Showcasing leaders who make an impact is always inspiring.
Today, we want to introduce Ann Bankowski, one of the Piast Institute’s 25 Leaders.
Ann S. Bankowski, B.A., M.S.W., was born in Detroit and grew up in Dearborn in a very active Polonian family, where she learned Polish and was raised in a patriotic, Polish-Catholic culture among several generations of Polish immigrants. She grew up witnessing a dynamic Polonian life through her grandfather Stanislaw Olejarczyk’s involvement with the Lutnia Singing Society, the Polish Singers Alliance, and Detroit’s Central Citizen Committee and her father, Kazimierz’s decades of activity and leadership of the Polish American Congress-Michigan. She received a B. A from the University of Detroit and a Masters in Social Work from Wayne State University. She worked as a professional social worker in various settings, often assisting Polish immigrants
While raising three children, Ann and her husband, Władysław, continued to instill a love of the Polish language and heritage in the home. They all speak the language fluently, have traveled to Poland, and strongly identify with their heritage. For over 20 years, Ann was a teacher of Polish language at the General Pulaski Polish Language school and earned the designation of scoutmaster in the Polish Scouting Organization while leading a Hamtramck based brownie troop and many summer camps at the Polish Scouting campground, Białowieża, with that organization, as well as taking on the role of leader of the Girls Division of PSO in Michigan 2019-2024. From 1999- 2018, she worked as a research interviewer for Wayne State University School of Medicine and then project coordinator for studies in their population-based cancer research program.
Since retirement, she has been active in the Polish American Congress-Michigan, serving as its president from 2015 to 2024. She has also served on the PAC-MI Scholarship Fund, PAC-MI Charitable Foundation, the Polish Day Parade Committee, and the Board of Friends of Polish Art. She continues to serve on the Orchard Lake Schools Board of Regents and the Trustees Board of the Polish Institute of Culture and Research at Orchard Lake.
She and her husband have been married 52 years, are members of St. Genevieve parish in Livonia, and are the proud grandparents of five. Ann appreciates the various recognitions she has received locally and from the Polish government for her involvement and commitment to promoting Polish heritage. Still, she is most grateful to family and friends for the love, support, and spirit of cooperation she was privileged to experience throughout her many years of involvement with the Polonia community.
Source: Booklet “Top 25 Polish American Leaders in 2025 Awards Banquet”.
