American Fund for Czech and Slovak Leadership Studies
Center for young talents CTM Centrum pro talentovanou mladez CTY CTY Johns Hopkins talented students virtual high school online courses in English elearning AFCSLS American Fund for Czechoslovak Refugees
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AFCSLS
AFCSLS

American foundation supporting talented and motivated Czech and Slovak students from the first grade to high school graduation.

Some History

AFCSLS is a successor to the American Fund for Czechoslovak Refugees (AFCR), founded in 1948. AFCR helped thousands escape Communism and settle in the United States. The founders included Dr. Ján Papánek, the first Czechoslovak Ambassador to the United Nations, First Lady Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, and many other prominent personalities who refused to accept Communist rule and fought it from the United States. AFCSLS is a member of the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association (BBLA).

CTM expertise stems from a long-term association with the Center for Talented Youth (CTY), Johns Hopkins University. In 2010, AFCSLS and CTY launched a pilot program in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. AFCSLS has invested more than one million dollars, mainly for scholarships, the training of instructors, and technical support. CTY agreed to qualify students for the program based on recommendations from participating schools, reduce course fees, provide technical support, and train instructors. CTM evolved from the pilot program.

AFCSLS Members

AFCSLS members come from the United States, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. We are motivated by a desire to see the Czech Republic and Slovakia rejoin the most advanced industrialized countries, just as it was during the presidency of Tomas Garrigue Masaryk.

The Bohemian Benevolent & Literary Association contributes generously to our activities.

We are grateful for the support we have been receiving from the Center for Talented Youth (CTY), a world authority on talent development dedicated to identifying and nurturing students with high learning abilities from early childhood to high school graduation.

Executive Committee

Martin Herman, President, is the most generous sponsor of our activities. Martin has developed and is running our education programs. His priority is to ensure the success of the Center for Talented Minds (CTM), our extended arm in Prague, Czech Republic. Martin holds degrees from Prague School of Economics, George Washington University, Washington D.C., and Cornell University, New York.

Martin Mucha, Treasurer, finance and real estate executive with over 10 years of experience in global tech and real estate product and project management, involving collaboration with fintech institutions, governments and the public, so far completing nearly $2B in various large scale projects in Central Europe, Asia and the United States. Martin is a member of the Brookings Council and guest speaker at various universities.

Joseph Balaz, Secretary, President of the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association, of which AFCSLS is a member. Joseph owns and operates a construction company specializing in high-end residential development in New York City.

Fund Members

Henry Kallan, is one of the most generous sponsors and passionate supporters. He owns and operates several luxury hotels in New York City, Canada and Europe. See his latest masterpieces: Aria Hotel in Budapest, Hungary, and Hotel X in Toronto, Canada.

Jan Hladký, attorney in Brno specializing in corporate and commercial law, advising on mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, bankruptcy, litigation, arbitration, state aid, and public procurement, and laws of the European Union.

Jiří Zlatuška, professor of informatics at Masaryk University, Brno, former MP of the Czech Parliament and Chairman of the Parliament Education Committee, former Czech senator (independent), President Emeritus of Masaryk University.

Karel Obluk a partner at Evolution Equity Partners, a multi-stage international investor that leveraging IT sector expertise; one of the most successful — AVG Technologies — is publicly listed on NYSE (NYSE: AVGT) and was acquired by Avast. Karel holds a PhD in computer science from the Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic. He was awarded a Kauffman Fellowship by the Palo Alto Society of Kauffman Fellows.

Tomáš Kára, founder of the International Center for Clinical Research (ICRC) in Brno, a collaborative project between the Mayo Clinic and St. Anne Faculty Hospital. ICRC is the European Union's largest platform for medical research.

Birgitte Rasine CEO of Lucita, a socially responsible design, media and communications company.

Branislav Kleskeň is heading LEAF, a non-profit organization focusing on development of young individuals with the potential to grow into shapers of Slovakia. As Partner at McKinsey&Company, he focused on performance-improvement for large corporations and on building new ones. In the area of education, he advised governments and individual organizations on primary and secondary education. Branislav has an M.B.A. in Finance and Managerial Economics from Kellogg Graduate School of Management.