WASHINGTON, DC –The Hellenic American Women’s Council (HAWC) is hosting a special Bicentennial Celebration to honor four extraordinary Greek Heroines, June 26-28, 2021 in Spetses, Greece. HAWC joins “Greece 2021” in celebrating our Greek identity and cultural heritage as we commemorate the 200 years since the Greek Revolution of 1821 that established Greece as an independent nation.
HAWC is inviting the Hellenic women of diaspora and Greece and PhilHellenes to come join in this once-in-a-lifetime event that will take place at the renowned Anargyrios & Korgialenios Foundation Estate and also Bouboulina’s House. Advance registrations are being taken through April. HAWC will be honoring women who defied the prescribed roles for women in their century and emerged as powerful heroines and role models for all of us: Bouboulina (19th century), Manto Mavrogenous (19th century), Lady of Ro (20th century) and Stella Kokolis (21st century). Highlights of the program will include:
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The Hellenic American Women’s Council will hold its 25th Annual Conference on November 2 & 3, 2018, in Washington, DC. At a time when bold and responsible leadership is key to addressing national and global challenges, the conference will focus on what makes leaders effect a positive difference to the world. HAWC will also honor one of its own inspiring members, the distinguished journalist and communications professional Thalia Assuras, with the Aristeon Award. Ms. Assuras represents the best of the Hellenic spirit: hard work coupled with passion, resilience with flexibility, grit with humanity.
As the President of Assuras Communications LLC, Thalia Assuras is a nationally recognized communications professional in media, presentation and speech training; executive coaching; crisis communications; and public relations. Drawing on more than 25 years of journalistic experience as an anchor, correspondent and writer with national broadcast networks, she appears as a broadcast commentator, analyst, moderator and master of ceremonies for a variety of functions and advises newcomers on communications careers. An award-winning national television news anchor and correspondent for ABC, CBS, Bloomberg, CTV and Global CanWest in the U.S. and Canada, Ms. Assuras has reported on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the Kosovo refugee crisis, natural disasters, national and international politics and elections, US presidential summits, and Olympic Games. She has interviewed Presidents, Cabinet secretaries, members of Congress, leaders of foreign nations, corporate executives, scientists, authors and celebrities, among others.She has lectured on journalism and media at American University, George Washington University, and the University of Western Ontario. She is a member of the advisory boards of the Center for National Policy and the Next Generation Initiative. Ms. Assuras will be honored with the Aristeon Award and will deliver the keynote speech on Saturday, November 3, at a Luncheon, at the Capital Hilton. That morning, there will be a panel discussion titled “Leaders Who Make A Difference”, moderated by the editor of Washington Monthly magazine Paul Glastris. The presenters, Former Assistant Secretary of the U.S. State Department Barbara Pope, Former Director of the US Agency for International Development Andrew Natsios and Former Official of theEnvironmental Protection Agency Margot (Tsirigotis) Oge, will explore the type of leaders who make a positive difference to the world, from their personal experiences. Please find CVs and pictures of the honoree and panel participants below and address any press requests to Eleni Miller at [email protected] or 202 836-2279 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 18, 2010
Contact: Chrysoula Economopoulos ChrysoulaE at hawcnet.org Link for Conference Photographs Living Your Passion is the Focus of HAWC’s Annual Conference Renowned Scientist Joan Vernikos, formerly of NASA, receives Aristeon Award Keynote Address Delivered by Acclaimed Chef Michael Psilakis WASHINGTON, DC – On November 13, 2010, the Hellenic American Women’s Council (HAWC) hosted its 17th Annual Conference: “Loving your Life – Living your Passion” at the St. Regis Hotel. Attendees heard first-hand from award-winning chef and author of How to Roast a Lamb Michael Psilakis (keynote address), Georgetown Cupcake owners Katherine Kallinis and Sophie LaMontagne, and Otrera CEO Elle Sakellis how they launched successful careers and businesses doing what they love most. Proceedings were moderated by FOX 5 News (Washington, D.C.) co-anchor Laura Evans. Joan Vernikos, Ph.D., former Director of Life Sciences at NASA, was presented with this year’s Aristeon Award for her outstanding professional and personal accomplishments by HAWC President and conference chair Maria Stamoulas. “I appreciate this deeply, this honor and this unique recognition of my passion,” said Vernikos. She also reflected on the role of passion in creating energy for many aspects of life: “In order to lead a fulfilling life, you need to generate energy. What is energy? Actually, energy comes from passion. The more passion, the more energy you have; the more desire you have; the better you appreciate the people around you and yourself, and everything that happens – from the sunset you watch, to the person next to you, to the path you take whatever that happens to be.” Vernikos is the founder and president of Thirdage LLC, specializing in promoting wellness in seniors by applying the lessons learned from her scientific research. She previously served as Director of NASA’s Life Sciences Division, where she pioneered gravity-related research on the aging effects of spaceflight on the human body. For this work and her leadership in the space sciences, she has received numerous awards including the Strughold as well as the Leverett Awards from the Aerospace Medical Association, the Jeffries Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Women in Aerospace. Well-known throughout the scientific community, Dr. Vernikos has published over 200 scientific papers and reviews and has served on editorial boards of scientific journals. The Aristeon Award is presented annually by HAWC to an “Aristi” 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. Morning Session Proceedings: Evans opened Saturday morning’s panel describing the path she took in pursuing her dream of delivering the news on television. Unlike some of the other speakers who discovered their passion later in life, Evans knew in seventh grade that she wanted to be a news reporter. She worked tirelessly to achieve that objective and eventually found herself in Washington, DC as a co-anchor of Fox 5 News. As her career progressed, her dream of being a successful journalist evolved to include having a family of her own. “I realized that for me, living my dream also meant having balance in my life,” Evans said. The Kallinis sisters of Georgetown Cupcake discussed how growing up in a Greek household had a profound influence not only on their love of food and baking, in particular, but also on their willingness to take risks. Under their grandmother’s watchful eye, the Kallinis sisters honed their cooking and baking skills. From their grandfather, who emigrated from Greece to find a better life, they learned that to achieve your dreams you sometimes need to take a risk. Following his example, the Kallinis sisters left behind their corporate jobs to open their bakery on Valentine’s Day 2008. Making a lot of money was not the Kallinis sister’s objective. Rather, they opened Georgetown Cupcake because they wanted to do something together that they really loved and with which they hoped they could make a living. Two and a half years later their business is thriving with over 200 employees and two stores. They are also in the second season of shooting their “DC Cupcakes” television series on TLC and have received various other accolades for their business. According to Kallinis and LaMontagne, “We feel we have really lucked out that we are living our passion,” but also advised, “You can do what you love, but you still have to work hard.” Sakellis identified September 11, 2001 as the pivotal point that led her to a new path in life as CEO of Otrera, a private label jewelry business. After narrowly escaping the collapse of the Twin Towers, she entered a period of self-reflection that included jewelry-making as a cathartic exercise. Through a combination of talent, hard work and the ability to seize the unexpected opportunities that presented themselves, Sakellis launched Otrera and began producing private label jewelry for companies such as Victoria’s Secret. Sakellis expanded her business and made a name for her company by designing and producing her signature evil eye scarf which has been worn by celebrities such as Alicia Keys and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Sakellis continues to evolve her dream through her consulting business that helps designers determine how they can produce their products. “The universe gives you your path,” said Sakellis, and also provided a tip to others pursuing their dreams: “The most important thing for me is always to be talking about what you’re doing.” Luncheon Keynote and Aristeon Award: Following the morning session, keynote speaker Michael Psilakis discussed the road he followed to achieve his dream of being a highly accomplished chef. Although he was an accounting major in college and considered attending law school, a job in a restaurant showed him that food was his real passion. Psilakis stumbled into his current career one evening when the chef at the restaurant he owned did not show up for work. Out of necessity, he jumped into the kitchen and realized “it was home.” He spoke to the audience about how important it was to pass on the essence of his Greek culture through his food, and encouraged conference attendees to use their particular talents, whatever they might be, to do likewise. “I wanted to show the world that Greek food can, is and should be on the same level [as all other cuisines],” said Psilakis. Regarding the importance of passing on the Hellenic heritage, Psilakis noted, “We have to find ways to continue to perpetuate [our culture]…. We can use our art, our food to instill this same pride in our children that our parents instilled in us.” This year’s conference organizing committee included: Dimitria Antonopoulos, Tina Ayiotis, Chrysoula Economopoulos, Theodora Hancock, Katherine K. Johnson, Ekaterini Malliou, Elaine Miller, Debbie Panagoulias, Vicki Reinhardt, and Sophia Varnasidis. For photographs from HAWC’s 17th Annual Conference, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/55986578@N08/sets/72157625276246743/. For additional information, please contact Chrysoula Economopoulos at [email protected]. General information about HAWC is also available at http://www.hawcnet.org. # # # The Hellenic American Women’s Council is a non-partisan, nationwide network whose mission is to identify and harness the tremendous talents of Hellenic American Women, HAWC encourages awareness of public policy issues and promotes women who wish to play leadership roles in their communities, the nation and their professional fields of endeavor. WASHINGTON, D.C. – On January 27, 2010, the Hellenic American Women’s Council (HAWC) in cooperation with the SAE USA Youth Network hosted “Pursuing a Career in National Security” at the Capital Hilton in Washington. The seminar’s guest speaker, Basil “Bill” Trikas, is the Principal Deputy for Human Resources at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Trikas provided an overview of the CIA’s mission, structure, and work environment. He also overviewed the types of career tracks and skills sought in recruiting agency personnel, and provided tips for job seekers interested in a CIA career.
HAWC Capital Region Director and the evening’s event organizer, Theodora Hancock, welcomed guests on behalf of the two sponsoring organizations. In addition to introducing Trikas, she provided an overview of HAWC’s mission and conveyed wishes from Theodore G. Spyropoulos, the World Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE) coordinator of the USA Region. “We have hosted U.S. and foreign government officials, politicians, ambassadors, scientists, scholars and experts in various fields. We address issues that challenge our minds and preconceptions,” said Hancock of HAWC’s activities, adding also that “HAWC’s unique mission is simple. We raise leaders!” Spyropoulos’ written message to the audience emphasized the importance of careers in national intelligence: “America’s young adults of Hellenic heritage view work in the security field not only as an employment opportunity, but especially as a way to serve the nation and to help keep America safe and peaceful. I salute all the participants and congratulate you for considering opportunities in this nationally important field.” During his presentation, Trikas overviewed the CIA’s mission to protect our nation and ensure the safety of our citizens by “collecting, analyzing and providing intelligence information to our leaders.” Trikas also offered insight into the different career tracks: “We hire a little bit of everything – all ranges of careers. We also hire students out of college through to mid-career professionals,” with basic prerequisites including U.S. citizenship and passing a comprehensive medical, physical, psychological and security screening. Trikas provided advice for graduating students as he outlined “Trikas’s Five Ps,” which includes preparation for an interview, professionalism, presence, persistence and publicity (being cognizant of your public domain information). He also emphasized the importance of foreign language knowledge as the CIA “focus[es] a lot on languages in hiring, and we pay a lot for languages and their maintenance.” The presentation was followed by a question and answer session, and a reception sponsored by HAWC and the SAE USA Youth Network. For additional information about Bill Trikas’s presentation on “Pursuing a Career in National Security,” please contact Chrysoula Economopoulos at [Chrysoula at hawcnet.org]. General information about HAWC is available at http://www.hawcnet.org and the SAE USA Youth Network at http://www.saeusayouth.com. # # # The Hellenic American Women’s Council is a non-partisan, nationwide network whose mission is to identify and harness the tremendous talents of Hellenic American Women, HAWC encourages awareness of public policy issues and promotes women who wish to play leadership roles in their communities, the nation and their professional fields of endeavor. The SAE USA Youth Network’s mission is to promote Hellenism through a network in which young Hellene Americans and Hellenic American organizations can encourage the preservation of our heritage in the diaspora by educating, communicating and collaborating with each other, in order to strengthen ties within our community and with Hellas. |
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