SOLD OUT! The KF Centennial Celebration in Washington DC — Dinner and Award Ceremony
Join Us in Washington, D.C. in Celebrating 100 Years of the Kosciuszko Foundation!
The event is SOLD OUT
The KF Centennial Celebration in Washington, DC — Dinner and Award Ceremony
Sunday, December 7th, 2025 | 5 PM – 8 PM
Society of the Cincinnati
2118 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008
Join us in celebrating 100 years of the Kosciuszko Foundation at the historic Society of the Cincinnati — the nation’s oldest patriotic organization, of which Tadeusz Kosciuszko was a founding member.
Event tickets are sold out, however we continue to accept donations to celebrate the KF Centennial! Please donate HERE
Dress code: business/evening attire.
During the evening, we will recognize outstanding individuals for their dedication and contributions to the Kosciuszko Foundation’s mission.
🏅 KF Trustee Dr. Marek M. Pienkowski – recipient of the 2025 Kosciuszko Foundation Pioneer Award
Read more about Dr. Pienkowski below.
🏅 Local Leaders – recipients of the 2025 KF Appreciation Award for their outstanding commitment and contributions to our mission (in an alphabetical order):
Waldemar Izdebski , Martin Labazevitch, Ewa Pietrasienska, Leszek Strzelecki
Let’s Celebrate Together!
Together, we can ensure that the spirit of Kosciuszko — a symbol of liberty, justice, and solidarity — continues to inspire.
Support This Historic Celebration
As a nonprofit organization, the Kosciuszko Foundation has thrived for a hundred years thanks to the unwavering generosity of its members and community.
We rely entirely on donations to make events like this possible.
No amount is too small. Every dollar brings us closer to a memorable evening of honor, gratitude, and shared legacy.
Your sponsorship will ensure the success of this Centennial celebration and help carry forward the Foundation’s mission for generations to come — keeping alive the spirit of Tadeusz Kosciuszko, a timeless symbol of liberty, justice, and solidarity.
All sponsors will be recognized in printed and online materials and acknowledged during the event.
🕊️ Donate Today HERE. Celebrate With Us!
OUR HONOREE:
Marek Maria Pienkowski (born 8 September 1945) is a Polish-American medical researcher, clinician, biotechnology innovator, and cultural ambassador whose work has significantly influenced immunology, genetic engineering, and Polish-American relations. A pioneer in immunological diagnosis and treatment, he has published more than fifty scientific papers and two books—including a widely used human embryology handbook—and made early contributions to research on allergic disease, anaphylactic desensitization, viral oncogenesis, tumor biology, and the production of therapeutic human proteins in transgenic animals. His first scientific paper appeared in Nature at age twenty-one.
Pienkowski founded Piengen Biomedical Corporation, leading development of cloning technologies and transgenic systems with collaborators Ryszard Słomski, Zdzisław Smorąg, and Piotr Sicinski. Since 1984, his clinical practice has applied cutting-edge immunologic research to the treatment of allergies, asthma, and immune disorders, including innovative desensitization therapies such as the use of hyper-immunized honeybee plasma and early protocols for peanut allergy.
Born in Poland, he earned his M.D. and Ph.D. in immunology at the Medical University of Warsaw under Kazimierz Ostrowski and conducted cancer-virus research at the Wistar Institute with Hilary Koprowski. After serving as an academic leader in Warsaw, he moved to the United States in 1974, joining Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. He later completed internal medicine residency at Henry Ford Hospital and a clinical immunology fellowship at Johns Hopkins under Phillip S. Norman.
A prominent cultural ambassador, Pienkowski has advanced artistic, scientific, and economic exchange between the U.S. and Poland since the early 1990s. His memoir, Iron or Steel: A Memoir on Living Dreams, reflects on the values shaping his career. In 2011 he was appointed Honorary Consul of Poland, facilitating business partnerships and cultural initiatives. He founded the Marek Maria Pienkowski Foundation (2006), which sponsors international art exchanges, workshops, exhibitions, and major academic awards, and operates contemporary art galleries in Knoxville and Chełm.
Pienkowski also founded PolandNow, helped establish Knoxville’s Sister City relationship with Chełm, supported Friendship Force International exchanges, and initiated a U.S.–Poland collaboration in large-animal embryo transfer that introduced American Angus cattle to Poland.
His accomplishments have been recognized by the Kosciuszko Foundation, the Tennessee House of Representatives, and various U.S. political organizations, which have honored him as Physician of the Year, awarded him the Republican Senatorial Medal of Freedom, and recorded his achievements in the U.S. Congressional Record. He was named one of Przegląd’s 100 Most Influential Polish Citizens Abroad. Pienkowski is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Allergy and Immunology, and the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
Dr. Marek Pieńkowski is a Member of the Board of Trustees of The Kosciuszko Foundation.
The event is partially financed by the Department for Cooperation with Polish Diaspora and Poles Abroad of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.
The Kosciuszko Foundation extends its heartfelt gratitude to Andrzej Drozd, Sasha Kay, Piotr Chmieliński, Małgorzata Izdebska, Mark Pienkowski, Roman Sznajder, Jakub Pastwik, Patricia Skurzynski, Alexandra Wankowicz, Olimpia Nowicka Sulla, and Anya Child, for their generous contributions to our Centennial Celebration.
Your support helps us continue our mission of promoting educational and cultural exchange, honoring a century of dedication to Polish-American partnership. We are deeply appreciative of your commitment and are honored to have you as part of this historic milestone!
