ocean, but it is precisely what gives meaning to your life.”— Albert Schweitzer
Caroline Samp
Graduate in Economics and Management, specialising in New Technologies
She holds a degree in Economics and Management, specialising in new technologies. She studied at universities in Germany, the United States and Poland, developing her intercultural and language skills. She has worked in the IT industry for many years, coordinating both internal projects and projects with international clients.
She is passionate about an active lifestyle and spends her free time playing volleyball, walking, dancing and cycling. She enjoys developing her culinary skills, with a particular love of baking. Relationships with family and friends, as well as community work, are an important part of her everyday life.
Aleksandra Dąbrowska-Sadecka
Teacher, Tutor, Educational Therapist
She is a qualified speech therapist, Polish language teacher, early-years educator, educational therapist and tutor, and is currently completing her studies in psychology. She works as a teacher and tutor, with a strong commitment to building solid relationships based on trust and openness. She practises critical thinking, creativity and mindfulness, and is constantly working to deepen her self-awareness.
She believes that it is never too late to engage in an open dialogue with yourself, identify your needs and define your goals. She finds the greatest satisfaction in working with young people, both in one-to-one sessions and in workshops tailored to their needs.
She cannot imagine a day without a walk or a holiday without hiking.
Ewa Piotrowska
University Lecturer
She is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Biology at the University of Gdańsk. Her PhD research and subsequent work focus on human genetics.
She continuously develops her teaching skills. Among other things, she has completed an academic teaching course for staff and doctoral students at the University of Gdańsk, undertaken a one-month teaching internship at the University of Houston-Downtown in Texas, USA, and completed a two-week tutoring course at University College London, UK.
She is interested in various approaches to supporting human development and has participated in courses in dog-assisted therapy, Original Play and Nonviolent Communication (NVC).
She loves fitness and, for several years, has been playing badminton with her husband.
Anna Skowron
Physiotherapist by Profession and Passion
She graduated from the Medical University of Bydgoszcz and is currently completing a four-year postgraduate programme in Osteopathic Medicine at Osteopathie Schule Deutschland.
She runs her own Medical Rehabilitation Clinic, which received EU funding in 2009 under the Human Capital Operational Programme (Measure 6.2). She also collaborates with CM LuxMed.
For eight years, she was associated with the Regional Sports Medicine Centre. She specialises in the conservative treatment of idiopathic scoliosis and postural disorders, as well as the treatment of spinal and peripheral joint pain in both children and adults. She has participated in numerous conferences, postgraduate training programmes and specialist courses.
She is a certified therapist in the McKenzie Method, Anatomy Trains myofascial therapy, Fascial Distortion Model (FDM), PNF, Functional Individual Therapy for Scoliosis, and several other approaches. She is a member of the Polish Society of Sports Medicine.
She enjoys hiking in the mountains and flying gliders and aeroplanes.
She is a wife and mother of three wonderful children, aged 8, 10 and 13.
Małgorzata Balwicka-Szczyrba
Professor at the Faculty of Law and Administration, University of Gdańsk; Legal Counsel
She is an Associate Professor at the University of Gdańsk, Faculty of Law and Administration, and the author of numerous academic publications. She lectures in civil law and conducts seminars and pre-seminars for undergraduate and doctoral students at the University of Gdańsk.
She holds a certificate in academic tutoring and coordinates the team of tutors at the Faculty of Law and Administration, as well as being a member of the University of Gdańsk tutoring team. In cooperation with the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, she participates in the project Didactic Masters.
She completed her legal counsel traineeship and has been practising as a legal counsel since 2005, with experience in providing legal services to energy companies.
Magda Kuropatwińska
Local Government Official, Philosophy Graduate
She graduated from the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Gdańsk with a degree in Philosophy and completed postgraduate studies in Human Resource Management at Gdańsk University of Technology.
For over 13 years, she has worked at the Office of the Regional Parliament of the Marshal’s Office of the Pomorskie Voivodeship, supporting the work of the regional parliament. She is responsible for organising the work of the Committee for Science, Education, Culture and Sport and the Committee for Interregional and International Cooperation of the Pomorskie Regional Parliament, whose members are elected regional councillors.
She is also responsible for the publication of the periodical “Self-Government of Pomerania: Issue Papers”, which has featured contributions from senators, members of parliament, former Marshals and regional councillors representing a range of political perspectives.
In her personal life, she is the wife of Jacek and mother of Franek and Mikołaj. She is interested in politics and music, but above all in books. She is passionate about hiking in the mountains—and about journeys of self-discovery. She advocates for finding the golden mean in all aspects of life.
Begona Herrera
Architect
She graduated from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) in Barcelona, where she studied Architecture, major in Design, History and Urban Planning.
During the final years of her studies, she came to Gdańsk for an internship and later completed a one-year placement at the Department of Historic Preservation in Kraków. She gained professional experience as a designer at the renowned Kraków-based architectural practice Biuro Projektów Lewicki Łatak and she is still associated with the company. She currently lives in Warsaw where she works professionally in architectural interior design.
In her free time she supports the statutory activities of various associations and foundations. She is passionate about meeting people and sharing with others—this is where she draws her creative energy and inspiration for life.
She loves Spain, while Poland is her second home.
Katarzyna Tamowicz
Manager and Mentor
She has been working professionally at Fregata Girls’ School for six years. Previously, she worked primarily in information systems design. She has also worked as a mentor in the “Women in Business Mentoring” programmes and was a recipient of the 2008 Darboven Idee Grant for the best business idea. Since 2010, she has been a member of the Advisory Board of the Faculty of Management at Gdańsk University of Technology.
She is married and a mother of three daughters.
Her interests include the relationship between people and information technology; the impact of the quality of relationships on organisational effectiveness; big data and business intelligence; the effectiveness of single-sex education; and values-based management.
She is fluent in English, German and French.
Anna Juniewicz-Kieda
Educator and Psychotherapist
She is an educator and a psychotherapist affiliated with the Polish Society for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. She has developed her professional expertise working with adults and young people in public institutions within the education and healthcare sectors, as well as in private practice.
As a tutor, she seeks to encourage personal development by helping young people develop the ability to think independently.
In her free time, she enjoys walks with her loved ones, whatever the weather. She loves reading and listening to music, particularly chillout. She enjoys travelling, discovering new places and meeting new people. She also values spending time with her family and meeting and talking with friends.
In her personal life, she is a wife and mother of teenage children.
Anna Kierbedź
Philologist, Translator
She graduated in English Philology and Iberian Studies from the University of Gdańsk. For nine years, she pursued an adventurous career of a medical translator.
Her life motto is: “Live each day so that by evening the world is a little better because of you than it was when you woke up that morning.”
She loves reading, but there is only one book she is truly in love with—the Bible—which she considers a day without to be a day wasted. She finds joy in the little things: nature, music, a cup of good tea, and conversations with people in whom she discovers God.
She takes her vehicle everywhere—a contraption she calls a limousine, hovercraft, lorry or “non-flyer,” although most people simply call it a wheelchair.
Beata Kowalczyk
Assistant Professor at the Department of Roman Law, Faculty of Law and Administration, University of Gdańsk
She holds a PhD in Law and is a graduate of the postgraduate programme “Real Estate Brokerage” at the University of Gdańsk.
She is a member of the First-Instance Disciplinary Commission appointed by the Minister of Higher Education, as well as numerous academic societies, including the Society of European Contract Law (SECOLA), the Society for Comparative Legal History and Juris Diversitas.
Her academic interests include the influence of Roman jurisprudence on the development of European legal culture and the transformation of law from a comparative legal perspective. Her research also examines the development of preventive legal protection in various legal systems and public-law restrictions on property rights, particularly in the field of heritage protection.
She is the author of numerous academic publications, including monographs, a commentary on the Civil Code, and articles published in Polish and international journals. She has also participated in numerous training programmes, conferences and national and international congresses. She lectures in civil law, teaches Roman law classes and supervises seminars on real estate law.
She has undertaken research placements at the Leopold-Wenger-Institut für Rechtsgeschichte at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, which gave her the opportunity to experience a rigorous and professional approach to academic research, broaden her academic horizons and meet many inspiring people.
She initiated and coordinates the Young Romanists Forum and has co-organised numerous national and international conferences.
She provides academic supervision, as an auxiliary PhD supervisor, to doctoral students at the Faculty of Law of SWPS University in Warsaw, as part of the doctoral seminar led by Professor Bronisław Sitek.
She expects continuous self-improvement and the ongoing expansion of knowledge—not only professional knowledge—from both herself and others. She has strong team-management skills, inspires others to take action, and performs well under stress and time pressure.
Her life motto is: “God truly exists; therefore, nothing is impossible.”
In her personal life, she is a happily married wife and mother of a son and daughter. She loves skiing, Italian cuisine, travelling and reading books—lots of them.
Katarzyna Szemro
Communication Expert, Healthy Lifestyle Enthusiast
She has been active in international business for over 20 years. She gained experience in sales and relationship management at a well-known corporation in the Netherlands, where she spent 10 years after completing her studies in economics in Sopot.
She then spent 12 years helping build an IT company in Gdańsk from the ground up, specialising in communication and employer branding. During the final two years of her corporate career, she headed the Global Communications Department at Aspire Systems.
Since 2017, she has served as president of a youth triathlon club, driven by her own passion for a healthy lifestyle and physical activity and her desire to inspire young people to embrace them.
Kasia enjoys unconventional projects and likes to stay active—not only physically, but intellectually as well. Personal growth and helping create a positive environment around her are key motivators for her. She believes that having goals is important, but that achieving them is not the most important thing; what matters most is the journey towards them. A happy person, in her view, is someone who consciously follows their own path in life, learning as much as possible from their experiences along the way and sharing those lessons with others.
She draws strength from her family, meditation (or prayer, as some may prefer to call it), sport and close relationships. She is married to Peter, a Dutchman who, 14 years ago, joined her and their three sons, now teenagers, in taking a leap into the unknown—moving from the Netherlands to Poland and starting their own business.
Justyna Gołowacz
Teacher, Musician, Special Education Teacher and Therapist
A graduate of the Instrumental Department at the Academy of Music in Gdańsk, she has performed as a violinist with the Baltic Philharmonic, Cappella Gedanensis and numerous chamber ensembles.
She spent four years performing on passenger cruise ships, travelling the world and experiencing diverse countries, cultures and people. These journeys instilled in her the conviction that anything in life is possible if one desires it strongly enough and pursues one's dreams with courage.
Beyond music, she is deeply passionate about working with children. She completed a course in special education focusing on intellectual disabilities and postgraduate studies in logorhythmics at the Academy of Music in Gdańsk. She worked as a teacher-therapist at a special education centre in Gdańsk, supporting children with varying degrees of disability.
In 2006, she moved to London, where she specialised in ABA therapy for children with autism and challenging behaviours, working as a one-to-one therapist.
She was a co-founder, teacher and subsequently the managing director of Cantabile — the first Polish Catholic music school operating under a Polish parish in London.
She currently runs Edu Klub Osowa with her husband. The educational club organises educational, developmental and therapeutic activities for children educated outside the traditional school system.
Małgorzata Aftańska
Experienced Educator
Experienced educator with a great dose of empathy and natural sensitivity. An excellent listener who is always there for others.
She graduated from the Academy of Physical Education and Sport, specialising in wellness, physiotherapy and oligophrenopedagogy. She also completed a prestigious folk dance school run by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Poland. She holds a Level 2 Tutor Certificate from the Tutor College Foundation.
For 17 years, she worked as a physical education teacher at Secondary School No. 2 in Sopot. She also found fulfilment as a form tutor, dance instructor and camp counsellor, working with children and young people. She co-organised the “Active Uniwersum” day camps and created and delivered “Creativity for Health”, a series of workshops for children funded by the City of Gdańsk as part of its Mental Health Protection Programme.
She currently works as a lecturer at the University of Gdańsk’s Centre for Physical Education and Sport.
Her passions include travelling and skiing.
In her personal life, she is a happily married wife and mother of three children.
Natalia Lewandowska
HR Manager, Coach
She graduated from the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Gdańsk. For 20 years, she has worked in various areas of HR, including as a coach, trainer, consultant, HR Business Partner and HR Manager.
She has been working in the IT industry for 15 years and has spent the past eight years at Intel, where she supports the development of organisations and leaders and has the opportunity to observe how the world of work is changing in a rapidly evolving global environment.
She enjoys travelling, meeting new people and learning about different cultures, working in the garden and appreciating the beauty of everyday life.
Over the years, she has repeatedly found great wisdom in Jim Rohn’s words:
“People generally overestimate what they can accomplish in a year and underestimate what they can accomplish in ten years.”
As a tutor, she can help young people identify their strengths and interests, express their dreams in words, and turn them into concrete actions and a potential career path.
Małgorzata Mazurek
Manager
A wife of 22 years and a mother, she gained her professional experience abroad, where she lived from 1989 to 2021. Her career began at Ferrero, where she gained valuable practical experience that prepared her for an MBA in Marketing and Human Resources Management in Frankfurt am Main.
During her studies, she worked at Deutsche Bank. After completing her degree, she began working full-time in the HR and Payroll Department of the American investment fund Fidelity. Five years later, she moved to the company’s Luxembourg office and subsequently joined Franklin Templeton.
Over 15 years at Franklin Templeton, Małgorzata progressed from Senior Specialist to Senior Manager, leading the payroll team across Europe and working closely with teams around the world.
She is passionate about sharing her experience of change and navigating different stages of professional and personal life.
Her motto is: “When one door closes, another is already open—you just have to find it.”
She believes that changes are not random; they open the door to new possibilities.
Barbara Jacaszek
Conservator of Paintings and Polychrome Sculpture, Interior Designer, Colour Consultant
She graduated in the Conservation of Paintings and Polychrome Sculpture. As an additional field of study, she chose Cultural Heritage Protection at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. She has carried out conservation work in churches in Poland and Ukraine.
For many years, she has been fascinated by painting techniques and colour, including the works of 17th- and 18th-century Dutch masters, whose paintings she has recreated as copies. Drawing on her experience as a conservator, her observations of nature, and her parents, who taught her about beauty and harmony, she began to explore professionally the relationships between colours and their influence on our well-being.
What she values most is everyday life with her husband and three children. She draws strength from her family home, personal growth and raising her children, friendship and scouting.
Her passion is Life. She is interested in Ignatian spirituality, looks for solutions beyond conventional patterns, and enjoys awakening herself and others to their inner life.
In her personal life, she is a happily married wife and mother of three children (two boys and one girl).