who we are
Foundation Board
founder and president of the Atypika Foundation. Philosopher, psychologist. Initiator and co-author of the study program “Neurodiversity in the Workplace – Inclusive Recruitment and Management” at SWPS University.A graduate of Psychoanalytic Observational Studies at Tavistock and Portman in London and the Foundation and Post Foundation at the British Psychoanalytical Society. In 2010-2019 children, adolescents and adults psychotherapist, among others, at Camden Psychotherapy Unit, Place2Be and the Clinic of the Polish Society of Psychoanalytical Psychotherapy. At present professionally interested in applied psychoanalysis and neurodiversity activism.
Board Member. Psychologist, psychotherapist, specialist in clinical psychology. She completed her master’s degree at the Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw. She has a Certificate of Psychotherapist from the Polish Association for Gestalt Psychotherapy and a European Certificate of Psychotherapist. Since 2013, she has been professionally connected with the Regional Specialized Children’s Hospital in Krakow. She works in the Clinical Department of Child Psychiatry and in the Mental Health Outpatient Clinic for Children and Adolescents. She provides psychological diagnosis, individual and group psychotherapy.
Foundation Council
Legal adviser at the District Chamber of Legal Advisers in Warsaw. Since 2010, she has been associated with the Polish Society of Anti-Discrimination Law, where she currently serves as a board member. Over the years, she has coordinated many projects related to counteracting discrimination and social exclusion in various areas of life and for various reasons. She specializes in cases related to unequal treatment in employment due to disability, health condition and experience of mental illness. Member of the Specialist Team of the Cooperation Fund Foundation, which, based on the “Flat First” method, supports people who are mentally ill and are in a homelessness crisis.
Professor at the Faculty of Management and Economics, Gdansk University of Technology. Member of the Council of the Atypika Foundation. Co-founder of the country’s first course of study “Neurodiversity in the Workplace” at SWPS in Warsaw, of which the Atypika Foundation is the initiator and substantive partner. He has worked as a visiting scholar at the University of North Texas, the University of Western Australia and Curtin University. He is the first Polish researcher within the discipline of management sciences to engage in research on neurodiversity and professional work. Author and co-author of more than 50 publications in the area of HRM, primarily in the field of management practices and modification of the work environment for the inclusion of neuroatypical people. Manager and contractor in several projects funded by NCN and NCBiR, among others.
Sociologist, urban activist, housing expert. Founder of the Close Foundation dealing with supporting local activities and creating knowledge about housing innovations. She coordinated work on the preparation of the housing policy and the Housing2030 program for the Capital City of Warsaw. Member of the expert group Laboratorium Rynku Leu and CoopTech Hub at CIC Warsaw. Author of the book Out of property. Towards a successful housing policy.
Economist, specialist in finance and analytics. Co-owner and member of the board of directors of the RYŁKO group of companies, she has participated in the development and management of the organization for almost 25 years. In her work, she oversees and coordinates different areas of the company’s operations, organizes processes and aligns different points of view – supports every person in neurodiverse teams to get along and work effectively and creatively together. She has participated in numerous trainings, workshops and conferences on autism – thanks to this and her personal experiences, she has extensive practical knowledge of neurodiversity and the functioning of neurodivergent people. At the Atypika Foundation, she supports the board mainly in the content area.
Program Council
Honorary member of the Foundation’s Program Council. Writer, essayist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. The most respected and awarded Polish author, present on the world literary scene for over twenty-five years. Her books have been translated into 44 languages so far, including Japanese, Korean, Turkish, Armenian and Chinese. They were successfully filmed and staged as theater adaptations. Vegetarian, animal rights activist, feminist, environmentalist. The organizer of the Góra Literatury festival in Nowa Ruda, she has established her own foundation in 2020.
Founder of the Atypika Foundation and honorary member of its Program Council. Television and radio journalist, columnist, author of humorous texts. Winner of three Wiktor Awards and numerous prestigious plebiscites. For years she was associated with Program 2 of Polish Television, the weekly “Szpilki” magazine and Radio Three. She co-created and hosted the first TV talk-show in Poland, “Evening with Alicia.” Currently, she can be seen in her original program “A la Show” on TVP Rozrywka and TVP2.
Writer, cultural anthropologist, philosopher, creator of atypical literary heroes in “Piaskowa Góra”, “Chmurdalia”, “Ciemno, prawie noc”, “Roku królika” and “Gorzko, Gorzko”. Winner of the Nike Literary Award 2013.
Psychoanalyst, member of the British Psychoanalytic Association, child and adolescent psychotherapist, member of the Tavistock Society of Psychotherapists. Since 1977 she has been training and lives in London. Psychoanalyst in private practice. Director of the Camden Psychotherapy Unit, which offers, among others low-fee psychotherapy for adults. She conducts extensive teaching and supervision activities, also for organizations training in psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy. For years, she has been training and supervising in Warsaw and the Tri-City, conducting, among others, Infant Observation seminars.
Film and theater director and screenwriter. For her film debut the “Provincial Actors” she has received the FIPRESCI award at the Cannes Film Festival. Her next awarded productions are “Fever” from 1980 and “A Lonely Woman”. Due to martial law, Agnieszka Holland decided to live and work in the West. In the 90s she moved to the United States. Agnieszka Holland is the winner of many prestigious awards. She was nominated for an Oscar three times – for “Bitter Harvest” (1985), “Europe, Europe” (1991) and “In Darkness” (2011). In 2001, Agnieszka Holland was awarded the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
Ph.D. Employee of the Institute of Psychology of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Long-term vice-rector and co-organizer of the SWPS University. Therapist and president of the Society for Process-Oriented Psychology. She co-conducted therapeutic workshops for people experiencing domestic violence. As a volunteer, she cooperated with the J Korczak Orphanage and the Multicultural Center in Warsaw. Currently, she participates in the Psychologists for Society campaign and provides psychological help to people who need pro bono support.
Theater, television and film actress. Theater director. Pedagogue at the Film School in Łódź. Winner of three Eagles for the roles of Zofia Beksińska in Jan P. Matuszyński’s “Last Family”, for the role of Iga Cembrzyńska in “Jak pies z kotem” by Janusz Kondratiuk and for the role of Kościelna in Jan Komasa’s “God’s Body”. Privately, mother of a wonderful daughter.
Associates
Educator, founder and president of the Girls on the Spectrum Foundation, author of the books Girl on the Spectrum (2022) and Authentic on the Spectrum (2023). Board member of the Women’s Space Foundation from 2007-2019 and founding member of the Society for Anti-discrimination Education (2009-2015). Graduate of the STOP Trainers School (2009) and the Specialized School of Social Facilitation for Anti-Discrimination (2011-2013). Ashoka Fellow since 2022, winner of the Polcul Foundation Award for Citizenship (2012), the Empowered Program (2020) and the Willy Aastrup Accesibility Award for advocacy for people on the autism spectrum (2024). Member of the Scientific Committee and keynote speaker at the 13th Autism-Europe Congress in Krakow (2022). She teaches at the postgraduate course “Neurodiversity in the Workplace” at SWPS University.
Foundation’s consultant. Philosopher (by education), musician (as a hobby), programmer (professionally). True admirer of Bohumil Hrabal’s prose and the sounds of Eberhard Weber’s electric double bass.
Lighting designer and scenographer with two decades of experience in the creative industry. She specializes in designing spaces, lighting, and scenography, focusing on a deep understanding of human needs, sensitivity and behavior. In 2009, she graduated from the Paul McCartney School of Performing Arts, specializing in lighting and theatrical scenography. She has collaborated with renowned cultural institutions, global brands, and media – including the National Opera, for which she designed nine productions. Since 2015, she has been a BBC expert and co-creator of the popular show The Dengineers, awarded a BAFTA. The program aimed to inspire and educate young audiences by designing spaces that reflect their dreams and individual needs. She also co-designed the set for the critically acclaimed series Baby Reindeer, which addresses the topic of psychological abuse and has received numerous awards, including an Emmy and a Golden Globe. Currently based in London.
Joanna Szulc is an assistant professor at Gdansk University of Technology. She holds a PhD in Management from the University of Leeds (UK). She specializes in the topic of neurodiversity at work and creating inclusive organizations. She puts special emphasis on employee well-being and effective interpersonal relations. Joanna has authored scientific papers in international journals and has won prestigious grants and academic awards. She participates in the works of the international association of the European Academy of Management (EURAM), where she serves as a mentor to young scientists and director of the doctoral student assistance program. She has lectured at universities in the UK and Poland. In the field of neurodiversity, she has managed grants funded by the University Forum for Human Resource Development and the European Academy of Management. Currently, she is the principal investigator of the ARGENTUM grant funded by the Gdansk University of Technology entitled “Sustained, inclusive and sustainable institutions for all: Neurodiversity-friendly smart work design”. Her work on neurodivergent workers has appeared in academic journals such as Employee Relations, Personnel Review, and the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. She also spoke about her research on neurodiversity as an invited expert at the Healthy Remote Work training organized by the UK Department of Health and Social Care and during the Economic and Social Science Research Council (ESRC) Festival of Science. She is currently working on a scientific monograph entitled “Neurodiversity in the Workplace.”