President: Teresa Lyson, MD
Head of the board of directors, presides at meetings, represents the Society focusing on governance, leadership, and oversees implementation of Board decisions.
Dr. Teresa Lyson, MD is a retired physician, currently residing in Arlington, VA.
She graduated from the Medical Academy of Lodz, Poland in 1980 and received a PhD in medicine in 1990. She served as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas for several years before entering her residency program at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA. Teresa practiced internal medicine at Hospital Internists of Austin/InternalMedSolutions 1999-2021. Her leadership roles as Medical Director led St David’s Medical Center Rehabilitation Hospital in Round Rock, Texas to achieve national top satisfaction scores in post-acute care.
Teresa was voted “Austin Best Doctors” for several years in a row.
She has years of experience in leadership and volunteer roles in several professional and cultural organizations. Most notably, she served as the Chairperson of 2019 Texas Club of Internists Spring Clinical Meeting in Bastrop TX, helped to organize the Polish Film Festival in Austin, TX for four consecutive years 2016-2019, and the first two editions of the Kosciuszko Foundation Polish Film Festival Washington DC in 2024-2025.
Vice President of Communication & Founder: Eva Coleman, MD
External strategy, brand awareness, public relations and member acquisition. Assists the President and performs their duties in their absence or incapacity.
Dr. Eva Coleman, MD is a nationally recognized physician in the care of complex chronic illness and Lyme disease, distinguished by decades of internal medicine experience and strong patient advocacy. Her expertise in tick-borne disease grew out of years in primary care, where she treated thousands of patients and developed a deep understanding of chronic, multisystem illness—leading to her focused work in Lyme disease beginning in 2016 and her reputation for treating patients with persistent, treatment-refractory symptoms through comprehensive, individualized care.
Dr. Coleman’s clinical leadership is grounded in rigorous academic and research training. She earned her Doctor of Medicine degree in 1992 following medical education in Sofia, supported by a prestigious six-year full scholarship from the Medical School of Łódź. Early in her career, she served as a research assistant at Stanford University CA on a National Cancer Institute–sponsored cohort study, and completed residency training in Internal Medicine through the Ravenswood Hospital program affiliated with the University of Illinois. Her work bridges science, experience, and compassion in service of patients with complex illness.
Vice President of Operations: Sylwia Fowler, MD
Internal operations, oversees the design, delivery, and evaluation of the nonprofit’s core services, ensuring they align with the mission. Assists the President and performs their duties in their absence or incapacity.
Dr. Sylwia Fowler, MD, DipABLM, is a double board-certified physician: an adult psychiatrist and lifestyle medicine physician
Dr Fowler was born and raised in Poland but received her medical doctorate degree (M.D.) from the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany (2002). She moved to the US in 2006 initially for research purposes, but eventually decided to return to practicing medicine. She completed residency in adult psychiatry at the Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, MA, followed by board certification in Lifestyle Medicine.
Dr. Fowler is a recipient of a student award as well as a scholarship from Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich, Germany (2000), and a former post-doctoral research fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School (2007-2010). Since 2024, Dr. Fowler has the honor of serving as the Chair of the Happiness Science Member Interest Group of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.
Dr. Fowler is the founder and owner of the Psychiatry and Lifestyle Medicine practice, which specializes in an individualized approach to mental health. With a deep commitment to evidence-based, patient-centered care, she offers comprehensive medication management in combination with psychotherapy while encouraging lifestyle-based interventions. She is licensed to practice MD, VA and DC.
Treasurer: Krzysztof Lyson, MD
Oversees dues collection, financial planning, including managing financial records, overseeing the budget, and ensuring financial compliance with all laws and regulations.
Dr. Krzysztof Lyson, MD
Born in Poland, Dr. Krzysztof Lyson is a retired physician, currently residing in Arlington, VA. He graduated from the Medical Academy of Lodz, Poland in 1980 and received a PhD in medicine in 1984. He served as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas for several years before entering his residency and fellowship programs at Central Texas Medical Foundation/UT Dell Medical School in Austin, TX and the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA.
Voted “Austin’s Best Doctors” for several years in a row, Dr. Lyson practiced nephrology in Austin, TX at Austin Kidney Associates 1999-2021.
Dr. Lyson has years of experience in leadership and volunteer roles in several professional and cultural organizations. Most notably, he served on the Board of Austin Kidney Associates from 2015 to 2020, on the Board of the Kosciuszko Foundation Polish Film Festival in Washington, DC for the last three years, and on the Board of the Kosciuszko Foundation since 2025.
Science Advisor: Michael Czekajlo, MD
Advising leadership on science policy, provides expert advice, and serves as a liaison to scientific communities and ensuring communication and follow-through on action item
Dr. Michael S. Czekajlo, MD, PhD, MSc is an intensivist and physician leader based in Richmond, Virginia, with more than 25 years of experience in critical care medicine, academic medicine, and healthcare simulation. He currently practices as an Intensivist with Sound Physicians and has served in senior roles spanning cardiothoracic surgery critical care, neurocritical care, and multidisciplinary ICU operations.
Across his career, Dr. Czekajlo has focused on building practical training and performance systems that improve clinical readiness and patient safety. He has developed simulation programs in Poland and the US. He served as National Faculty at Veteran’s Affairs SimLearn and developed and led a simulation center at the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center, where he helped develop technology-enabled curricula and national training initiatives, including COVID-era programs. He also founded Czekajlo Consulting LLC to support hospitals and health systems with strategy, simulation program design, and operational improvement.
Internationally, Dr. Czekajlo is known for long-standing U.S.–Poland collaboration in medical education and simulation, including work as a Fulbright Program Scholar and contributions to national-scale training efforts such as CPR education in schools. He earned his MD from Poznan University of Medical Sciences, completed a PhD in Emergency & Disaster Medicine, and holds an Executive Master’s in Healthcare Economics, Policy and Management from the London School of Economics and Political Science.