Speaker Biographies
See the detailed program for additional information on the presentations.
Ildikó Antal-Ferencz is an economist, freelance journalist, and blogger. Her main writing focus is family. Over the past two years, she has written more than 200 articles in Hungarian and English about Hungarians living in the North American diaspora (individuals, families, local communities, and diaspora-level organizations). She published her first collection of these interviews in December 2023 and the second in August 2024, titled “Being Hungarian in America I” and “Being Hungarian in America II” respectively.
Zsolt Bede-Fazekas is the editor-in-chief of the Toronto Independent Hungarian Radio, founder of Parameter Club — Thought Ambulance, owner of Pannonia, the only Hungarian language bookstore in the Western diaspora, former cultural director of the Toronto Hungarian House, and recipient of the Friend of Hungary Award established by MOBA. His passion is maintaining Hungarian heritage, traditional communities, and creating valuable programs and ideas.
Tamás Csajka was born in Košice in 1975, where he graduated from the Hungarian high school and later earned a degree in mathematics from UPJS University. He became a scout in 1991 in the Hungarian Scout Association of Slovakia (SZMCS), serving as troop leader and patrol leader trainer for several years. His first visit to America was during the 2000 Jubi camp, and since then, strengthening Hungarian-Hungarian connections has been one of his most important goals. He has lived in Cleveland since 2007, where he serves with Troop 14 and has been troop leader twice. In his civilian life, he is an actuarial mathematician. His wife is Scout Officer Kriszta Slattery, and they have 4 children: Tesza, Rózsi, Karcsi, and Ágoston.
Krisztina Csermely grew up in Toronto’s Hungarian community and has been an active member and twice troop leader of the 42nd Saint Kinga Girl Scout troop since childhood. She graduated from the University of Toronto with degrees in English Literature and Egyptian Archaeology. For twenty-five years, she worked in show business as an employee of the Canadian Radio, Television, and Film Writers Guild, later representing film and television writers as a volunteer entrepreneur. She later worked with intellectually disabled children as a teacher in Toronto’s Catholic schools. During this time, she also enrolled in the Hungarian Department at the University of Toronto and systematically enhanced her knowledge in Hungarian grammar, literature, history, drama, and film.
Rezső Darvas is a photographer born in Csíkszereda, where he began his studies in the music and arts program at the Petőfi Sándor School, later graduating from Industrial High School No. 4 with a specialization in metalworking. He has been working as a professional photographer since 2003, participating in various training programs including the Csíksomlyó Kalót Association’s photography course and the Vámszer Géza Folk School. His work has won awards in numerous photography competitions. He captures nature’s beauty and human moments, and also enjoys photographing the female form and dying traditions.
Judit Kerekes is the Chair of the Mathematics Department at the City University of New York and plays a significant role in American Hungarian communities, particularly in children’s Hungarian language development. She was a member of the New York Hungarian Theater for 20 years and directed the Hungarian Scout Association’s Hungarian Summer School Camp for 10 years. She founded the American Hungarian Summer University for students over 14 years of age. She holds leadership positions in various organizations, including serving as co-chair of the American Hungarian Federation and the American Hungarian Schools Meeting.
András Péter Kovács (KAP) is a Karinthy Ring-awarded Hungarian humorist, writer, and one of the pioneers of stand-up comedy in Hungary, being one of the longest-standing members of the Dumaszínház ensemble. He completed his secondary education at József Attila High School and the Budai Cistercian Saint Imre High School, graduating in 1996. He earned his law degree from ELTE Faculty of Law in 2001 and completed his doctoral program in 2004. He taught legal history and media law at Károli Gáspár Reformed University and legal informatics at ELTE Faculty of Informatics before leaving academia to pursue his career in comedy.
Imre Lendvai-Lintner began his scout leadership work with the Gábor Áron Scout Troop No. 6 in Garfield, later continuing at VK camps and headquarters. For the past 32 years, he has served first as executive president, then as president. He has led multiple patrol leader camps and has been responsible for scout officer training since 1994. He was the commander of the 1995 KMCSSZ Jubilee Grand Camp. He earned his metallurgical engineering degrees from Stevens Institute of Technology and worked at ExxonMobil’s technical institute for 33 years, ultimately as department head. He has been retired since 2006 and serves scouting full-time.
Dr. Balázs Mártonffy is Hungary’s Consul General in Chicago since September 2024, previously serving as institute director and senior research fellow at the National University of Public Service. A political scientist honored by the Munich Security Conference, he formerly served as deputy head of department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and worked at the Ministry of Defense. He earned his PhD from American University’s School of International Service, where he won the William C. Olson Award, with additional degrees from the University of Denver and Washington University in St. Louis. He is the author of numerous books and studies and a member of the International Studies Association and the Hungarian Atlantic Council.
Dr. Andrea Vareska Mészáros was born in Norfolk, Virginia, and moved to Cleveland at age seven. She quickly joined Girl Scout Troop 33 Szilágyi Erzsébet and later became its commander. She earned a history degree from John Carroll University and a law degree from Case Western Reserve University. She worked as a lawyer for 27 years before becoming a history and geography teacher at a local Catholic school. She has maintained leadership roles in both Hungarian Scouting and the Cleveland Hungarian Museum. She currently serves as president of the United Hungarian Societies of Cleveland.
Gábor Mózsi was born and raised in Budapest. Originally trained as a photographer/photojournalist, he currently works as an operational manager for a multi-state portrait studio chain. His commitment extends beyond his professional field; he actively participates in social events and charitable activities, demonstrating his dedication to the community. Gábor has been the president of the Chicago Hungarian Club since 2023 and is a co-founder of the HYPE Network launched in 2024.
Áron Német is a junior at Cathedral Prep high school in Erie. Born in Hungary, he attended both kindergarten and school there. He plays soccer and piano, and plans to attend university in Hungary.
Iván Német graduated from the Budapest University of Economics and later studied Applied Intelligence at Mercyhurst University in Erie. He works at Logistics Plus in Erie and has three children with his wife.
Tamás Novoszáth spent a significant part of his athletic career in Szeged. He received a sports scholarship to the University of South Carolina, where he pursued both his undergraduate and master’s degrees while continuing his swimming career. After graduation, he decided to stay in the USA to take advantage of American opportunities and currently works in Atlanta as a senior business data analyst at a Japanese multinational company while also launching his own ventures.
Dr. Judit Puskás, Ph.D., P.Eng, professor and member of AIMBE, IUPAC, and NAI, is a co-inventor of the polymer coating for the Taxus drug-eluting coronary stent implanted in over 10 million people. Her research focuses on integrating breast cancer diagnosis and treatment with breast reconstruction, collaborating with Cleveland Clinic and Semmelweis Medical University. She was one of five winners of the 2012 GE Healthymagination Breast Cancer Challenge Award, selected from 400 international applications. She received the 2017 Charles Medal, the highest award from the American Chemical Society’s rubber division. She joined the Ohio State University’s Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering (FABE) as a permanent professor in January 2019. She received the Distinguished Professor title in January 2020 and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2023.
Erzsébet Révy, born in Hungary, has long maintained an active, healthy lifestyle. After practicing yoga for decades, she discovered Tai Chi Easy about ten years ago and became a certified Tai Chi Easy/Medical Qigong Practice Leader. She currently leads multiple weekly classes on Cleveland’s West Side, including outdoor sessions during summer. Tai Chi Easy is a gentle mind-body practice combining movement, breath, and mindfulness to promote self-care and healing, designed to be accessible for people of all ages, anytime and anywhere.
Dóra Solymosi is a retired professor who taught German for 20 years in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at Baldwin-Wallace University. Previously, she taught French and German for seven years in the Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures at John Carroll University and co-authored a German grammar book. Beyond academia, she was deeply involved in the Hungarian Scouts Association in Exteris, leading leadership training camps and teaching leadership skills. She was active in Cleveland’s Hungarian Girl Scout troop number 34, teaching Hungarian history and participating in camping trips. She has also given lectures at the Cleveland Hungarian Heritage Museum about Hungarian music history and Transylvania’s history.
Michael Sakal is a journalist and author from Dayton, Ohio, specializing in local history and community stories. He is known for preserving Hungarian heritage in the region, particularly through his 2022 book “Dayton Hungarians: Their Stories, Glories, and Folklore.” This work explores the experiences of Hungarian immigrants in Dayton, celebrating their cultural contributions and stories. Michael actively writes for local publications and continues to document regional history.
Lél Somogyi earned his computer engineering degree and master’s in management information systems from Case Western Reserve University. During his career, he worked as a consultant at Ernst & Young, witnessing the emergence of personal computers and spreadsheets. He has always been fascinated by IT technology, especially artificial intelligence and robotics. In his nearly 50-year career, he currently works as a project manager at Progressive Insurance, where he conducts pioneering work in data and AI with a data science team.
Géza Tátrallyay was born in Budapest, Hungary, and fled with his family to Canada during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Growing up in Toronto, he graduated from Harvard University with a BA in Human Ecology in 1972. As a Rhodes Scholar, he earned a BA/MA in Human Sciences from Oxford University and later an MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics in 1975. He represented Canada as an épée fencer at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. His career spans government, finance, and environmental entrepreneurship. Since 2004, he has focused on writing, having published 17 books across various genres.