In 2005 as a student at the University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland, Jacek Spendel became involved in the KoLiber association, a Polish nonpartisan youth group dedicated to classical liberal ideas, free-market economics, and traditional values. In the years since, Jacek has gone on to open his own pizza restaurant to better understand the entrepreneurial experience and started “Project Arizona” to bring European students and young professionals (including many TFAS alumni) to Arizona to teach them how to be better leaders for freedom within their own countries. He was recently named president of Liberty International, a nonprofit organization committed to advancing world liberty through international education and networking. In this week's episode of the Liberty and Leadership Podcast, Roger Ream sits down with Jacek to discuss his journey in the liberty movement and the impact of his experiences with TFAS. Jacek shares his early involvement with the KoLiber association in Poland, and how attending a Language of Liberty program in Slovakia in 2007 inspired him to organize similar events in multiple countries. He also delves into his time in Washington, D.C. with TFAS’s Capital Semester program and how it influenced his decision to found the nonprofit Freedom and Entrepreneurship Foundation. Jacek and Roger discuss his work and founding of Project Arizona, a program that brings international students and young professionals to Arizona to learn about leadership and freedom, and his current role as president of Liberty International. They also discuss the state of freedom in Poland, and how Spendel's work and experiences have contributed to the liberty movement in his home country.
The Liberty and Leadership Podcast is hosted by TFAS President Roger Ream and produced by kglobal. If you have a comment or question for the show, please drop us an email at podcast@TFAS.org.