Alexis Phylactopoulos

President

Alexis Phylactopoulos is responsible for the overall direction, operation, and development of the International Center for Hellenic and Mediterranean Studies (DIKEMES) and College Year in Athens. Mr. Phylactopoulos (Mr. Phyl) earned his first degree from the Law School of the University of Athens and his post-graduate degrees from Princeton University (The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs), and the University of Cambridge (Wolfson College). In his professional career, he first served as a diplomat for the Greek government in Washington, D.C. (1976–1981), where he directed the Greek Embassy’s Press and Information Service. He subsequently served in the same capacity in Mexico City (1981–1984). Upon returning to Athens, he served as Director of External Relations at the Federation of Greek Industries. He assumed the Directorship of College Year in Athens in 1986.

Elina Sinopoulou

Assistant to the President

  Elina studied Mass Media and Communication at the National University of Athens and at Pittsburg State University in Kansas, where she received an M.A. in Communication.
She has worked  in publications and electronic media since 1998. In her most recent job she was the Editorial Coordinator of the Greek Edition of National Geographic. Elina joined CYA in 2016.

Theoni Scourta

Vice President for Academic Affairs

Theoni Scourta was born in Patras, Greece. She is an art historian with research interest in contemporary art. She received an M.A. from California State University, Los Angeles in Art History and another M.A. in Comparative Literature from the University of Indianapolis. She has taught for more than 25 years both in the US and in Greece. She served as advisor to the head of the Greek EPP-ED delegation to European Parliament in Brussels for 5 years, after which she returned to Athens to head the academic department of AKTO Art & Design College. She joined the CYA administration in spring 2013.

Maria Tsahas

Registrar

Maria Tshahas was born in Ikaria, Greece but grew up in Northwest Indiana. She received an MS Ed from Indiana University Northwest. She taught in the US before moving back to Greece in 1999 and started working at the University of Indianapolis, Athens Campus as an Admissions Officer and Registrar. She joined CYA in 2014.

Georgia Katsarou

Librarian

Georgia Katsarou joined CYA in 2006 and is responsible for all library activities. She received her B.S. in Librarianship in 2001 from the Technological Educational Institute of Athens and her M.S. in 2005 from the University of Aberystwyth. In 2015 she was trained on Managing Archival Photographs through distance learning by the Archives Association of British Columbia.

Demetrios Kritsotakis

Academic Advisor

 Demetrios Kritsotakis earned his MA at the Ohio State University in the field of Classical Languages. He also holds a PhD in Roman History from the same institution. He also audited Professor Philippe Gauthier’s classes in Ancient Greek Epigraphy at the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris and attended a seminar on Greek Paleography at the University of Oxford. He excavated in Crete with the Greek Archaeological Service and the University of Crete.

Peggy Myresiotou

Vice President for Administration

Peggy Myresiotou was born in Athens. After studying business administration and travel & tourism, she worked as an accredited travel agent in New York City for 15 years. Returning to Greece in 1991, she served as Human Resources assistant for a U.S. multinational corporation and subsequently as assistant to the managing director of a Greek bank. Ms. Myresiotou joined CYA in November 2003.

Alexander Makropoulos

Staff Assistant

Anthi Papageorgiou

Staff Assistant

Anthi studied Mass Media and Communication at the National University of Athens. She worked for several years in polling companies as administrative assistant and as an editor of various news websites. Anthi joined CYA in 2013.

Giota Vouzna

Staff Assistant

Erica Huffman (CYA '93)

Director of Alumni Relations

Erica Huffman (CYA ’93) is a native of Portland, OR, and graduated from Whitman College in 1995 with a degree in History. She has traveled to Australia, Fiji, American Samoa, Turkey, throughout Europe and the former USSR and has lived abroad in New Zealand, Guatemala, and Athens. She joined CYA staff in Athens in 1997 and later transferred to the North American Office where she has held several positions.  Currently she is Director of Alumni Relations and is responsible for the Class Agent Program, updating and tracking alumni information, the alumni newsletter THE OWL, reaching out to alumni and organizing alumni events.

Vassilis Simopoulos

Development Officer

Vassilis Simopoulos was born and raised in Athens, Greece, but holds dual citizenship in Greece and the United States. He received a BA degree in Communication from the University of Southern California and a Master of Liberal Arts degree in Government from Harvard University. His professional interests focused in various service and non-profit organizations in the public as well as in the private sector when he served in the Hellenic Government first as a Special Advisor to the Secretary-General for Lifelong Learning and afterward as Head of Communications at the General Secretariat for Youth. In 2015 he returned to the private sector where he served as Project Manager for the non-profits Lascaris foundation and HOPEgenesis NPO.

Spiros Kourkoulos

Digital Designer

Spiros was born and raised in Corfu, Greece. He holds advanced degrees in Graphic Design and Illustration from Middlesex University and AKTO Art and Design College. Spiros joined CYA as an award-winning digital designer with over 20 years of experience in the field. His many skills include web design, logo creation, advertisement development, and both industrial and fashion design.

Sofia Stavropoulou

Social Media Coordinator

Sofia Stavropoulou was born in Greece and studied Painting and Printmaking in Scotland, at the Glasgow School of Art. Sofia coordinates CYA’s social media outlets. As a part of the CYA MediaLab team, she is interested in sharing all the fantastic things that happen at CYA.

Cheyenne Paulson (CYA Summer '15)

Digital Researcher

 

Cheyenne Paulson is a current Master’s student in International Education at New York University. Within her degree, much of her study is focused on study abroad management. She is especially interested in pre-departure preparation, accessibility, and inclusivity within study abroad. She was a student at CYA during Summer 2015 while completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan where she studied Classical Archeology and Art History. Cheyenne has returned to Greece several times since studying abroad, and is excited to share her love of Greece and its culture with future CYA students!

Anna Wichmann (CYA fall '17)

Copywriter

Anna is a recent graduate from New College of Florida, Sarasota, with a degree in Art History and Classics. She is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from the American College of Greece. A CYA alumna from the fall class of 2017, Anna has returned to CYA as an English copywriter. She has a particular interest in Modern Greek painting and poetry.

Vasso Matrakouka

Short Term Programs Manager

Vasso Matrakouka was born in Athens and studied travel and tourism. She also has  a B.A. in Human Communication from the University of Indianapolis. After working in tourism in Greece and Europe, Vasso joined CYA in 2011 where she is responsible for coordinating field trips and 3rd party customized programs.

Vassilis Karavassilis

Short Term Programs Coordinator

Vassilis was born in New York, USA, and holds a degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management  from the Technological Institute of Thessaloniki.  He has experience in the travel and tourism industry working for tour operators and hotels. Before joining CYA in 2015 he worked for Delice Hotel Apartments where he held the position of reservations executive for 10 years.

Evgenia Ghizas

Short-Term Project Administrator

Maria Malliou

Financial Officer

Maria Malliou joined the DIKEMES/CYA family in 1995 as an accountant and currently deals with financial affairs. She was born in Stuttgart, Germany, where she lived before her family moved to Athens.  Ms. Malliou has a B.A. in Accounting  from the Pireaus Technical Institute and an MA in Banking from Hellenic Open University.

Vana Bica

Accountant

Popi Baloglu

Director of Housing and Catering

Popi Baloglu supervises the dining room and is responsible for the general maintenance of the CYA apartments. A Greek who was born in Istanbul, Ms. Baloglu also lived in South Africa and the United States. She studied engineering drafting and worked as a draftsman for eight years. She came to Greece and joined CYA in 1988.

Kallia Alexandridi

Housing & Catering Assistant

Michalis Alexandridis

Maintenance

 

Popi Triantafyllidou

Director of Strategic Planning

Popi Triantafyllidou was born in Athens. She received her B.S. in Business Administration specializing in Management and Computer Programming. She joined College Year in Athens / DIKEMES in 2011, with over 20 years of experience in multinational environments.

Nadia Meliniotis

Executive Director of Student Affairs

Nadia Meliniotis is in charge of Student Affairs. After completing the German High School in Athens, she attended Wilkes University in Pennsylvania and earned a B.A. in Political Science and International Relations. She received her Master’s Degree at La Verne University (Athens branch) in Counseling Education/Education–Special Emphasis. Mrs. Meliniotis joined CYA in 1989 and deals with students’ welfare, concentrating on the interpersonal, social, cultural, emotional, spiritual, recreational, and health aspects.

Jennifer Holland (CYA '99)

Student Affairs Advisor

Jennifer Holland assists students at the front desk and organizes students` social activities and events. Born in New York, she is a CYA alumna. Ms. Holland joined the staff in 1999 and now lives in Athens with her daughter Anais. She is currently working on a Masters in counseling.

Alexia Lingaas

Institutional Relations Manager

 Alexia Lingaas is a strong advocate for international education and studying abroad. While pursuing her Bachelor's in International Affairs at Northeastern University, Alexia had the opportunity to study abroad in Greece, Brazil, Italy, Spain, and Morocco. Following her abroad experiences, Alexia pursued her Masters in International Higher Education also at Northeastern. She joined CYA in 2016 and is responsible for CYA's outreach efforts at US Colleges and Universities.

Hailey Lovett

Student Advisor

Hailey Lovett joined the CYA North American team in May 2018. She graduated from Providence College with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management. While pursuing her degree, she studied abroad at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland focusing on international business. Upon returning, she joined Providence College's Global Ambassador program and worked in the Center for International Studies. Hailey has traveled throughout Ireland, Spain, Germany, and the United Kingdom. She is excited to be a part of CYA students' study abroad experience and to be working with the CYA Ambassadors!

Bridget Kiley

Administrative Support Coordinator

Bridge lived and worked in Athens, Greece through the Fulbright Foundation 2015-2016. She has returned to Greece often, including for a wedding of good friends in Selianitika (Peloponnese) this past Summer 2019. Bridge studied Sociology/Criminology and earned a Master of Science in Counseling and has experience as a webmaster, program coordinator, researcher and counselor of teens and young adults. Bridge comes to CYA with experience working in mental healthcare at the neighbor of the North American office, the Cambridge Health Alliance Center for Mindfulness and Compassion. In her time outside of CYA, Bridge will be pursuing childbirth doula certification and the post-masters clinical experience required to become a licensed mental health clinician.  

Maria Marakas

Bursar and Manager of the North American Office

 

Rachael Bittick (CYA Fall '17)

Campus Relations Representative

 Rachael is a recent graduate from the University of Michigan where she studied Sociocultural Anthropology and Arts & Ideas in the Humanities. She studied at CYA during the fall of 2017 and took two anthropology courses, an Aegean archaeology course, and a comparative religions course during her time in Athens. Her love of the liberal arts and her desire to explore new horizons are what brought her to Greece. While there, some of here favorite experiences were exploring the city through on-site class sessions, visiting local cafes, and working with Professor Placas on a semester-long ethnographic study about visualizing the debt crisis in the Athenian cityscape. Rachael will be pursuing postgraduate education in student affairs and higher education. She is excited to work as a campus representative so that she may use her background in anthropology and the humanities to help students find their passions through studying abroad.

Emily Parker (CYA Fall '17)

Campus Relations Representative

 Emily graduated from Macalester College where she studied Classics and Linguistics. She pursued a classical language track, and her focus on Ancient Greek language and material studies is what lead her to study abroad with CYA in the fall of 2017. Her favorite aspect of studying abroad was discovering new areas of classical and prehistoric Mediterranean studies, particularly learning about Bronze Age civilizations and their Near Eastern trade partners. She hopes to combine these interests with her love for the outdoors by pursuing a Master’s in prehistoric Aegean archaeology. CYA helped Emily expand her academic horizons, forge new global connections, and unlock her adventurous spirit. She is ecstatic to continue traveling to represent this impactful and exploratory program.