Our Story
Slovak PRO is a community-based non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that offers professional, cultural, and educational opportunities for Slovaks in North America and back home.
President Caputova Address to Slovak PRO
The organization began in 2001 as the Young Slovak Professionals Network, and was later reborn as Slovak PRO. What started as small meetups has grown into an engaged community of 2,500+ members who are proud of Slovakia and committed to creating opportunities for their fellow Slovak professionals.
Slovak PRO organizes events focused on networking, cultural exchange, and personal development. Beyond organizing the well-attended events, Slovak PRO’s team supports other organizations in their activities in order to build a strong community of Slovaks around the world.
Slovak PRO expanded on the foundation of the Young Slovak Professionals Network, created in 2001 by Oto Racek, Alex Mitro, and Iveta Hlinka. The group began growing organically through small meetups. Today, we have well over 2500 members throughout New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
The Young Slovak Professionals held many successful events throughout the early 2000s that focused on business, culture, and politics. Oto and his colleagues coordinated meetings between Slovak businesses and Slovak professionals in New York, facilitated discussions with politicians like Mikulas Dzurinda and Emilia Vasaryova, organized trips to the Slovak embassy in DC, and held many other cultural outings. The network and its organizers were instrumental in the success of major events, such as hosting Elan at Carnegie Hall.
The Young Slovak Professionals, renamed as Slovak PRO in 2007, remained very active until around 2012. In the Fall of 2017, Vladimir Lackovic reached out to Oto about bringing new life to the network. The Slovak community in the greater New York area -- and especially a growing population of Slovak students, entrepreneurs, and young professionals -- desperately needed a venue to meet, socialize, and help each other in their careers.
Beginning outreach with monthly meetups, Slovak PRO has held dozens of events since 2017, ranging from networking, promoting Slovak businesses, engaging in cultural traditions and celebrations, and offering professional development and collaborative opportunities. Slovak PRO has worked closely with other Slovak organizations throughout New York and the U.S. to organize events and has partnered with the Slovak consulate in NY and the Slovak embassy in DC to create partnerships between businesses, entrepreneurs, artists, and scientists, both at home in Slovakia and abroad here in New York. Slovak PRO is proud to have created hundreds of business connections, helped multiple startups present their work to potential consumers and partners, and welcomed countless extraordinary Slovaks to our community in New York.
OUR TEAM
Meet our team of Slovak PRO leaders, who strive to connect, support, and empower the Slovak professional community in the United States. Reach out to them if you are interested in joining our events, participating in our initiatives, or if you want to become a member of Slovak PRO.
