MARIA LEWICKA

Previously she worked for the Canadian Embassy as academic and cultural relations officer for 14 years. Lewicka holds a master's degree in English studies, from both the University of Warsaw and the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan. As well as her native Polish, she also speaks English, French and some Russian. In her spare time she said she enjoys horseback riding, keeping fit and reading crime fiction, but her real passion is theater. Lewicka said that she was a co-founder of the first English-language theater group in Warsaw, the Mermaid Players.