HAWC Annual Conference
to Examine Timely Health and Wellness Issues
Aristeon Award to Be Presented
to World Renowned Author of The Omega Diet
MIAMI, FL – From October 24-25, 2008, the Hellenic American
Women’s Council (HAWC) will be hosting its 15th Annual Conference
in Miami Florida, at the Miami Beach Resort and Spa. The theme of
the conference is “Finding Your Path to Health and Wellness,” featuring
an impressive lineup of medical experts who will address a range of timely health
and wellness issues. The conference has been organized by the Greater Miami HAWC
Chapter.
Evangeline Gouletas, HAWC’s Southeast Region director, will open
the conference by welcoming all attendees at an evening reception on Friday,
October 24 from 7:00p.m. - 9:00p.m. at Skyline Equities Realty, 800 Brickell
Avenue in Miami.
The conference will continue with a full day of activities and speakers on
Saturday, October 25. These medical experts will speak on the following topics
during the first half of the day:
- James Cosmides, M.D.
Dermatologist
TOPIC: Cosmetic Dermatology without Surgery
- Anthony Panos, M.D.
Associate Professor of Surgery, Associate Director of Thoracic Transplantation
Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami
TOPIC: Heart Disease in Women
- Seth Thaller, M.D.
Professor and Chief of Plastic Surgery
Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami
TOPIC: Plastic Surgery
Panagiota Caralis, M.D., J.D., renowned expert on bioethics, health
law, elder care, domestic violence and women’s advocacy, will present the
keynote address during the luncheon. Dr. Caralis is Professor of Medicine at
the University of Miami VA Medical Center’s Miller School of Medicine,
and Associate Chief of Medicine for Education at the Miami VAMC.
In line with the theme of the conference, HAWC will also pay tribute to the
groundbreaking work of world renowned author of The Omega Diet Dr.
Artemis P. Simopoulos, conferring upon her the Aristeon Award during the
conference luncheon. The Aristeon Award is presented annually by HAWC to a woman
who has made an extraordinary contribution to the ideals of Hellenism in her
professional and personal life, and has made a significant contribution to society.
Dr. Simopoulos’ The Omega Diet, which has been published in ten
languages, is significant because of the headway it made in the recognition by
the scientific community and the public of the importance of the balanced ratio
of Omega-6/Omega-3 fatty acids. Dr. Simopoulos is founder and president of The
Center for Genetics, Nutrition and Health, president and founding member of the
International Society of Nutrigenetics/Nutrigenomics (ISNN), and one of the first
researchers to discover the virtues of Omega-3 fatty acids through her studies
of the Mediterranean peoples.
HAWC’s 15th Annual Conference will conclude with its annual business
meeting and biennial elections, open to all HAWC members.
Additional information and registration materials for HAWC’s 15th Annual
Conference on “Finding Your Path to Health and Wellness” are available
on HAWC’s web site at http://www.hawcnet.org or
by contacting the Conference Chairperson Nancy Poulos at (305) 665-4608,
or Maria Stamoulas, HAWC National President, at (703) 528-8464.
MEDIA ONLY: Media attendance is COMPLIMENTARY. For all media requests
and reservations, please contact John Kiskinis at (305) 447-1224 or Kiskinis@aol.com.
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 HAWC Conference Examines the Impact of Change on Women’s Lives
Annual Aristeon Award Presented to Distinguished Oncologist Maria Theodoulou, MD
NEW YORK, NY – On October 14, 2006, the Hellenic American Women’s Council (HAWC) hosted its 13th Annual Conference: “Today’s Woman: Flourishing in the Midst of Change” at the New York Hilton Hotel. The in-depth panel discussion examined various aspects of change experienced by women at all stages in life – changes in health, career, interpersonal relationships, and finances. Experts also offered solutions for positively channeling the energy generated by change into personal and professional growth.
“This year’s conference was exciting on so many levels,” said conference chair and HAWC Second Vice President Stacey Sava. “Not only were the panelists dynamic and diverse in their experience with change, but they articulated the varied aspects of the topic in a way that really spoke to the diversity of our conference attendees.”
The over 150 women who attended the HAWC conference represented several different generations and many different professional fields. “Change comes in different forms at different times in our lives,” added Sava. “We all face it. From the enthusiastic response to our panelists’ views, it was clear that the speakers had struck at least one chord—and in many cases a virtual symphony—with our conference attendees.”
The keynote speaker for the event was Greece’s Ambassador to the U.S. Alexandros P. Mallias, who examined the political, social and economic transformation of Greece in recent years, highlighting the altered and dynamic role of women in Greek society.
The weekend’s activities were kicked off with a Friday evening reception at the Greek Consulate hosted by Consul General of Greece Catherine Boura, which featured an art exhibit of Greek women artists including Gloria Duzoglou, Olivia Koopalethes, and Aspasia Melis. The conference also celebrated the significant contributions medical oncologist, Dr.Maria Theodoulou of the Breast Cancer Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, who was awarded HAWC’s Aristeon Award.
Panelists for Saturday’s portion of the conference included, in order of appearance:
- Laura Corio, MD: Board Certified OB/GYN, Attending Physical at Mt. Sinai Medical Center, and author of The Change Before the Change
- Hon. Marina Corodemus, JSC, retired: Director of Alternative Dispute Resolutions at Corodemus & Corodemus LLC
- Lori Stokes: Co-Anchor, Eyewitness News “This Morning” and “Today at Noon” on WABC-TV (New York)
- Ernestine Bradley, Ph.D.: Professor of Comparative Literature, New School University and author of The Way Home
- Elena Chambous, CFP: Financial Advisor, Head of the Matrimonial Assistance Program at Morristown Financial Group LLP.
The conference moderator was Diana Pouletsos Miller, Associate Producer for CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360”.
Dr. Laura Corio opened the panel with a discussion of the changes and symptoms associated with perimenopause, which is the phase in which a woman’s body begins to transition into menopause. She also provided an overview of how women might better navigate this biological stage in their lives as it impacts the reproductive years, as well as both their physical and sexual lives. Pointing out that “female bodies have always been associated with cycles,” Corio underscored that “We have to learn to feel good about ourselves” in every stage of our lives.
Marina Corodemus outlined the great strides made by women in the legal field and in the defense of women’s rights under the law. She specifically discussed advances in prosecution of domestic violence cases and in victim protection. “Not so long ago, the attitudes towards women and their independence and their right not to be abused were totally unheard of,” Corodemus pointed out. “I truly believe that one of the reasons that a lot of these issues have come about is because of women in the law.” However, she also noted that much progress still needs to be made in this area.
“I have always believed in change and that change is good,” asserted Lori Stokes. In her remarks, she highlighted some key turning points in her career and life, and shared with the audience how she transformed these changes – which oftentimes seemed devastating – into positive results. For example, as an African American woman, she faced particular barriers to career advancement. In her first broadcast news position, “I could never somehow break through this thing that was unspoken.” But despite these challenges, Stokes always converted the situation into something not only positive, but better than before.
Ernestine Bradley discussed the impact of cultural change and personal change. Tying into the Greek immigrant experience, she described the sense of dislocation felt by immigrant groups as well as the struggle to preserve the cultural heritage from the “old country” while integrating into the new country. Emphasizing that this is ultimately a positive dynamic, Bradley pointed out that “this country is so rich and is constantly being enriched by people who see their hopes and aspirations in this country” when they immigrate. On a broader level, women have been agents for change in large part due to their traditionally less dominant position in the social sphere and the corresponding need to fight for their rights and for their advancement. “Women know how to fight… Now it’s really the emancipation of the men that needs to happen,” asserted Bradley.
Concluding the panelist presentations, Elena Chambous stated that most people eventually would be affected by the four “Ds”: death, disaster, disability or divorce. She urged women to be more knowledgeable about their financial situation, and to better protect their assets in case of adversity. Her recommendations ranged from preparing wills, to securing current assets, to obtaining life insurance. Chambous’ overriding pieces of advice were that “we need to get more proactive,” that we need to be fully prepared for the unexpected, and that “we really need to be more conscious of our assets.”
A question and answer session provided the audience with the opportunity to interact directly with these expert panelists and gain additional insights on these various topics related to change.
Keynote Address and Aristeon Award
Opening the luncheon that followed the panel discussion, HAWC President Dora Hancock introduced the keynote speaker Ambassador Alexandros Mallias. In his remarks, Ambassador Mallias pointed out that a number of key government positions in Greece are held by women, including Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyianni, President of the Parliament Anna Benaki, as well as Consuls General Catherine Boura (New York) and Aliki Hadji (Chicago). The more dynamic role of women in Greek society is in part due to a change in the socio-economic and political transformation of Greece in recent decades.
“Greece has changed and what has made us change is the fact that we are members of the European Union,” said the ambassador, highlighting that Greece is the most modern, prosperous, stable and inclusive society in southeastern Europe. “We are where all the others in the Balkans, in our neighborhood, want to come.”
Following Ambassador Mallias’ comments, Sava presented the Aristeon Award to Dr. Maria Theodoulou for her work in breast cancer research and treatment, which has greatly advanced prospects for women diagnosed with cancer and their families. The Aristeon Award is given annually by HAWC to a woman who has made an extraordinary contribution to the ideals of Hellenism in her professional and personal life, and has made a significant contribution to society.
“I hope that some day, we will be able to talk about this disease as something of the past,” said Theodoulou in her award acceptance remarks. Theodoulou’s clinical interests reach beyond chemotherapy and biological therapy in the treatment of breast cancer, and extend to further understanding the psychosocial profiles of the patients and families diagnosed, surviving and living with breast cancer.
The conference activities concluded with the annual business meeting and elections of a new HAWC Board of Directors, followed by a post-conference dinner at Kellari Taverna.
HAWC Announces New Board of Directors for 2007-2008
NEW YORK, NY – The Hellenic American Women’s Council (HAWC) is pleased to announce its new Board of Directors for 2007-2008. Officers were elected at HAWC’s Thirteenth Annual Conference on October 14, 2006 at the New York Hilton, and will officially assume their roles on January 1, 2007.
Newly elected HAWC officers are:
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
President – Maria A. Stamoulas
First Vice President – Elaine Pouletsos Miller
Second Vice President – Alice Halkias
Treasurer – Maria Nicolaou
Secretary – Daphne Papamichael
Assistant Secretary – Elizabeth Bartz
COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONS
Communications/Marketing – Chrysoula Economopoulos
Educational/Cultural – Eva Poneros
Financial Development – Dorothea Vouyiouklis
Youth Affairs – Diana Pouletsos Miller
REGIONAL DIRECTORS
Capital Region – Maria Papathanassiou
Tri-State Region – Stacey Sava
As new president of HAWC, Maria Stamoulas stated, “I am looking forward to working with all the wonderful, talented women who comprise the Board of Directors and our membership. HAWC is a truly unique organization that promotes Hellenic American Women to achieve their potential and showcases their many accomplishments. With the help of our members and friends, we hope to make an even greater impact in our communities and on the national level.”
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