Mr. Nelson has been in education since 1990, teaching social studies for nearly 30 years while also holding a variety of leadership positions, including Coordinator of Professional Development and Growth at ACS Athens since 2014, Department Chair, Athletic Director and Activities Coordinator.  Mr. Nelson is also well on his way towards his doctorate degree in International Educational Leadership, believing that continuing education and collaboration with other leaders makes for a stronger community of practice.

Mr. Nelson has been at the American Community School of Athens since 2000 and draws from years of classroom experience.  He has taught American Studies, European History, IB History and Theory of Knowledge, to name a few, where he applied his vast experience with curriculum design and was instrumental in establishing the integrated team taught courses we now call the “Combo”. Prior to teaching in Athens, he taught for ten years in secondary schools in Oregon, USA.  Additionally, Mr. Nelson has been extremely active working with other international schools through the Near East South Asia Council of Overseas Schools (NESA), where he served as the school representative for over 10 years and more recently as a member of the  Professional Development Advisory Committee (PDAC).

Believing in the importance of co-curricular activities, he coached cross country and track for over twenty years, and was the Coordinator of the Model United Nations program at ACS. He enjoys frequent travel, snowboarding, and running. Mr. Nelson has a Master of Arts in Education from Western Oregon State University and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Pacific University. Mr. Nelson is also an accredited National Trainer/Facilitator for the National School Reform Faculty® in Bloomington, Indiana and specializes in Collaborative Group Processes and work in Critical Friends Groups. He is also the founder and creator of Equity Maps® app, used by educators world-wide who seek to engage all voices in the classroom.

email: nelsond@acs.gr

Ms. Filippou was born in Athens but raised in Chicago, Illinois. She has worked at ACS Athens since 1997, and has served as Admissions Officer; she has also held various administrative support roles at the school.

She is currently the Administrative Assistant to the Academy Principal.

email: filippous@acs.gr

Mr. Panagiotis Mologousis holds a Bachelor's degree in History and Archaeology with a specialization in History from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He holds additional teaching certification at Poukamisas Educational Groups through in-house seminars and training.

A qualified secondary school teacher, Mr. Mologousis, has taught history, modern and ancient Greek language& literature and Latin both in Middle and High School at Poukamisas Educational Group where he has also served as an academic counselor to middle and high-school students. Mr. Mologousis has written the History 7 and History 8 Course Companions for Poukamisas Educational Group.

As a Grade 11 student had gained, through a writing competition, a position in the Greek Parliament of Adolescents where he served as a member of the educational committee.

Mr. Mologousis believes in continuing training and education and in inspiring young individuals to become life-long learners. To that effect, since February 2018, he is a volunteer at "The Tipping Point in Education", an NGO, where he serves as a student mentor providing vocational guidance to public and private high school Greek students through regular Skype sessions.

This is his second year at ACS Athens as the Academy Service and Citizenship Coordinator. He also served as the Unesco Club Advisor and he is actively engaged with the Youth to Youth Program. Mr. Mologousis embraces the holistic philosophy of ACS Athens to create resilient and ethical future citizens through social engagement and service.

Mr. Mologousis was born and raised in Athens.

email: mologousisp@acs.gr

Ms. Artemis Repouli holds a B.A. in European & International Studies from the University of Piraeus, Greece. She received an M.A. in International Business from Leeds Metropolitan University in the United Kingom and has had various administrative roles within companies in both Athens and London.

Since January 2015 she has been a member of the Office of Student Affairs in the position of Registrar and since September 2016 she is serving as the SAT/ACT Coordinator and the school Registrar for Middle School and High School divisions.

email: repoulia@acs.gr

Ms. Abdel Samad holds a Bachelor’s degree in "Journalism and Communication" and a Master's Degree in Journalism from the “Universite Libanaise”.

Ms. Darine Abdel Samad joined the ACS faculty starting Summer 2018 as a teacher of Arabic in the Middle School and Academy. She is a professional Arabic journalist and has been a news anchor and a television host on two prominent television networks in Lebanon; Future Television “al-Mustaqbal” and NBN “National Broadcasting Network (Lebanon)”. She has also been a public speaker at major academic, social and professional events; like “LBC TV”, “Al Sharq Radio” and a number of NGOs and Academia. As a teacher her goal is to promote active learning among students; as she did in her Arabic language teaching at “La Cite National” school academic year of 2000 - 2001.

Ms. Darine Abdel Samad joined the ACS faculty starting Summer 2018 as a teacher of Arabic in the Middle School and Academy.

Ms. Abdel Samad was born and raised in Beirut. She is married and has a son and a daughter. Her hobbies are reading, traveling and exploring new cultures.

email: abdelsamadd@acs.gr

Ms. Arnold earned a Bachelor Degree of German Linguistics and Literature from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in 2007, where she graduated with honors. Ms. Arnold also obtained a Master of Arts Degree in Education and Media from the University of Rostock in Germany in 2014.

She specializes in teaching German as a foreign language. In addition to German and English she also speaks Greek and French.

A member of the ACS Athens faculty since 2010, she participated in our educational i²Flex program in 2013 and developed a specific Blended-Learning concept for her German classes, adapting our ACS Moodle template accordingly. Using the i²Flex model, she teaches the Middle School and High School students German, as well as develops e-learning concepts for foreign languages in general, which will be applied to her academic research.

Ms. Arnold co-authored a chapter in the 2016 publication "Revolutionizing K-12 Blended Learning through i²Flex Classroom Model." In addition, she provides professional development (presentations, workshops and webinars) to other foreign language teachers in Greece and abroad.

Since 2017 Ms. Arnold has been working as an accredited TestDaf examiner. TestDaf is one of the mandatory language proficiency tests for foreign students who want to enter a German university. Also, she has been an IB Group 1 Examiner for German A Language and Literature HL since 2018.

Ms. Arnold was born and raised in Germany and moved to Athens in 1996.

email: arnoldh@acs.gr

Mr. Arsenikos was born in Athens, Greece. He was raised in Melbourne, Australia. He holds a B.Sc. in Chemistry and a Master in Environmental Chemistry and Technology obtained from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. During his undergraduate and postgraduate studies, he participated in numerous oceanographic and environmental programs.

He has been in education since his early academic years teaching science to students of all levels. Since 2010 he has been responsible for the creation of multiple e-learning projects in chemistry and math for elementary, middle and high school students.

Mr. Arsenikos deeply believes in hands-on learning as a vital component in the process of fostering scientific thinking in students.

He is excited that he'll be able to share his love for science at ACS and support students to creatively discover on their own, new ideas and concepts.

email: arsenikoss@acs.gr

Born in Montreal Canada and raised in Athens Greece, Angela E. Chamosfakidis graduated from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, with a Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy, Pedagogy, Psychology (concentration in Psychology). For her graduate studies she attended McGill University in Canada where she received a Masters degree in Educational Psychology with a research focus on teachers' expectations of children of divorce. She also taught in primary and secondary schools in the wider area of Montreal for several years. Upon her return to Greece in 2003, Ms. Chamosfakidis accepted a position at KETHEA where she provided educational and counseling services to adolescents and young adults with substance abuse problems, for over 10 years. As part of her professional development in the field of addiction, she received a post graduate certificate of specialization in the "Administration and Social Planning in the field of Drug Addiction" by the Athens School of Public Health in collaboration with the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego.

Since joining ACS Athens Ms. Chamosfakidis has been teaching IB Psychology and Theory of Knowledge. She also serves as an Advisor for the Model United Nations (MUN) program and the Curriculum Coordinator of the Youth to Youth (Y2Y) project, an ACS Athens initiative to attend to unaccompanied refugee minors' learning, social, and emotional needs. Ms. Chamosfakidis is passionate about teaching and learning and committed to supporting students and their individual needs.  She has twenty years of hands-on teaching experience and her mandate lies in Learning by Doing.  She holds a teaching certification by the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) and the Greek Ministry of Education and she is a certified IB Psychology examiner.

email: chamosfakidisa@acs.gr

Ms. Chen was born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan. She earned a Ph.D. Degree from Immunology Department of National Taiwan University in 2007.  She was a leader of Master and Ph.D. students and taught them experimental techniques, preparation of grants, and thesis writing in Chinese and English.

After graduation, she worked several years as a European representative for a Taiwanese Pharmaceutical company. She also was a Chinese-English freelance translator. After a few years work, she realized that teaching was her true goal. She believes in inspiring students not only academically but personally. She is a person full of passion for the teaching profession and is a qualified Chinese teacher with several year experiences teaching children and adults in Athens, Greece. 

Her interests include reading, movies, traveling and cooking. She is happy to share her Chinese literature knowledge with students and will assist students to develop writing skills.

email: chenh@acs.gr

Originally from Athens, Ms Martha Chiskaki was raised in Bulgaria, Italy, India, and Thailand, where she attended a variety of international schools. She holds two Bachelor Degrees. One in English Language and Literature and one in French Language and Literature both obtained from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She received her Master's Degree in Business Administration at the Bolton University, UK. She is fluent in four languages and an experienced tutor of English and French.

Ms Martha Chiskaki is currently teaching English as a Second Language in the Academy.

email: chiskakim@acs.gr

• B.A. Psychology & Minor in History (type 1197), 1997, DePaul University Chicago
• M.A. Education, 2000, St. Xavier University Chicago
• Teacher Certification, 2000, State of Illinois
• University of Indianapolis, 2009-, M.B.A., in Progress

Ms. Coklas was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. She received her B.A in Psychology from DePaul University of Chicago with a minor in History (1197), M.A in Education (specializing in Curriculum and Design) from St. Xavier University of Chicago (2000), and her Teaching Certification from the State of Illinois. Ms. Coklas has also studied at the University of Indianapolis (Athens campus): which has brought her closer to earning an M.B.A.

Ms. Coklas has been in education since 2000. Back in Chicago, Ms. Coklas was the co- founder and co-creator of the Oak Lawn/ Hometown school district's Mentor program. She was invited to speak/ present workshops at several Tri-State area Conferences on the importance of Mentor Programs for beginning teachers and Classroom Management. She has been an active administrator and faculty member of ACS Athens since 2008. Her first position was the Assistant Director of the IB program for 2 years. She then moved to the Elementary School where she taught 5th grade for 7 years. In 2017, she took the challenging position of being a shared educator in both the Middle School Social Studies and Academy Combo History courses. She is currently teaching IB Psychology Year 2 and the 10th grade Combo (History/Literature) course.

Ms. Coklas has traveled to London, Vienna, and the United States as a representative of ACS Athens in order to establish affiliations for our graduating students to various universities (including but not limited to Oxford University, New York University, University of Chicago, etc.). She deeply appreciates and respects the superb level of education our school provides and will support our students (at any grade level) to achieve their goals and future endeavors.

email: coklasm@acs.gr

Mr. Justin Cramer grew up outside of Kansas City, Missouri. He went on to Buena Vista University where he earned his B.A. in General Science with an emphasis on Biology, and Secondary Education. He taught at Centerville High School in Centerville, Iowa for three years teaching a variety of science subjects including Earth Science, Biology, Environmental Science, and Chemistry for grades 7-12. He moved back to Kansas City and taught at William Chrisman High School in Independence, Missouri for five years teaching Biology, Physical Science, and Astronomy. He earned a M.A. in Secondary Education Administration from University of Central Missouri in Education and has aspirations of becoming a school principal.  Along with teaching, Mr. Cramer will be the Coordinator of Professional Development and Growth.

This is his sixth year at ACS Athens and he will be teaching ninth grade Biology, Earth & Beyond, and Health. His goal as a science teacher is to help students find at least one scientific fact that amazes them.

Outside of school Mr. Cramer enjoys being active, playing sports (and watching his beloved sports teams), watching movies, listening to music, traveling, visiting the beach, and reading.

email: cramerj@acs.gr

Academic Credentials

• MSc in Management, 2000, London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London, London, UK.
• MBA, 1998, University of Macedonia Economic and Social Sciences, Thessaloniki, Greece.
• BSc in Economics, 1996, Department of Economics, University of Macedonia Economic and Social Sciences, Thessaloniki, Greece.

Working/ Teaching experience

• Theory of Knowledge Honors, since 2019.
• IB Economics and IB Business Management teacher at ACS Athens, since 2017.
• Zeda SA, BoD member, since 2012.
• Partner at Tecvocate Inc., IT Consulting Services, since 2005.
• Project Manager, Budgeting and Planning, Athens 2004 - Olympic Games Organising Committee, IT Department. 2003-2004.
• ZEUS Securities and Investment Services SA, Financial Analyst, 1999-2001.

Ms. Dadidou was honored to receive the "Teacher of the Year" certificate of recognition and the Academy Yearbook dedication 2019, by the students of the ACS Athens Academy. She has written the novel: "Abacus, ένα παιχνίδι απληστίας", Kedros publishers, 2012, ("Abacus, a game of greed"). It is a financial thriller, about the greed games that fed the latest international economic crisis. She has also published short fiction stories as well as economic commentaries and articles. She enjoys long distance running and reading literature. Creative writing and playing the piano is what relaxes her the most. She is a passionate mom of two boys, and a blessed individual that discovered the beauty of being a teacher.

Ms. Drogaris is originally from New York, NY. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Oberlin College in Oberlin Ohio, a Master of Science from the Athens University of Economics and Business, where she graduated with honors and Master of Science in Educational Theory and Practice from the Arkansas State University.

Before coming to teach at ACS Athens, Ms. Drogaris was a teacher at William E. Grady High School in New York. Upon moving to Greece, she held various positions in international business including Manager of Sales and Marketing for an American multinational for the Middle East and African regions. She decided to return to her true love which is teaching and is very happy to be back in the exciting and fulfilling field of education. This is her 11th year at ACS.  She is teaching two sections of IB Economics HL and two sections of  IB Business Management HL. Ms. Drogaris is an IB Examiner and coaches 2 Forensics teams.

email: drogarise@acs.gr

Mr. Dimitropoulos is a Physical Education Teacher and Coordinator for Physical Education. He earned his Bachelor Degree in Physical Education from the University of Physical Education and Sport Science in Athens (1996) and then received his Masters Degree through an International Olympic Committee's Program (MEMOS - Executive Masters in Sports Organisation Management), from University of Lyon, France (2001).

Mr. Dimitropoulos has worked as the Baseball Competition Manager for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games and has also observed the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. He has published a book on baseball.

He recently authored a chapter in the 2016 publication "Revolutionizing K-12 Blended Learning through i2Flex Classroom Mode".

Mr. Dimitropoulos has been the Varsity Girls Basketball coach, Varsity Boys Volleyball coach and HS Track & Field coach since 2006.

He is a certified lifeguard and an emergency responder (CPR/First Aid for adult/child/infant).

Mr. Dimitropoulos was raised in Athens, Greece.

email: dimitropoulosa@acs.gr

Ms. Falidas earned her Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics from the City University of New York at Queens College. She earned her Master's degree in Mathematics from the City University of New York at Queens College and her Master's degree in Mathematics Education from the City University of New York at Hunter College.

Ms. Falidas holds a permanent New York State teaching license and she has worked in New York City public and private schools .In addition she worked as lecturer for the Mathematics Department at LaGuardia Community College in New York. Ms. Falidas has been a teacher of Mathematics at ACS Athens since 2007.

At ACS Athens she is member of the National Honors Society committee and an advisor for the Mathematics Literature Club. She is currently a member of Thales and Friends.

email: falidasm@acs.gr

Ms. Fergione was born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina in a Greek-Italian family. She holds a B.Sc. in Public Health Studies (2015) from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and a M.Sc. in Counseling Psychology & Psychotherapy (2018) from the American College of Greece. 

Through her studies she worked in public North Carolina high schools educating students on the importance of physical activity and nutrition on an individual’s well-being, as well having provided health education to underprivileged populations. She has contributed to planning and implementing on-campus workshops and lectures at the university level in topics such as overcoming exam anxiety and cultivating healthy relationships. This past summer (2019) she presented her master's thesis research about performance anxiety at an international psychology research conference at the University of Münster in Germany. 

Ms. Fergione has worked as a counselor in academic settings at the primary and university level, through both individual and group counseling. This will be her first year working as a Counseling Specialist in the Academy. She has been at ACS since 2017 fulfilling the roles of a counseling intern and a shadow teacher. 

She is also a certified gymnastics instructor, teaching fundamental gymnastics to ACS students at summer camp and will be teaching it as an after school program this year. She has been involved in gymnastics since the age of 4. She competed in USA Gymnastics’ Junior Olympic Program, on UNC Wilmington's club gymnastics team through college, and has been coaching gymnastics part-time for the past 8 years.

email: fergionea@acs.gr

Rhodell Theodore Fields was born in Germany and was raised between the U.S and Greece. He studied piano and theory at the National Conservatory of Athens - Greece and then moved to the U.S where he earned his Bachelors and Master's degree in Music Composition from the University of South Florida. He taught Music Theory, Orchestration and Advance Oral Skills for music major students at the university level for three years.

In 2008 he was one of only five finalists for the terminal DMA Music degree at the world's top music institute, the Juilliard School. As a pianist, he has been a performer with a long roster of well-known artists both in Greece and abroad. As a composer, he has been commissioned numerous works and his compositions have been featured and performed in numerous international events. His large orchestral works can be found in worldwide CD and digital media distribution.

email: fieldsr@acs.gr

Dr. Fyrigou is a foreign Language Teacher (French and Greek). She earned a Bachelor's in French Literature from the Greek Capodistrian University of Athens and in 2008 she received her master's degree in the History of French Civilization again from the Capodistrian University of Athens. Dr. Fyrigou defended successfully her doctorate thesis in History of French Civilization on July 2012 and received her doctoral degree. The thesis title was "Antonin Proust et son voyage en Grece".

She has been working in the ACS faculty community since 1999 and has taught both in Middle School and High School. She is an IB teacher and an IB examiner in French language. Currently, she is an Adjunct Professor at the Hellenic American University in Athens, teaching undergraduate students in the department of interdisciplinary and intercultural studies.

She has established different educational collaborations between ACS Athens and other institutions worldwide. Dr. Fyrigou was one of the first faculty who participated and completed successfully the pilot program at ACS Athens, which started in 2013-2014 academic year. She has designed, developed and implemented a course in French language and culture based on the i2flex methodology and innovative teaching and learning approaches.

She recently authored a chapter in the 2016 publication "Revolutionizing K-12 Blended Learning through i 2 Flex Classroom Model." The title of her chapter is "Evaluating the i2flex educational experience via the Community of Inquiry (CoI 2000)" Tonia Fyrigou has also presented her work in different colloquiums and conferences.

Dr. Tonia Fyrigou is a life-long learner, an open mind person with ethos and values with innovative ideas who always strives for excellence in education.

email: firigout@acs.gr

Leonidas (Leo) Gontzes is a historian and a political analyst born in New Jersey and raised both in the U.S. and Athens, Greece. Mr. Gontzes has a Bachelor's degree in History from Emory University (Atlanta, Georgia, USA), and two graduate degrees in European History from University College Cork (Cork, Republic of Ireland) and Diplomacy, with an international conflict management concentration, from Norwich University (Northfield, Vermont, USA). He has been teaching History, Government and Politics, and International Relations at several international institutions in the Greek capital and abroad since 1999 at secondary school level as well as on the graduate and undergraduate levels. He has taught at New York College since 2001 and at Empire State College (State University of New York) since 2007. Moreover, he held the office of Associate Dean heading New York College's International Relations Department from 2008 to 2018. His responsibilities have also included the office of Academic Director of Graduate Studies at the New York College Educational Group in Athens, Greece, for a total of ten years (2006-2016).

His papers include: "Re-Examining the 1925 Bulgarian Incident", "To what extent has the United States used the international economic system in order to exert power in global politics?", "Evaluating peacekeeping, peacemaking, and peace enforcement in Kosovo", "Security and Post-Conflict Reconstruction in Kosovo", "Organizing and conducting a future military intervention in Bosnia-Herzegovina". He has co-authored articles for CNN Greece on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, and has appeared several times on Greek and Arab television, as well as Radio France International, as a political analyst vis à- vis U.S. and Greek political developments.

In 2017-2018, Mr. Gontzes taught Sociology and IB Theory of Knowledge in the Academy at ACS Athens. Last year he taught Grade 7 Social Studies. This year he will be teaching IB History Years I and II, American Studies Combo Grade 10, and Social Studies: Psychology and Sociology (Grades 11 & 12).

e-mail: gontzesl@acs.gr

Ms. Eugenia Hatziagelides received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Central Connecticut State University in 1990 and a Master's of Science in Counselor Education from Central Connecticut State University in 1993.

She worked as a Guidance Counselor from 1994 to 1997 at Lyman Memorial High School in Lebanon, CT before moving back to Greece in August of 1997 and worked at the Paidagogiko Institute as a consultant. Ms. Hatziagelides was then hired at Moraitis School and worked as a School Counselor from 1998 to 2017. She has done extensive volunteer work in shelters for women and their children. This will be her first year as Academy Guidance Specialist at ACS Athens.

Ms. Hatziagelides was born and raised in Athens, Greece.

hatziagelidese@acs.gr

Dr.Hristakos completed his B.Sc. in physics at the University of Lancaster in the UK. He then continued his graduate studies in experimental physics (M.S) at the University of New Hampshire in the USA. Following this he successfully defended his Ph.D. in experimental low temperature physics at the University of Bayreuth in Germany. Dr. Hristakos worked as a post-doc research scientist at the Centre des etudes atomiques in Saclay-France and at the University of Tuebingen in Germany.

He has taught IB physics at ACS for a decade and he has also worked as an AP physics teacher at the American School of Dubai. He is currently the Division Chair of Science & Technology at ACS Athens.

email: hristakosl@acs.gr

Ms. Kathy Jasonides holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and a Masters degree in Journalism from the University of California, Los Angeles. She has been a member of the Academy faculty at the American Community Schools of Athens, Greece, since 1974.

Since retiring from full-time teaching in 2008, Ms. Jasonides has continued to team teach the Honors Humanities courses and also serves as Chair of the Division of Language and Literature. In addition to the two-year Honors Humanities program, Ms. Jasonides and her teaching partners have developed three additional online Humanities courses which offer the highlights of the program’s interdisciplinary approach, including the field study opportunities, to both ACS Athens and non-ACS Athens students who are not enrolled in the regular program.

She has co-authored articles on field study as a strategy for interdisciplinary study and has participated in presentations at NESA conferences and the ACS Athens Conferences on Learning Differences. She recently co-authored a chapter in the 2016 publication "Revolutionizing K-12 Blended Learning through i²Flex Classroom Model."

email: jasonidesk@acs.gr

Sarah Kaldelli earned her Bachelor’s degree, in Elementary Education from Goucher College in Towson, Maryland, U.S.A. Her Master’s degree in Early Childhood Special Education was achieved from The George Washington University, Washington, D.C. She has also acquired her Degree Equivalency from the Greek Ministry of Education.

She has worked in international schools in Greece, and in the Greek private school sector for the past 20 years. She has taught students with learning differences and disabilities ranging from Junior-Kindergarten to 7 th grade.

This is her 13th year at ACS Athens with the Elementary Optimal Learning Program (OLP). For the first 12 years, she was the Elementary School Optimal Learning Specialist, and is now working as the Coordinator for OLP. She has experienced many diverse professional development opportunities such as ECIS, NESA, the Learning Difference Conferences at ACS Athens, ADHD conferences and the ACS Athens Colloquium of 2016. She also routinely benefits from online coursework through the University of Phoenix. She has been a mentor to those seeking teacher certifications and to those doing internships during their academic studies. Additionally, she has authored and co-authored articles for the ACS Athens Ethos magazine. She played an active part in the development and establishment of the ACS Athens Diagnostic Center, and continues to collaborate closely with both the Center and the Counseling component of the Student Services Department. She is an advocate for early intervention, for focusing on each child’s best interests and for building confidence toward learning.

email: kaldellis@acs.gr

• Ph.D. Astrophysics, Astronomy, and Mechanics, 2012, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA)
• M.Sc. Astrophysics, Astronomy, and Mechanics, 2007, NKUA
• B.Sc. Physics, 2004, NKUA

Dr. Karampelas has been in education since his early academic years teaching Science and Mathematics at all levels.  This is his fourth year at ACS Athens, were he will be teaching 10th grade Physics and S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) - a course developed by him. Dr. Karampelas has been a post-graduate researcher at NKUA and the National Observatory of Athens, and a visiting researcher at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia, Granada, Spain, and the Institut d' Astrophysique de Paris, France. He has participated in ESA and NKUA research programs involving Astrophysics, Data Mining, and Machine Learning.

Dr. Karampelas is a Senior Fellow of the ACS Athens Institute of Innovation and Creativity (IIC), an online educator of the IIC Virtual High School, an Internal Coordinator of the ACS Athens Accreditation Team, the Coordinator of the ACS faculty Action Research, and the Principal Investigator of the spACS microgravity space experiments of ACS Athens Academy students.

Dr. Karampelas is a co-author of more than 60 peer-reviewed publications, contributions to conference proceedings, and other articles, as well as a reviewer of articles and a conference speaker both in Science and Education. He was involved in the ongoing European Space Agency (ESA) "Gaia" Space Mission and he is a member of the International Astronomical Union, the International Astrostatistics Association, the Hellenic Education Society for S.T.E.M., and the Hellenic Physical Society.

Dr. Karampelas is active in introducing Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning into K12, and his interests include Astrophysics, music, and creative writing.

email: karampelasa@acs.gr

Ms. Sana Kassem has been a chemistry and biology teacher at ACS Athens since 2004. She earned a B.Sc. Science (Biology/Chemistry) from the American University of Beirut and a M.Ed. from the University of LaVerne, Athens.

She taught biology and chemistry for IGCSE, A level, AP, French Baccalaureate and IB classes in many international schools in Beirut, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Athens. In addition to teaching she has worked as an academic advisor for curriculum development of science at the Higher Colleges of Technology in Abu Dhabi, as Head of Science in International Schools in Abu Dhabi and Athens and has been an IB Biology examiner since 2000 and an AP Biology examiner since 2014. In 2015, Sana was selected by the IBO to be a team leader for IB biology examinations. In 2015, she took the challenging task of teaching science in the elementary school, servicing grades JK to grade 5. She has developed an inquiry-based science curriculum, the goal of which is to provide plenty of opportunities for the children to experience things in a hands-on way in order to encourage and increase their curiosity and to instill in them the lifelong love for science.

At ACS Athens Colloquium she presented the approaches and methods applied during inquiry- based lessons and had two demonstration sessions with elementary school students doing different science activities. In addition to this, she published the article "What Are We Doing Today" in the Ethos Magazine of Winter 2015.

She co-authored with Dr. Stefanos Gialamas and professors from 3 different institutions two articles that were published in Journal of Education and Practice, "Which Sweetener Is Best for Yeast? An Inquiry-Based Learning for Conceptual Change", (www.iiste.org, Vol.8, No.2, 2017) and "Where Have the Beans Been? Student-Driven Laboratory Learning Activities with Legumes for Conceptual Change." Where Have the Beans Been The two articles were published in Journal of Education and Practice (www.iiste.org, Vol.9, No.11, 2018).

In March 2017 Sana presented her work in the advancement of science in the ACS Athens Elementary School's Science Program at NESA conference in Bangkok, Thailand. Ms. Kassem shared her curriculum design, vision & methods to colleagues from international schools in the region in her workshop entitled, "The Mother of All Methods: A Unified Vision for Teaching Sciences".

In June 2017 the first online IGCSE Biology book that was published by www.Kognity.com where Ms. Kassem has co-authored five chapters of the book.

email: kassems@acs.gr

Academic credentials

• Degree in Mathematics, 2003, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
• Master of Science in Economic Mathematics, June 2006, National Technological University of Athens, Greece

Working/Teaching experience

• IB MATH TEACHER - MATH INSTRUCTOR/TEACHER, 2005 - Present, American Community Schools of Athens
• Math Instructor - Private Educational Institutions: Metehmio, Epignosi
• Senior Supervisor - Athens 2004, Olympic & Paralympic Games
• SAT Math Instructor for High School students - American Community Schools of Athens (ACS Athens)
• Instructor for Middle School & High School students for the “Gateway Program” - American Community Schools of Athens (ACS Athens)
• Computer science instructor for the Summer Camp program - American Community Schools of Athens (ACS Athens)

Ms. Katsiyianni is a student-centered Math Teacher with 10 years of experience, delivering teaching expertise, as well as optimising student success, progress, and learning outcomes for 6th -12th graders. Qualifications include Degree in Mathematics and MSc in Economic Mathematics. Creative and resourceful in adapting instructional strategies to meet unique student needs. Passion for education and an unwavering commitment to optimise student and school success.

Open-minded in order to implement the best practices in class and always seeking for the best professional development opportunities for the benefit of her students. She possess several technical skills, including MS Office Suite, Moodle classes, Skyward, Google classroom, use of Interactive whiteboards, Geogebra, MATLAB, MathType, SPSS, Minitab, E-Views, C , and FORTRAN. Ms. Katsiyianni has also participated in many educational conferences and workshops. Among them the NESA conference in Instabul in 2015, where she presented her work: “Hooked on Mathematics”.

Ms. Katsiyianni has also participated in ACS Athens initiative to publish a book on its revolutionary blended teaching methodology titled Revolutionising K-12 Blended Learning through the i2flex Classroom Model (Avgerinou, Maria D., and Stefanos Gialamas, 2016).

Publications

• Avgerinou, Maria D., and Stefanos Gialamas. Revolutionising K-12 Blended Learning through the i2flex Classroom Model. Information Science Reference, 2016. Co-Author for the Chapter: “Hooked on Mathematics”

Educational Licences

• QUALIFIED TEACHER STATUS (QTS) for the United Kingdom
• Teaching license in Secondary Education of Mathematics in the EU under the Council Directive 2005/36/EC

Presentations

• MoodleMoot Conference in National Technological University of Athens Designing, implementing and evaluating K12 Blended Learning through the Quality Matters Framework: A Step-by-Step Approach (Nov 29-30, 2018)
• 9th International Conference in Open and Distance Learning Conference’s main subject: “Learning Design”
• Conference organised by “Ellinogermaniki Agogi” in Athens, Greece Conference’s main subject: “Innovation and Research in ODL and in ICT”
• NESA Conference, Istanbul, Turkey - Presentation title: “Hooked on Mathematics (Mar 20-23, 2015)

email: katsiyiannim@acs.gr

Dr. Kerkines received his B.Sc. in Chemistry (1997) and his M.Sc.(1999) and Ph.D.(2003) in Physical Chemistry from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) under the direction of Aristides Mavridis.

He worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the NKUA (2004-2006) with Aristides Mavridis, at Emory University in Atlanta, GA, USA (2006-2008) with Keiji Morokuma, and at the National Hellenic Research Foundation (2008-2011, 2013-2015) with Ioannis Petsalakis and Nektarios Lathiotakis. His research focus has been the application of Quantum Chemistry to novel main-group and transition-metal chemistry, as well as to the study of the interaction of materials with light for modern energy applications.

Dr. Kerkines has been teaching Chemistry since 2000. Before joining the ACS family in 2017, he had worked in the private sector as a content creator for e-learning courses and phone support for students from 4th to 12th grade (Chemistry, Physics, Math, Geography, Biology) as well as in a tutoring center for Panhellenic examinations. He also worked as a quality control head in a cosmetics company, being responsible for ISO and ΕΟΦ accreditations. At ACS, he has taught IB Chemistry HL/SL and IB Environmental Systems & Societies SL. He is excited to bring to the classroom his mix of experiences.

Dr. Kerkines has been author or co-author of over 30 research papers in international peer-reviewed journals and has presented his work in scientific conferences in 12 countries. He has received scholarships from the Association of Hellenes from Egypt, the Hellenic State Scholarships Foundation, and the Marie Curie Foundation (twice). He is the recepient of the 2008 Atlanta Area Chemical Physics award for his postdoctoral research, and he has briefly worked at CERN (Switzerland) and Karlsruhe University (Germany) as a visiting scientist. A firm supporter of the communication of science to the public, he received the honor to give invited talks at the Athens Science Festival/Cafe Scientifique Athens (2016), as well as at the inaugural Pint of Science Greece (2018).

Dr. Kerkines was born and grew up near the center of Athens, Greece. In his spare time (which he has almost none), he enjoys lifting weights and engaging with website design and development.

email: kerkinesi@acs.gr

Born and raised in Athens, Greece, Ms. Melina Kolimpiri is a graduate of the National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Department of Philosophy, with a specific major in History and Archaeology. She also holds a Diploma in “General and Specialized Translation from English into Greek” awarded by the Hellenic American Union, as well as certificates in German and Italian Languages.

Ms. Kolimpiri has worked for twenty years in Greek Private Schools and Institutions as a teacher of Ancient and Modern Greek Language, Literature and History. She has completed numerous seminars in teaching methodology as well as educational programs and classroom effectiveness workshops.

Furthermore Ms.Kolimpiri engages in professional text editing and proofreading publications in Psychology and Poetry.

Her personal and pedagogical philosophy is focusing on self-improvement and life-long learning; values which are then practiced within the classroom.

email: kolimpirim@acs.gr

Ms. Kouppa holds a BA in Philosophy, Pedagogy and Psychology from the University of Athens and an MSc in Inclusive and Special Education from the University of Edinburgh. Upon her graduation, Ms. Kouppa began working in various high schools in Scotland. She taught Social Studies at Burnhouse School and also worked as a shadow teacher at Gracemount High School in the city of Edinburgh.

Ms. Kouppa joined ACS Athens in 2016 as a Humanities/Language and Literature substitute. Since then, she has been involved in many aspects of the school's life. She has worked in the Writing Studio where she assisted students in developing their personal voice on a variety of written assignments and college essays. Ms. Kouppa has also been an IB CAS advisor, Study & Organizational Skills instructor and participated in the Mentor Program. 

This will be her third year as a Counseling Specialist, guiding the 11th and 12th grade students through the college application process. In her spare time, Ms. Kouppa enjoys being a world traveler and an avid reader.

email: kouppac@acs.gr

Ms. Elizabeth Ktorides attended ACS Athens K-12 and is excited to return as a teacher to the ACS Athens community. She continued her studies at Bard College in Upstate New York where she received a B.A. in Literature in 2005. Ms. Ktorides has received EFL teacher training from CELTA run by Cambridge and received her teacher training and certification from the University of Western Florida.

After finishing her studies at Bard College, Ms. Ktorides moved back to Greece and began her career as an educator through tutoring. She also worked as a Shadow Teacher at ACS Athens for 4 years. Looking for change and adventure, Elizabeth moved to Bratislava, Slovakia where she taught Middle and High school Literature for one year and pre-school for 3 years at the American School, QSI. Additionally she coached the Secondary Speech and Debate Team for two years where a number of students made it to finals and won awards. At QSI Ms. Ktorides participated in the Professional Development Conferences both as an attendee and as a presenter delivering a presentation about Behavioral Differentiation and a two-day workshop titled Playing as Learning in Early Childhood. Additionally, Ms. Ktorides has also attended a number of conferences on Learning Differences at ACS Athens.

email: ktoridese@acs.gr

Born and raised in Mexico, Ms. Dennisse Legorreta has been a faculty member at ACS Athens since 2008. She is the school's Modern Language Coordinator and the IB/ AP Spanish teacher in the Academy. She holds a Bachelor degree in Communications and Spanish Linguistics and Literature. She also has a Master's degree in teaching Spanish as a foreign language including special training for both AP and IB programs.

Ms. Legorreta is convinced of the importance of using student's likes such as the use of technology, online and non online games, acting, singing, dancing, debating and playing in the development of language skills and language acquisition. Therefore, she utilizes different techniques using the I2Flex methodology to create fun activities in order to achieve the program learning outcomes helping students develop critical thinking and retain knowledge.

Outside of school, Ms. Legorreta enjoys being with family and friends, dancing, playing sports, watching movies, listening to music, traveling and reading.

email: legorretad@acs.gr

Mr. Lianos holds a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Maryland, University College and an M.A. in Mass Communications from the University of Leicester.

Prior to joining the ACS Athens faculty he was an editor at Macmillan Hellas and the weekly English language newspaper The Hellenic Star.

He has been a member of the faculty since 2014 and will be teaching American Literature Combo 10. Mr. Lianos has been an advisor for the Media Club, Literary Arts Magazine  and Oral Interpretation of Literature.  He has also held a position at the ACS Athens Writing Studio where he guided students to become more effective, confident and independent writers.

Mr. Lianos was raised in both New York and Athens. 

email: lianosh@acs.gr

Anna Makris was born and raised in Athens, Greece, and is an alumna of ACS Athens. Ms. Makris is a Licensed Psychologist and has received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto with a double major in Psychology and Sociology as well as a Master of Science in Psychology from Kingston University. In addition she is trained in psychoeducational diagnostic testing and is one of the founding members of the Educational & Diagnostic Testing Center at ACS Athens.

She began working at ACS Athens in 2012 as an Academic Advisory Specialist and IB CAS Coordinator, assisting Junior and Senior students with the university application process as a whole. Ms. Makris is currently the Academy Counseling Coordinator in the Office of Student Affairs.

email: makrisa@acs.gr

Mr. Mikros was born in New Jersey and raised both in the United States and Greece. He earned a bachelor’s in History from Kean University in Union, New Jersey, and a Post Bachelor’s degree in Physical & Health Education (K-12). He is certified by the State of New Jersey to teach Physical Education and Health. He worked as a substitute Physical Education teacher in public schools in the United States before moving to Greece.

Mr. Mikros is an emergency responder (CPR/First Aid for adult/child/infant) and a member of AAHPERD (American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance.)

He has been a member of the ACS faculty since 2005 and is the coach for both the Junior Varsity Boy’s soccer and Middle School Track & Field Teams.

email: mikrosv@acs.gr

• BS Social Studies Education Saint Cloud State University 2016
• MS World History Saint Cloud State University 2013
• BA History Saint Cloud State University 2008
• AA Anoka Ramsey Community College 2008

Mr. Barret Nikodym pursued a college education within the humanities. During his practicum, he was fortunate enough to teach at Munich International School, gaining valuable experience within the MYP/IB curriculum, while also reaffirming his strong belief that international schools serve as exemplars in world education. After obtaining his teaching license, he spent one year with Teachers on Call, gaining new perspectives across a variety of disciplines. His position at ACS Athens is the culmination of a lifelong dream come true, much hard work, and his unbridled love for the humanities. It is within schools such as ACS Athens, he truly believes, that humanity cooperates at its best, displays for the world a richness of diversity, a uniqueness of perspective, as well as a blueprint toward a better future.

Mr. Nikodym grew up in Mora, Minnesota.

email: nikodymb@acs.gr

Mr. Pakos was born and raised in Athens, Greece. He holds a B.Sc. in Mathematics from University of Ioannina and a Master of Science degree in Computer Communications And Networks from Leeds Metropolitan University.

He worked for major IT companies for several years, before he decided to officially enter into the field of education.

He believes in motivating and inspiring students not only to achieve academic goals but also personal ones.

His interests include trekking, reading, movies, traveling, and woodcarving.

email: pakosc@acs.gr

Danai Papaioannou earned her Bachelor's degree in Greek language and literature from the University of Athens. Upon the completion of her studies, she enrolled in a one-year program at the same university, which resulted in a certificate in Special Education, seeking to gain deeper knowledge in inclusive practices. Ms. Papaioannou also completed extensive training in Mindfulness, as she firmly believes that training our attention to experience the present moment with greater curiosity and kindness helps to provide new possibilities to identify and overcome difficulties. In August 2018, she finished a Master's degree on Psychology and Neuroscience of Mental Health from King's College London.

Ms. Papaioannou has been a member of ACS Athens since 2015. She has worked as the Student Affairs Officer promoting learning through service and has also served as the Administrative Assistant of the office. This will be her second year as the Academy/Middle School OLP Specialist, supporting students to develop their talents and build collaborative relationships in their learning environment. She will be also working in the Learning Commons as the Enhancement Programs Coordinator.

email: papaioannoud@acs.gr

Mr. Parakatis is a faculty member of the Mathematics/Technology Department at the American Community Schools, Athens. He has his B.Sc. in Physics from York University,Canada, B. Ed. (teaching subjects: Physics and Mathematics) from the University of Toronto, Canada and M.Sc. in Medical Physics from University College London, UK.

Mr. Parakatis has taught Physics and Mathematics in Canada and in Greece. He has been teaching at ACS since 2001. Nicholas Parakatis has served as Department Chair of Mathematics and Technology and is currently an IB examiner. He has taught students mathematics in the IB level, in the Academy and in the Middle School and has taught SAT preparatory Mathematics at ACS.

Mr. Parakatis has served on the accreditation team as the Quantitative Team Leader and has led many ACS Athens Math Department sponsored events such as the Mathematics Club, the Annual ACS Mathematics Competition, the SAT/ACT Math Club and the AMC 10/12. As part of his Action Research Nick Parakatis focused on encompassing implemented changes in standardized testing (SAT/ACT) in the ACS Athens scope and sequence by creating sample assessments that can accompany daily lesson plans. Mr. Parakatis shared his findings At the ACS Athens Colloquium 2016.

His interests include astronomy, team sports, music and traveling. Mr. Parakatis is a member of faculty that was present at mission control, during the launch of the Rosetta Mission, by the European Space Agency. Nicholas believes that caring and concern over content and curriculum is one of the keys in helping students remain interested in school therefore helping them achieve their academic goals.

email: parakatisn@acs.gr

Ms. Maria Perez studied Fine Arts at the University of the Basque Country, Bilbao. Later she moved to Greece and in 2011 she graduated from the Department of Spanish Language and Literature from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece with Honors. In 2014 she did a masters degree on "Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language" at the Alcala de Henares University in Madrid, Spain.

She did various seminars on "Creative teaching to teenagers" and "Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language" and also received training to be an examiner at the Cervantes Institute examinations board.

As an educator she has experience working in private language schools in Athens, teaching Spanish to both teenagers and adult students (2008-2015), as well as an Art teacher in a summer schools to children of different ages.

She has been working in ACS Athens since 2015, and is currently teaching Spanish 1 in the Middle School and in Academy. Ms. Perez was born in Burgos, Spain.

email: perezm@acs.gr

Ms. Pisanias, has been teaching in the Modern Language Department at ACS Athens since January 1995. While at ACS Athens she has taughtboth Greek Language B classes and Greek Language & Literature classes. She has taught Modern Greek for the IB Diploma for more than 20 years and currently she is teaching Modern Greek IB Language A: Language and Literature.

Ms. Pisanias holds a Bachelor of Arts in Greek and French Literature from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, a Masters in Translation from Universite de Mons-Hainaut & Universite Libre de Bruxelles, in Belgium and a Masters in Education from the Hellenic Open University. The post graduate courses she has taken are in the areas of Child Development, Cross-cultural Education, School Administration and Distance Learning. The subject of her thesis was "Communication and Interaction between students in Distance Education". She has represented the Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges as a member of an accreditation Validation Team.

While at ACS Athens she has been advisor of the Greek Literary Magazine, the Greek Club and several class Councils. Since September 2017 she is the Coordinator of the Greek Language Department.

email: pisaniask@acs.gr

Alberto Pisante was born and raised in Athens, Greece. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Cardiff University and is qualified as an EFL teacher by Cambridge CELTA. After joining the ACS faculty this year, he willl be splitting his responsibilities between teaching in the Academy and being an assistant in the Learning Commons' writing studio.

His passion for Literature and Film began at school, flourished at university and eventually landed back in the classroom. This year he will be teaching Perspectives in Literature, Film Writing/Production as well as a Writing Seminar.

email: pisantea@acs.gr

Evelyn Pittas earned her B.A. in English Literature, from Gwynedd-Mercy College and her M.A. in English Literature, from Kutztown University and Lehigh University. She has also earned her Teaching Certificate from the state of Pennsylvania and attended numerous workshops and conferences in IB, Learning Differences, Writing for teachers, and Leadership for the 21st Century. Currently an IB English teacher at the Academy and the English Department Coordinator, Ms. Pittas has been at ACS Athens since 1997. She has been a teacher of Language Arts, English 9A2, English 10, English 11, English 12, Themes in World Literature, IB English A2 and is currently teaching IB English A: Language and Literature HL and SL Year1 and Year 2. She has taught English for the IB Diploma since the late 1990s and has been an IB Group 1 and Extended Essay Examiner since 2004.

In addition to her responsibilities as teacher, Ms. Pittas has been involved in a variety of positions at ACS Athens, including Forensics Oratory Coach, Coordinator and Judge at Pan-Hellenic Tournaments, 10th and 12th grade Student Council Advisor, Blue and Gold School Newspaper Advisor, Model United Nations Advisor, Activities Coordinator, Bonding Day Coordinator, Graduation Coordinator Assistant and is a member of the National Honor Society committee. She also served on the ACSTA Executive Council as President and the Federation Executive Council as Vice President.

Her mission as a teacher is to develop confidence in each and every student so that they will seek knowledge, question answers, and believe in their own abilities to become life long learners. She supports her students, listens willingly, and provides a loving environment so they can understand the bliss in learning and take pride in their accomplishments.

email: pittase@acs.gr

Victoria Poulou holds a B.Sc. in Physics (2003) and a M.Sc. in Astronomy, Astrophysics and Mechanics (2007) from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). Both her Dissertations were on experimental physics (optics and spectrophotometry). She has attended scientific and educational conferences and contributed to the NKUA telescope observations of the 2004 Venus Transit and the 2006 Total Solar Eclipse outreach missions.

Since 1998 Ms. Poulou has been teaching Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology to students of all levels, assisting them to enrich their scientific knowledge, acquire learning skills, and succeed in their Introductory Exams to University.

This is her second year at ACS Athens. During the previous school year she was a Math & Science substitute teacher and a Math/Science Studio assistant. This year she will be the Science Lab Technician.

Victoria Poulou was born and raised in Athens.

Dr. Prodromidi earned a B.Sc. in Cell & Molecular Biology from the University of Essex, UK. She then continued her graduate studies at Imperial College London, UK, where she obtained a M.Sc. in Immunology and a Ph.D. with a full scholarship in Renal Medicine and Stem Cell Biology. She has worked in research and her scientific work has been presented in conferences world-wide, and has been acknowledged numerous times with international awards, such as the Best New Scientist (2006, UK). She has also published articles in scientific journals and co-authored books.

After the completion of her post-graduate studies and since her return in Greece, Dr. Prodromidi has worked both as a research scientist and an educator. To her, teaching means inspiration, creativity, and even challenge to pass on knowledge and ethos to every student. Her teaching experience ranges from middle school students through university students. Recently, she co-authored the book entitled "Revolutionizing K-12 Blended Learning through the i²Flex Classroom Model" contributing to this novel pedagogical approach introduced by ACS Athens.

email: prodromidie@acs.gr

Mrs. Rocha earned a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations with a minor each in French and Spanish from Chatham College, Pittsburgh, P.A. and a Master of Arts in Education with a special emphasis on Foreign Language Instruction from The College of Notre Dame of Maryland.

She has also participated in post graduate studies at American University, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland in the fields of cultural anthropology and linguistics and is currently a PhD candidate in the department of Applied Linguistics at the Hellenic American University.

Mrs. Rocha has taught both French and Spanish, all levels, including, AP, IB and immersion levels for Baltimore County Schools prior to joining the ACS Athens facultty.

Ms. Rocha has served as Department Chair and has been involved in curriculum development and writing within the Baltimore County School System. She currently teaches Spanish for both the Middle School and the Academy students. She has also led her students on trips abroad on cultural immersion trips.

email: rochac@acs.gr

Helen Seretis has a Bachelor's in Psychology from Loyola University Chicago, and a Master's in Education with a focus on Family Therapy from the University of Miami and a certification in School Counseling from National Louis University. 

She has over five year of experience working in academia as an Academic Advisor at the Illinois Institute of Art and as a Certified Licensed School Counselor at both the Elementary and High school level. She has also completed the training and internship component for the CADC (certified drug and alcohol counselor). This is her second year at ACS Athens as an Academy Counselor.

Helen Seretis was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois.

email: seretish@acs.gr

Academic Credentials 

• Bachelor Degree of Fine Arts (BA FINE ARTS), 1986 - 1991

  University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

• Master in Creative Writing (for Education), 2014 - 2017

  University of Western Macedonia, Florina, Greece

  Thesis topic: Short Stories Inspired from the Paintings of Nikolaos Gyzis and Nikiforos Lyrtas

Working/Teaching experience: 

• ACS Athens - K-12 Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator, 2013-2019
• ACS Athens - IB Visual Arts Instructor, 2015-2019 [DP IB Visual Arts I and II]
• ACS Athens - High School Art Teacher, 2015-2019 [Drawing and Painting I and II, Design, Graphic Art, Digital Photography]
• ACS Athens - Middle School Art Teacher, 2012-2015 [Art studio-Drawing and Painting, Design 8]
• Dasoupolis school in Nicosia Cyprus, Zakaki and Tsirio schools in Limassol, Middle school and High school Art Teacher in Cyprus, 2010-2012
• Private Art Teacher, 1992-2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa and in Athens, Greece
• Leading Designer - decoration and everyday special sets for ANT1 TV productions in Athens Greece, 1997 to 2010
• Leading Set Designer for ANT1 TV station, Cyprus, 1996-2007(Designer of the News Broadcast set, Election sets, Sports set etc)
• Interior Designer for numerous companies and offices, 1997-2010
• Costume and Stage Designer for several theatrical productions in Johannesburg and Athens from 1993-2014

Personal Accomplishments

• ART EXHIBITIONS:

  Solo and group exhibitions in Johannesburg, South Africa, 1992 -1995

  Participate in group exhibitions in Nicosia, Cyprus, 1995-2007

  Participate in group exhibitions or paint on commission for companies, shops, or commercial productions 1995-present

• PUBLICATIONS:

  Her short stories are published in two books. The Road to Creative Writing 3 - Short Stories, 2013, Oselotos publication and Anthology of Short Stories, 2014, Graphomihani publication.

Sophia Stella Soseilos is currently the K-12 Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator and the High school Art Teacher in ACS Athens. She is a Greek Cypriot who was born in Germany, lived in Cyprus studied in South Africa and moved to Greece in 1995. Sophia Stella Soseilos has a passion for teaching Art. She embraces diversity, and has a great way of motivating and introducing creativity and design thinking into the education space. She is able to connect and communicate with her students. She defines targets and strategies and has the ability to convert vision to execution.

email: soseiloss@acs.gr

Mr. Christos Stachikas is a Physical Education Teacher for the ACS Academy. He was raised in both Athens, Greece and Miami, FL of the United States, where he graduated from high school.

Following his return to Athens in 2010, he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Sport Science and Physical Education from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens with a Specialty Diploma in Biology of Exercise. He is currently in the second and final year of pursuing a Master’s Degree in “Applied and Molecular Physiology” at the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

In 2016 Mr. Stachikas served his military duty in the Greek Presidential Guard, the honorary unit of the Hellenic Armed Forces. He has also been working as a professional basketball coach for eight years and is currently a coach for the Panathinaikos BC Academy. This will be his first year teaching Physical Education in the ACS Academy.

email: stachikasc@acs.gr

• Ph.D. in Mathematics, Department of Mathematics (2011), School of Applied Mathematics & Physical Sciences, National Technical University of Athens Diploma - School of Applied Mathematics & Physical Sciences, National Technological University of Athens. In the field of Systems Theory.
• MSc in Mathematics - Postgraduate Program "Applied Mathematical Sciences" (2006), National Technical University of Athens, School of Applied Mathematics &Physical Sciences, Mechanical Engineering, Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering
• Diploma - School of Applied Mathematics & Physical Sciences, National Technical University of Athens.

Dr. Stamati earned both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees while completing the accelerated program in Applied Mathematics and Studies of Science from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece. She then went on to complete a second Master’s Degree in Applied Mathematics, majoring in Mathematical Analysis. Having identified a distinct passion in her field, Dr. Stamati successfully earned her Ph.D. in Systems Theory from the National Technical University of Athens on a full scholarship from the Papakyriakopoulos Foundation. She has published numerous articles in academic journals such as IEEE, Transactions on Automatic Control and many more. During her Doctoral Dissertation, she lectured in various schools, such as:

• the School of Applied Mathematics and Studies of Science of the National Technical University of Athens and
• the School of Technical Education of Engineering Officers of the Hellenic Army.

After attaining her Ph.D., Dr. Stamati worked:

• as a visiting professor in the National and Kapodestrian University of Athens, at the Department of Economics,
• as a Scientific Associate in the Technological Institute of Piraeus,
• and as an Instructor in the School of Greek Navy cadets.

She has taught Calculus, MATH 100, Linear Algebra, Optimal Control, Higher Mathematics and Programming Software such as MatLab and Mathematica. She has also participated in research programs focused on the design, development and implementation of mathematical algorithms. Dr. Stamati started working at ACS at 2014. Since then she has taught various courses such as: Algebra 2 and Trigonometry  Regular, Algebra 2 and Trigonometry Regular, Algebra 1, Intro to Computer Science and Science.

Dr. Stamati will be teaching this year Algebra 2 and Trigonometry Regular and Algebra 2 and Trigonometry Honors. She is enthusiastic and eager to share her love of mathematics, and she aims to transfer this enthusiasm to her students on a daily basis. Her motto is, "The only way to learn Mathematics is to do Mathematics" - Paul Halmos.

email: stamatia@acs.gr

Ms. Natasha Stratoglou was born and raised in Athens, Greece. She holds a B.A. in French Literature from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and a M.Sc. in Management of Cultural Institutions from the Greek Open University. Post graduate work also includes studies in Human Development at the University of La Verne, Athens, Writing Across the Curriculum at the University of Berkeley (extension), Education at the University of Athens. She has been at ACS Athens since 1990, where she has taught in all three education levels all levels, French and Greek. She has served as Foreign Language Coordinator in the Middle School, Middle School Yearbook Advisor, French Trip advisor, French Club and Greek Club advisor and Cairo Exchange advisor.

She is a member of the Greek Applied Linguistics Association. She has attended IB Middle Years Program conferences in Athens and Istanbul, several Learning Differences Conferences held at ACS Athens, two NESA conferences in Athens. She has presented her work in two conferences for graduate students of Museum Studies organized by the University of Athens, Museum Research section.

In April 2016, she presented her work on the "Effective implementation and positive influence of the i²Flex methodology in a multi-level Language class" in the ACS Athens Colloquium.

Through her experience and knowledge she supports, encourages and inspires children. She is an enthusiastic, motivating teacher that creates diverse, exciting and provoking challenges to promote learning.

?email: stratogloun@acs.gr

Dr. Evangelos Syropoulos holds a BA in English Language and Literature (1995), an MA in English Literature and Culture (1999), and a PhD in Musical Theatre (2008) from the School of English of Aristotle University, Greece. He conducted postdoctoral research and/ or taught drama/ theatre courses at Aristotle University, Ghent University (Belgium), and Goldsmiths College (University of London). His research has been published in peer-reviewed journals in Greece, Belgium, and the UK. He is also a College Board-certified AP Capstone teacher, receiving his training at McBride High School, Long Beach CA, in 2017.

This is his fourth year at ACS Athens. The last three years, he worked as Writing Studio Coordinator and additionally taught literature and film courses, co-coached the ACS Athens Academy Duet Acting team, and participated in the Mentor Program and the New Colleagues Mentor Program.

This year, he teaches IB English A: Literature Year 1, IB English A: Literature Year 2, IB English A: Language and Literature Year 1, and IB Theory of Knowledge Senior Seminar. He has recently joined the ACS Athens Institute as Fellow, designing and teaching an online course in English Literature for the ACS Athens Virtual School.

email: syropoulose@acs.gr

Ms. Thanopoulou received her degree in Theater Studies from the National University of Athens and a Master of Arts in Physical Theater from the universities of Surrey & Royal Holloway University of London.

She is a trained dancer in classical ballet and contemporary dance and has performed in numerous venues since 2001, including the Athens Concert Hall, Michael Cacoyannis Foundation and the Opening Ceremony for the Athens Olympics 2004. She has also worked in numerous Theater productions in Athens in a variety of capacities: assistant director, dramaturg, communications officer and more, before discovering her love for teaching in 2004.

Ms. Thanopoulou gained Qualified Teacher Status in the UK, where she started teaching the A Level and BTEC programs for Drama & Performing Arts in 3 different inner city schools of East London. She started teaching at ACS Athens in 2007, where she developed the syllabi for IB Theater and Drama. Since then she has directed over 18 full scale student productions; she has been coaching the Duet Acting team for the Panhellenic Forensics Tournaments; she has offered a variety of extra curricular activities such as Drama, Dance and Talent Show Clubs; she has presented in Conferences like ECIS 2016 and Learning Differences Conference 2015 and does everything she can to propagate her life's passion for Arts in Education.

email: thanopoulous@acs.gr

Academic Credentials

• M.Sc. Applied Statistics, 2009, University of Oxford
• Ph.D. Mathematics, 2005, University of Chicago
• M.S. Mathematics, 1999, University of Chicago
• B.Sc. Mathematics, 1998, University of Athens, Greece

Working/teaching experience

• 2012 - present American Community School, Athens, Greece - Teacher
  • IB Teacher: Teaching IB Higher Level math since September 2015
  • AP teacher: Taught AP Calculus for five years (2012-2017)
  • Other courses taught: Algebra 2 Trig Honors and Regular, Geometry Honors and Regular, Algebra 1, Math 6
  • Contributing to the evolving school-curriculum
  • IB Higher Level math examiner since January 2016

• Summer 2012 & 2013 Childhood Cancer Research Group, Oxford University, UK - Researcher

• 2011-2012 Zirides Independent School, Spata, Greece - Teacher

• 2010-2011 Vitali’s Educational Foundation & Arnos Studies, Athens, Greece - Tutor

• 2009-2010 Oxford International College and Greene’s College, Oxford, UK - Tutor

• 9.2009 Carfax Consultants, Oxford, UK - Tutor

• 2008-2009 Cheney School, Headington, Oxford, U.K. - Invigilator

• 2005-2007 Columbia College Chicago, U.S.A. - Tenure-track assistant professor

• 2.2005-6.2005 Community outreach program, Univ. of Chicago - Tutor

• 7.2004-8.2004 Teachers’ training program, Univ. of Chicago - Teaching Assistant

• 7.2003 Canada/U.S.A. Mathcamp - Mentor

• 2000-2005 University of Chicago - Lecturer

• 9.1999-6.2000 University of Chicago - Teaching Assistant

Dr. Toumpakari has given several presentations in mathematics conferences and seminars, including the Theory of Computing Seminar in the Department of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University and the Special Session on Extremal Combinatorics in the American Mathematical Society meeting in Chicago. Recently Dr. Toumpakari presented at the 1st Congress of Greek Mathematicians on a statistical project she participated in at the Childhood Cancer Research group at Oxford. In the field of education, Dr. Toumpakari presented at the ACS Athens Colloquium in May 2016 on “Mathematics and Chemistry-An interdisciplinary constructivist approach.” Dr. Toumpakari has a mathematics paper published at the European Journal of Combinatorics and a statistical paper published at the British Journal of Cancer. Apart from Greek and English, Dr .Toumpakari speaks Russian and German as well. Since June 2019 she has been a Senior Fellow of the Institute at ACS Athens.

email: toumpakarie@acs.gr

• Ph.D. in Astronomy, Astrophysics and Mechanics (2016), National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, in the field of Galactic Dynamics on a full scholarship from the Leventis Foundation
• M.Sc. in Applied Mathematics (2007), Technical University of Athens
• M.Sc. in Astrophysics (2007), National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
• B.Sc. in Mathematics (2004), University of Patras, with the highest grade of the graduation year and award from the State Scholarships Foundation

Dr. Tsigaridi has participated in many Research Programs funded by the Academy of Athens in collaboration with the Research Center for Astronomy and Applied Mathematics (RCAAM), with publications in peer reviewed scientific journals and presence in numerous conferences. She has also participated as a visiting researcher in the project "Galactic Potential Extraction" at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Munich, Germany.

Dr. Tsigaridi has been teaching Mathematics for over 13 years. This is her third year at ACS Athens. In the past two years she has taught Geometry with Algebraic Topics Honors, Algebra 2 and Trigonometry Honors, IB Mathematical Studies and also had the position of the Math/Science Studio Coordinator. This year she will be teaching Algebra 2 & Trigonometry and Geometry with Algebraic Topics in the Academy. Dr. Tsigaridi will also serve as Fellow of the Institute of ACS Athens.

In parallel with her academic studies Dr. Tsigaridi has also completed degrees in Music and Dance. She plays the Piano and the Viola and has been a member of the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Athens since 1991. She is also a member of the Hellenic Astronomical Society (Hel.A.S.) and the European Space Agency (ESA).

email: tsigaridil@acs.gr

Dr. Andreas Tsokos is the director of the IB and AP programs and Division Chair of Mathematics. Dr. Tsokos was born in Cyprus. He attended the University of Birmingham in the U.K with a full scholarship and was awarded a double Honors degree in Physics and Mathematics. At Birmingham, he received the Nora Calderwood Prize for highest achievement in the final examinations. He obtained a Master of Science and a Ph.D. in Physics from Cornell University in the USA.

Dr. Tsokos has served as Assistant, Deputy and Chief Examiner for IB Physics. He is the author of Physics for the IB Diploma, Series and Differential Equations, IB Physics in a nutshell and about 20 research papers dealing, mainly, with Quantum Chromodynamics. In one paper he showed how the high temperature limit of chiral gauge theories leads to the appearance of topological mass terms for the associated gauge fields. His main interests are Physics, Mathematics and the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.

He has been a faculty of ACS Athens since 1995.

email: tsokosa@acs.gr

Ms. Wang is originally from Taiwan. She obtained her Bachelors Degree from National Taipei Institute of the Arts, where she studied Piano Performance, Violin Performance as well as Chinese Language and Literature. She has won the 2^nd prize in Taiwan Piano competition. Ms. Wang also trained at Luebeck Musikhochschule in Germany, and obtained her Masters Degree in Piano Performance.

Each summer Ms. Wang travels to Taiwan and participates in the seminar “Chinese Language Research”. In the summer of 2009, she obtained a certification following 2 month course “Teaching Chinese as Foreign Language” from Tunghai University.

In Taiwan and Germany, she worked as teacher, teaching Chinese Language and Piano Performance. She has 11 years of experience teaching Chinese and 25 years of experience teaching Piano Performance.

email: wangy@acs.gr

Angela Zamanis was born in Canada and has a Bachelor of Arts in English and Communications with a double major in Political Science from McGill University. She also holds a Certificate in Communicative English Teaching from the Hellenic American Union and is licensed by the Greek Ministry of Education to teach English as a Foreign Language.

She is a native English speaker and an experienced EFL/ESL teacher who has worked with students of all levels from many different countries both in Canada and in Greece for more than 25 years. She taught intensive English immersion programs to international students in Canada and has worked with private language schools in Greece. She is an ACS Athens graduate and as such she has a deep understanding of the school and its educational philosophy.

She is currently teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL 1) to non-native speakers in the Middle School and English as a Second Language (ESL 3, 4, 5) in the Academy.

email: zamanisa@acs.gr

Ms. Zavacopoulou was born in London, but was raised in Athens and attended a British international school. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in European Social and Political Studies, a four-year course with majors in History, French and Italian from University College London, and a Masters degree in Journalism from University of Westminster, London.

A qualified secondary school teacher, she taught French and Spanish in an inner city London school through Teach First, a ground-breaking graduate training program that combines two years teaching in challenging London schools with business and leadership training. She also worked as a substitute teacher in over 20 different London schools in long-term and short- term placements for a further two years.

She joined the ACS Athens team in 2010 and started working in the Writing Center, where she helped and advised students on a variety of written assignments. She has since been involved in many aspects of school life: she co-coaches the ACS Athens Academy debate team, has participated in the Mentorship Program and has co-presented a workshop at the NESA Conference. In 2016 she co-presented a paper at the ICODL Conference and also co- authored an article, "Humanities Program: An Innovative Classic," that was published in the book Revolutionizing K - 12 Blended Learning Through the i2Flex Classroom Model. This year she is team-teaching Humanities, and Grade 9 Europe and the World, as well as serving as Division Chair for Humanities, Arts and Physical Education.

email: zavacopouloua@acs.gr

Ms. Tsopoglou-Gkina holds a Biology Bachelor Degree from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece) majoring in Environmental Biology (2011) and a Master of Science in Environmental Biology from Utrecht University (the Netherlands) (2013). She is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Western Macedonia (Greece) conducting research in the field of Biology Education.

Ms. Tsopoglou-Gkina has been working in education since 2014, with experience in Environmental Education programs, as well as teaching Biology. She has been a member of ACS Athens since 2016 as a Science and Math substitute in residence, while this year she will also be teaching Health in the Academy.

email: tsopogloud@acs.gr

Ms. Andriana Armodorou holds dual citizenship from Greece and the United Kingdom, where she lived for 14 years.

She did her Masters in Health Psychology at Middlesex University in London and her Bachelor degree in Psychology at the University of Plymouth in Devon, UK. For her Masters placement she worked as a patient advisor at Edgware Community Hospital in London and for her Bachelor degree's placement she worked for a year as a Social Support Worker at the national Centre with Young people with Epilepsy and associated conditions in Surrey, UK.

While in London, she worked at Broadfields Primary School as a Specialist Unqualified Teacher for children with Autism (Pathological Demand Avoidance, Asperger, ADHD) in a specialist provision within a mainstream school. She worked as an Autism advisor for the mainstream children and offered the children with low self-esteem Psychological Support to promote emotional and social balance. She also taught dance lessons using improvisation based on the curriculum for the mainstream children. At Broadfields Primary School she was the initiator for Autism Awareness across the mainstream school, and for parents. She was trained in Macaton sign language and delivered sessions across the provision setting. She also introduced Reverse Inclusion to allow neurotypical children to explore Autism. She created and designed a sensory friendly program called "Senscape" delivered on a theme based environment for children with Autism to meet their sensory needs, make them feel safe and regulated.

In addition, she worked at the Annunciation Catholic Infant School in London. She offered learning, emotional and speech and language support to mainstream children who had a diagnosis (Autism, Down Syndrome, Global Delay and Learning Difficulties).

Michela Martines holds dual citizenship from Italy and Norway. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Sussex. For her academic achievements, she received a full scholarship to complete her Master's degree from the same university in Clinical Psychology and Mental Health. She is currently continuing her studies through a four-year training and supervision program in Rational-Emotive and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with children, adolescents, parents and educators at the Hellenic Institute for RECBT.

Ms. Martines has been a member of the ACS Athens community since 2017. She has held various positions including elementary school counseling intern, shadow teacher and substitute teacher. This is her second year as a member of the OLP Department.

email: martinesm@acs.gr