Speakers & Mentors

The current and severe economic crisis in Greece is making international news headlines almost daily. Possible outcomes have been expressed by many professors, politicians, professionals and spectators. There is no longer much flexibility and the question in everyone’s mind is, “Where do we go next?”

The Goal is to constructively contribute to the factual dialogue surrounding Greece and the Euro-zone crisis, by identifying the factors responsible for the crisis and ways to prevent it from escalating to even further unprecedented proportions.

The discussion will focus around the opportunity for change that exists within Greece, and present possible solutions, their benefits and repercussions, that will set Greece in a path of recovery and prosperity.

Further, reference will be made to the possible, yet subtle, tools that the Euro-Atlantic institutions have available to deal with the problems of Sovereign Debt many of the EU member-countries are facing.
see list of speakers below

 

1)    The Educational Systems of the U.S. and Europe (specifically Greece) are very different in aspects of financial availability, framework of studies, and teaching methods. Though this panel will examine the benefits of both systems, we would like to focus on expanding our horizons with new and creative ways to improve our educational systems.

2)    The focus of the panel will also be intertwined with our Info-Sessions project which aims to inform Greek students on which opportunities and incentives exist for students to complete graduate studies at an American university. The practical application and implementation of these studies in the framework of global markets will also be presented and examined.

The goal is for students to gain an understanding of the old problems (i.e Cyprus Problem), the new challenges faced in economic, energy and environmental diplomacy, its implications for the balance of power that that exists between Greece, Cyprus, & Turkey, and the role the U.S. foreign policy both in the past and prospects for the future.

Specific reference will be made to recent developments around the off-shore drilling in the Exclusive Economic Zone between Cyprus and Turkey and the re-shuffling of alliances in the region such as the new cooperation between Israel and Greece.

Ilias Fotopoulos Consul General of Greece in Boston is a Political Science and Law graduate, Mr. Fotopoulos, joined the diplomatic service in 1988, after successfully attending the Hellenic National School of Public Administration. 

Mr. Fotopoulos has served as Consul in Durban Africa – he was actually commissioned by the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs to establish the Consulate in Durban, and as Consul General in Hannover Germany. He was also appointed as Deputy Head of Mission in the Embassy of Greece in Kiev, Ukraine and as a Minister Counselor in the Embassy of Greece in Madrid, Spain.

Prior to his appointment as Consul General of Greece in Boston, Mr. Fotopoulos was the Head of the Directorate for Human Rights in the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the Ministry, Mr. Fotopoulos has served in various high ranking positions: in the Directorate of Economic Relations between Greece and Balkan Affairs and in the Directorate of Political Relations between Greece and the Balkan countries, while he was the Head of the Diplomatic Office of the Secretary General, competent for the Administration and the Organization of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Nicholas Kourtis Esq.is a corporate attorney and business executive. He is currently the COO of TwinStrata, a venture capital-backed developer of cloud storage software solutions

Michael Dukakis was the Democratic Party Nominee for President of the United States in 1988. He also is the longest serving Governor of Massachusetts, 1975-1979, 1983-1991. Currently he is a distinguished Professor of Political Science at Northeastern University.

Dr. Michalis Psalidopoulos is the current chair of Constantine G. Karamanlis Chair in Hellenic and Southeastern European Studies, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, and Professor Department of Economics, University of Athens.

Thanos Dimadis is the Washington DC based Correspondent and Reporter for the renowned Greek  SKAI TV & Radio, and is writing articles for Huffington Post and for the best-read Greek blog, the “www.protagon.gr”.

Dimitris Ioannides, Esq. is a partner of the law firm of Roach, Ioannidis & Megaloudis LLC., in Boston, Massachusetts and counsel to the Consulate General of Greece in Boston, Massachusetts. He practices primarily in the areas of international business transactions and civil litigation and has extensive due diligence experience involving matters in Greece. He was a consultant to U.S. security firms on projects including the Athens 2004 Olympic Games and other security matters. Over the years he has represented the Greek Government, the Hellenic Navy, Harvard University, the University of Thrace in Greece, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and other multinational companies on international business matters. He is the author of many articles on the Greek Tax Code and Investments in Greece and a regular Columnist of a Greek legal magazine, Sinigoros in Athens, Greece.
He recently authored two articles on the Greek economic crisis and the need for regulation of financial institutions and on International Corporate Corruption.