Dr. Peggy Pelonis was raised in Los Angeles, California. She earned a Doctorate degree in Education from the University of Bath, UK, an M.Sc. degree in Counseling and School Psychology from California State University, Fullerton (where she also received two awards for Outstanding Student and Outstanding Research), an Executive M.B.A. from the University of Indianapolis and a B.S. in English Literature and Psychology from the American College of Greece.

Dr. Pelonis is a Licensed Psychotherapist and holds School Counseling Certification from the State of California. As well, she is a National Certified Psychologist and holds a diploma in Clinical Hypnosis. Dr. Pelonis was on the staff of Cal State University Fullerton as well as the University of LaVerne teaching in the Master’s Psychology program, she was on the staff of the Adlerian Training Institute, USA and is currently on the staff of ICASSI (International Committee of Adlerian Summer Schools and Institutes). She is Chair of the Special Interest Group of the European Collaborative for International Schools (ECIS) and works with Middle States Association (MSA) as a team member for school accreditation.

An active leadership and personal and professional growth coach and trainer and a trainer of school leadership and transformation, Dr. Pelonis conducts workshops in Europe, the Middle East and the USA. She was founder of ISOS Counseling and Educational Center and continues to conduct workshops and groups on Change and is a frequent lecturer at conferences as well as an invited speaker on various TV and radio programs. Her work on Coping with Change, Resilience as well as on Leadership in Education and Educational Transformation has been cited in journals, magazines and books. She is the author of numerous journal articles, book chapters and magazine & newspaper articles, as well as two books: "Change in the journey of life" Fytraki publications Athens, 2001 and "Yparho Allazo" I Exist, I Change) Isorropon publications, Athens 2006. Her Doctoral work involved international schools from around the world examining the views of Heads of Schools and Principals regarding professional development in such schools.

email: pelonisp@acs.gr

Anna (Annie) Angelidou was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, in the United States and is an alumna of ACS Athens. Annie is a Communications professional and certified TEFL/TESOL Instructor with 10 years of experience in communications, ESL, EFL teaching, SAT, TOEFL, and IELTS examination preparation, writing, translating and copy editing, and is committed to helping students prepare to become whole, compassionate, value-driven and purpose-centered individuals able to navigate themselves through an increasingly ambiguous and ever-changing world.

email: angelidoua@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

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

Natalia Maravegia was born in Athens, Greece and is an alumna of ACS Athens. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Psychology from the American College of Greece and a Master's Degree in Health Psychology from the University of Nottingham, UK. She is a member of the British Psychological Society.

Currently she is completing a 4 year program in Rational-Emotive Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, where she will be completing her third year this year. This will be her second year working in the Educational and Diagnostic Testing Center as a trained Diagnostician. Prior to this, she worked as a Shadow Teacher for two academic school years at ACS Athens from 2013-2015.

email: maravegiasn@acs.gr

Eugenia Hatziagelides was born and raised in Athens, Greece. She 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. She was then hired at Moraitis School and worked as a School Counselor from 1998 to 2017. This will be her first year as Academy Guidance Specialist at ACS Athens.

hatziagelidese@acs.gr

In his tenth year at ACS Athens, Mr. Kalogridakis was born and raised in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He received his Bachelor of Arts in History from Rutgers University in NJ, then his Masters of Arts in Teaching from Boston University, and holds both Massachusetts and New Jersey teaching certifications. He has also completed extended course work for a Masters in Clinical Psychology from the University of Indianapolis.

Having worked as an Academy Counselor for 6 years, Mr. Kalogridakis is in his 4th year with 6th - 8th grade students, as the Middle School Counselor. Past advisor of the National Honor Society, Model United Nations club, and Student Council advisor, he is also an active coach of after school recreational teams under the Athletic Department.

email: kalogridakiss@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 the city of Edinburgh. 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 aspect 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 second 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 a passionate reader.

email: kouppac@acs.gr

Born in Zimbabwe, Africa and reared in Athens, Greece, Demetri Pelidis is a proud graduate of ACS Athens. He earned his Bachelor of Education from Boston College, a Masters of Education (M.Ed), in Counseling Psychology, from Keene State College of New Hampshire, and his Advanced Graduate Degree, in School Counseling, from Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts.

Mr. Pelidis began working at ACS as a High School Counselor and has served in different capacities both in the Middle School and Academy Counseling Departments. As the Elementary School Counselor he works diligently to meet the needs of students. Demetri serves as a consultant to teachers and parents by providing support in regard to meeting student academic and emotional needs. While working together with teachers and administrators he will strive to build a partnership between the school and the home.

Mr. Pelidis has interned and worked in various school systems both in Boston, Massachusetts and New Hampshire School Districts. He has completed over 25 years of professional experience in counseling and teaching students in middle school, high school, undergraduate and graduate school levels. He is a certified school counselor from the state of Massachusetts, and actively enjoys his professional affiliation with ASCA-The American School Counselor Association.

Mr. Pelidis also assists our ACS athletic department as the Boys Varsity Soccer Coach. Over the years the Lancers Boys Soccer Teams have earned first place gold medals in ISST championships. Prior to coaching soccer for ACS, Athens, Coach Pelidis himself played collegiate soccer for the Boston College Eagles, where he was named Senior Athlete of the Year. He continued to play professionally in the American Soccer league for the Boston Bolts.

email: pelidisd@acs.gr

Born and raised in Athens, Greece, Theodora Panteli holds an A.D in Science from Jacksonville College and a B.A with a major in English Literature, Global Culture & Rhetoric, a double minor in Theater Studies and Philosophy, Politics & Law from the State University of New York at Binghamton. She spent her senior year working as a Teaching Assistant for Harpur College and the Departments of English and Theater Studies.

For the past 7 years she has been working as Learning Specialist. This would be her third year in ACS and the Academy. For the past two years she was the guidance specialist for 11th & 12th grade advisory while this year she will be the guidance specialist for 9th and 10th grade advisory. She is also a certified IB CAS advisor, offering guidance to IB students and providing them with opportunities to complete the requirements for CAS successfully.

She was a professional athlete for 14 years and the first Greek female athlete to ever be awarded with a full athletic scholarship(NCAA D1). She was a member of the Greek National Team and the captain of Binghamton women's basketball team. Theodora, is also working as a sports journalist for NovaSports Channel while she is also studying to finish her MSPsy- in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.

email: pantelit@acs.gr

Eirini Antoniadou studied Classics at the University of Athens and holds a certificate in Special Education by the same university. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Special and Inclusive Education at the University of Nottingham.

Ms. Antoniadou joined ACS Athens in 2012. She has held various positions including Middle School Citizenship Coordinator, Student Affairs Officer and Academy OLP Specialist. She has also taught the Greek "Isotimia" program as well as the Survival Greek program. Since last year, Ms. Antoniadou has been the Middle School OLP Specialist, supporting students with learning differences both in and out of the classroom.

email: antoniadoue@acs.gr

Sofia Genimata was born in Thessaloniki, Greece. She attended school in Florida, U.S.A where she developed a love for English and decided to become a teacher. Upon her return to Greece, she earned her Bachelor's degree in English Language and Literature from Ethniko and Kapodistriako Panepistimio Athinon. During her last year of studies, she worked for the Permanent Representation of Cyprus in the E.U during their presidency in the European Council. Due to her love of teaching, she expanded her education and received a Master of Arts in Developmental and Learning Disabilities form Deree-The American College of Greece.

She has worked as a teacher and is a firm believer that all students can reach their highest potential through differentiated learning strategies. This will be her second year as an OLP Specialist working with Middle School and Elementary students.

email: gennimatas@acs.gr

Helen Seretis was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois and has 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 with a certification in School Counseling from National Louis University. She worked as a case manager at the Illinois Department of Human Services for two years and has over five year of experience working in academia as an Academic Advisor at the Illinois Institute of Art and an Elementary and High school Counselor in the Chicago land area. She has also completed the training and internship component for the CADC (certified drug and alcohol counselor) and she is a licensed School Counselor. This is her first year at ACS Athens and she will be the Academy Counselor.

email: seretish@acs.gr

Inspired by her mom, Ms. Karatza knew from a young age that she wanted to be a teacher. She earned a B.A in Early Childhood Education from the University of Athens and she has also completed courses in the field of Psychology during her studies at the Italian University of Padova such as Learning Disabilities and Psychology of Emotions. Zoi has recently completed her M.A. in Information and Communication Technologies in Education from the University of Athens, University of Thessaly and Technological Education Institute of Piraeus. The subject of her thesis was: "ICT as a tool for differentiation of the learning process: A comparative study of educators' views and use of ICT tools and an informative intervention through digital material". Her interest for continuous training and professional development led her to attend many training courses such as: Educational and Psychological Measurements in Special Education (George Washington University), Conceptual Math Training for grades K-2, Special Educational Needs (British Council) and Supporting children with difficulties in reading and writing (University of London, UCL Institute of Education and Dyslexia International). During her two-years internships and her work as a private tutor, teaching elementary students, she developed custom curriculums, including homework and assessments, identified the needs of learners and developed academic strategies to improve students’ self-sufficiency.

Ms. Karatza has had the opportunity to work with learners across grade levels, as an assistant to the Optimal Learning Program (OLP) for both Middle School and Academy for the last two academic years. This is her third year at ACS and she will work with Elementary students, as an assistant in OLP and she is more excited than ever!

email: karatzaz@acs.gr

Alexandra Katsiki received her B.A. in Philosophy - Education - Psychology with a major in Education, from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She also received her MSc in Education - Educational Effectiveness and Instructional Design, from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. Last but not least, this year she completed the Four-Year Training and Supervision Program in Rational Emotive and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with Children/Adolescents/Parents/Educators, from The Hellenic Institute for RECBT.

Alexandra Katsiki, joined ACS Athens in 2015 and she has held various positions such as Shadow Teacher, part-time Volunteer EFL Teaching Assistant and Substitute Teacher. During her work as a Shadow Teacher, she coordinated the creation and presentation of a group poster about the "Role of the Shadow Teacher" at the ACS Athens Colloquium, in 2016. Alexandra Katsiki continues being involved in conducting research and writing articles about Inclusive Education and Parallel Support, in collaboration with the Shadow Teachers team.

This is her fourth year at ACS Athens and her second year as a teaching assistant in Middle School Optimal Learning Program.

email: katsikia@acs.gr

Vicky Koumbouni was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada and is an alumna of ACS Athens. She received her Bachelor's of Arts Degree from the American College of Greece and went on to complete her Master's Degree in Media and Communication Studies at the University of Indianapolis. In addition, Vicky is a certified EFL teacher from the Greek Ministry of Education, and has completed her Professional Diploma in Human Resources Management from the Hellenic Management Association.

Ms. Koumbouni has 7 years of experience working in the Human Resources Division of a Greek multinational company and more than 10 years of experience teaching English as a Foreign Language to Greek children. This is the second year Vicky will be the Administrative Assistant at the Office of Student Affairs.

email: koumbouniv@acs.gr

Michela Martines holds dual citizenship from Italy and Norway. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology at the University of Sussex. For her academic achievements, she received a full scholarship to complete her Master's degree at 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.

email: martinesm@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 and this year will be the Academy OLP Specialist, supporting students to develop their talents and build collaborative relationships in their learning environment.

email: papaioannoud@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 she is also the SAT and ACT testing coordinator.

email: repoulia@acs.gr

Dr. Sax holds a Bachelor's degree from Hampshire College (U.S.A.) in Psychology and Child Development. She graduated from New York University (U.S.A.) with a Clinical Master's degree in Clinical Social Work; Children, Adolescents and Adults. She has completed her doctoral degree in Counseling Psychology and Supervision in Counselor Education at Argosy University (U.S.A.).

She has been a Psychology Lecturer of Clinical Interviewing and Consultation, Child Psychology, Life-Span Development, Cultural Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Advanced Psychopathology and Group & Music Therapy. Currently, she is an Adjunct Professor at the Hellenic American University in Athens, teaching graduate students of the Psychology Department. She is also a licensed psychotherapist who has been in private practice for twenty -four years with children, adolescents and adults.

From September of 2006, she was working at ACS Athens Elementary as the Counselor for grades PK-5. Since 2011, Dr. Sax has been the Coordinator of the Psychology Intern Program with the Department of Student Affairs. As of 2012-13, Dr. Sax has also been providing PK-12 school wide services as Counseling Psychologist, via the Wellness Center. Additionally, Dr. Sax provides all clinical supervision to faculty and staff of the Counseling Office, as well as the Educational Testing Center.

Dr. Sax also presents her work at Professional Conferences within the ACS Athens Community and throughout Europe and has published articles and book chapters on her research interests and clinical work in the field. She currently is a member of the editorial board and peer reviewer of the American Journal of Applied Psychology, The International Journal of Elementary Education of SciencePG and The International Journal of Progressive Education. She is a member of the European Branch of the American Counseling Association and RSA Fellow (Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce).

email: saxlanea@acs.gr

Athina Gargali was born and raised in Athens Greece. She is a certified nurse from the Prefecture of Athens as well as a registered with the Nursing Association of Greece. Ms. Gargali holds a Bachelor's Degree in Nursing from the Technological Educational Institute of Athens and is currently working on a Master's Degree in Health Economics and Administration at The National School of Public Health.

Ms. Gargali has completed her work study as a nurse in Konstantopoulio General Hospital. She has worked as a Freelance Nurse in Athens and for the last two years has been working at ACS Athens as a substitute nurse.

Ms. Gargali holds a Pediatric First Aid Certification as well as a certificate for a BLS/AED Provider Course. She has also completed a 3 year course in sign language.

email: gargalia@acs.gr

Konstantinos Kontos was born and raised in Athens. He graduated from the Technological Institute of Athens and is registered with the Nursing Association of Greece.

During his studies he spent time in various children hospitals, where he developed empathy along with the knowledge of how to take care of kids.

Nursing started for him with his internship at Ippokrateio General Hospital and continued with his employment in a variety of departments, throughout a period longer than 3 years, such as the General Hospital of Samos, the Hellenic National Defense College, house nursing, Emergency Rooms and a hemodialysis clinic. Additionally, he has a Certificate of attendance of Basic Life Support (BLS/AED) Instructor candidate from European Resuscitation Council.

His goal and main focus, is to treat each incident and each patient as a unique case and a unique personality, prioritizing their needs.

email: kontosk@acs.gr