Elina Sinopoulou

Elina studied Mass Media and Communication at the National University of Athens and at Pittsburg State University in Kansas, where she received an M.A. in Communication.
She has worked in publications and electronic media since 1998. In her most recent job she was the Editorial Coordinator of the Greek Edition of National Geographic. Elina joined CYA in 2016.

Theoni Scourta

Theoni Scourta was born in Patras, Greece. She is an art historian with research interest in contemporary art. She received an M.A. from California State University, Los Angeles in Art History and another M.A. in Comparative Literature from the University of Indianapolis. She has taught for more than 25 years both in the US and in Greece. She served as advisor to the head of the Greek EPP-ED delegation to European Parliament in Brussels for 5 years, after which she returned to Athens to head the academic department of AKTO Art & Design College. She joined the CYA administration in spring 2013.

Maria Tsahas

Maria Tshahas was born in Ikaria, Greece but grew up in Northwest Indiana. She received an MS Ed from Indiana University Northwest. She taught in the US before moving back to Greece in 1999 and started working at the University of Indianapolis, Athens Campus as an Admissions Officer and Registrar. She joined CYA in 2014.

Georgia Katsarou

Georgia Katsarou joined CYA in 2006 and is responsible for all library activities. She received her B.S. in Librarianship in 2001 from the Technological Educational Institute of Athens and her M.S. in 2005 from the University of Aberystwyth. In 2015 she was trained on Managing Archival Photographs through distance learning by the Archives Association of British Columbia.

Nina Papathanasopoulou

Nina Papathanasopoulou joined the Classics faculty at College Year in Athens in 2020. She specializes in Greek drama, mythology, and its reception. Her current research explores interpretations of Greek myths by the American dancer and choreographer, Martha Graham, and she is spearheading a new project for the broader public that brings together Classics and Dance. She completed her PhD in Classics at Columbia University in 2013 and her BA in Classics at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in 2003.

From 2013 to 2019 she was Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics at Connecticut College, where she taught Greek, Latin, classics and theater courses and was heavily involved in outreach programming for Classics. Since 2019 she is also the Public Engagement Coordinator for the Society for Classical Studies, where she oversees Classics Everywhere, an initiative that brings the study of classical antiquity to new audiences.

Peggy Myresiotou

Peggy Myresiotou was born in Athens. After studying business administration and travel & tourism, she worked as an accredited travel agent in New York City for 15 years. Returning to Greece in 1991, she served as Human Resources assistant for a U.S. multinational corporation and subsequently as assistant to the managing director of a Greek bank. Ms. Myresiotou joined CYA in November 2003.

Kristallia Sarlani

Kristallia Sarlani studied Law at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Contrary to expectations, she chose the hospitality industry. She first worked as a food server and soon became a café manager and remained within the service industry for years. She later worked as a hotel back office and front office manager at various hotels for 5 years and comprehended the difference between service and hospitality. Kristallia joined CYA in 2020.

Alex Makropoulos

Alex holds a BA in Sociology from the American College of Greece (Deree) and an MA in International Human Recourses from the University of Northampton, UK. Alex has worked with CYA through the years, starting as a part-timer while he was still a student. He has worked for multinationals and at the U.S. Embassy in Athens in various clerical & administrative positions and he has volunteered at the municipality level on educational projects for K-12 students of underprivileged families.

Alex’s current duties at CYA involve emergency communications, safety and security. He is also one of the field study group leaders.

Anthi Papageorgiou

Anthi Papageorgiou studied Mass Media and Communication at the National University of Athens. She worked for several years in polling companies as administrative assistant and as an editor of various news websites.
Anthi joined CYA in 2013 and has worked in various positions of the organization. She is currently assisting the Registrar, and is responsible for student records. Her responsibilities include the creation and update of physical and digital academic records, and the generation of academic timetables, schedules, and reports. She also participates regularly in the field study trips as a group leader.

Υiota Vouzna

Yiota Vouzna studied Photography and Video Arts in Athens. She enjoys a challenge, a trait evident in her print, advertising, web and publishing work which spans 21 years. She lived in London for three years where she worked for asos.com as a Catwalk Video Producer, Stills Photographer, and Image Editor. Yiota cooperates with G Design Studio, an award winning design consultancy based in Athens, specializing in commercial photography. She has been a member of the Choir of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) since 2013.
Yiota joined CYA in 2010 where she works as an assistant librarian and a field study group leader.

Erica Huffman (CYA ’93)

Erica Huffman (CYA ’93) is a native of Portland, OR, and graduated from Whitman College in 1995 with a degree in History. She has traveled to Australia, Fiji, American Samoa, Turkey, throughout Europe and the former USSR and has lived abroad in New Zealand, Guatemala, and Athens. She joined CYA staff in Athens in 1997 and later transferred to the North American Office where she has held several positions. Currently she is Director of Alumni Relations and is responsible for the Class Agent Program, updating and tracking alumni information, the alumni newsletter THE OWL, reaching out to alumni and organizing alumni events.

Vassilis Simopoulos

Vassilis Simopoulos was born and raised in Athens, Greece, but holds dual citizenship in Greece and the United States. He received a BA degree in Communication from the University of Southern California and a Master of Liberal Arts degree in Government from Harvard University. His professional interests focused in various service and non-profit organizations in the public as well as in the private sector when he served in the Hellenic Government first as a Special Advisor to the Secretary-General for Lifelong Learning and afterward as Head of Communications at the General Secretariat for Youth. In 2015 he returned to the private sector where he served as Project Manager for the non-profits Lascaris foundation and HOPEgenesis NPO.

Spiros Kourkoulos

Spiros was born and raised in Corfu, Greece. He holds advanced degrees in Graphic Design and Illustration from Middlesex University and AKTO Art and Design College. Spiros joined CYA as an award-winning digital designer with over 20 years of experience in the field. His many skills include web design, logo creation, advertisement development, and both industrial and fashion design.

Sofia Stavropoulou

Sofia Stavropoulou was born in Greece and studied Painting and Printmaking in Scotland, at the Glasgow School of Art. Sofia coordinates CYA’s social media outlets. As a part of the CYA MediaLab team, she is interested in sharing all the fantastic things that happen at CYA.

Vasso Matrakouka

Vasso Matrakouka was born and raised in Athens. She studied Travel and Tourism Management in the School of Tourism in Anavyssos, Greece. She also holds a B.A. in Human Communication from the University of Indianapolis Athens Campus. After working for several years in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry in Greece and Europe, Vasso joined CYA in 2011 where she is managing the Short Term Programs Department coordinating field study, summer courses as well as faculty led programs.

Vassilis Karavassilis

Vassilis was born in New York, USA, and holds a degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management from the Technological Institute of Thessaloniki. He has experience in the travel and tourism industry working for tour operators and hotels. Before joining CYA in 2015 he worked for Delice Hotel Apartments where he held the position of reservations executive for 10 years.

Evgenia Ghizas

Evgenia Ghizas was born in Germany and grew up in Toronto, Canada where she studied environmental geography. She worked many years in the finance area of a major Canadian bank before returning to Greece in 1991. While in Greece, she worked in finance and her last position before joining CYA in 2015 was Controller and Bursar at the Athens Campus of the University of Indianapolis.

Maria Malliou

Maria Malliou joined the DIKEMES/CYA family in 1995 as an accountant and currently deals with financial affairs. She was born in Stuttgart, Germany, where she lived before her family moved to Athens. Ms. Malliou has a B.A. in Accounting from the Pireaus Technical Institute and an MA in Banking from Hellenic Open University.

Vana Bica

Vana Bika joined CYA in 2001.  She holds a B.A. in Accounting from the Technological Education institute and she also received a BA in Business Administration from the University of Piraeus while working at CYA.

Popi Baloglu

Popi Baloglu supervises the dining room and is responsible for the general maintenance of the CYA apartments. A Greek who was born in Istanbul, Ms. Baloglu also lived in South Africa and the United States. She studied engineering drafting and worked as a draftsman for eight years. She came to Greece and joined CYA in 1988.

Kallia Alexandridi

Makis Kypriotis

Makis Kypriotis spent his teen years between South Africa, Greece, and the U.S. He relocated from New York in 2021 to join CYA. Makis is a certified electrician by trade and a perfectionist by nature.

Popi Triantafyllidou

Popi Triantafyllidou was born in Athens. She received her B.S. in Business Administration specializing in Management and Computer Programming. She joined College Year in Athens / DIKEMES in 2011, with over 20 years of experience in multinational environments.

Nadia Meliniotis

Nadia Meliniotis is in charge of Student Affairs. After completing the German High School in Athens, she attended Wilkes University in Pennsylvania and earned a B.A. in Political Science and International Relations. She received her Master’s Degree at La Verne University (Athens branch) in Counseling Education/Education–Special Emphasis. Mrs. Meliniotis joined CYA in 1989 and deals with students’ welfare, concentrating on the interpersonal, social, cultural, emotional, spiritual, recreational, and health aspects.

Jennifer Holland (CYA ’99)

Jennifer Holland helps students with any personal problems they may encounter. Whether you are having difficulties with roommates, adjustment problems, homesickness, or just want someone to share your excitement with, she is available to discuss personal or sensitive issues in private, and in general to give encouragement and help. Born in New York, Jennifer is a CYA alumna who joined the staff in 1999 and now lives in Athens with her daughter Anais.

Angela Kouvara

Angela Kouvara was born and raised in Athens. After studying Greek Literature in the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, she got her MsC in Cultural Organization Management. She has worked for many years in the Communications Department of several cultural institutions and publication houses. As a part of the Student Affairs Department, Angela is looking forward to sharing with the students her enthusiasm about Greek culture and civilization, as well as helping them get the most out of their stay in Greece!

Alexia Lingaas

Rachael Bittick (CYA Fall ’17)

Rachael Bittick joined the CYA North American team in May 2021. After graduating from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology, she dove head first into exploring Student Affairs within the field of Higher Education. As an enthusiastic and passionate Fall ’17 alumna, she proudly represented CYA as a Campus Representative during our Fall 2019 fair season. She is thrilled to be back in the CYA family and is looking forward to working with students as they prepare to embark on their study abroad adventure!

Cheyenne Paulson (CYA Summer ’15)

Cheyenne Paulson is a proud CYA alumna who joined the CYA team in January 2020 after completing her Master’s degree in International Education from New York University. Within her degree, she focused on study abroad management and she is especially interested in pre-departure preparation, accessibility, and inclusivity within study abroad. She was a student at CYA during Summer 2015 while completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan where she studied Classical Archeology and Art History. Cheyenne has returned to Greece several times since studying abroad, and is excited to share her love of Greece and its culture with future CYA students!

Maria Marakas

Claire Jeantheau

Claire Jeantheau graduated with a Classics and Educational Studies B.A. from Dickinson College in May 2021. That same month, she joined CYA’s North American team following an internship with the office in the spring. She was fortunate to spend time studying and working in Italy, Greece, and Denmark during college, and is especially grateful to CYA for sparking her interest in the full scope of Greek history and culture beyond her classics major.

As Social Media Coordinator, Claire is excited to tell the stories of CYA’s community online, and to highlight the many opportunities students have to experience Greece–from academic programs to virtual internships.

Ariel Kline

Ariel graduated from Gettysburg College in May of 2021 with a major in Anthropology and dual minors in Classics and Public History. She studied abroad with CYA in the Fall of 2019, studying the religion, history and culture of Ancient Greece. Her love of mythology led her to the program and she is endlessly grateful for the opportunities the semester abroad gave her. From climbing Mount Olympus to tasting fresh honey at a monastery on Andros, each day with CYA brought a life changing experience. CYA also introduced her lifelong friends and the most amazing food in the world. She is excited to work as a Campus Relations Representative and share her passion for the CYA program with other students.

Rose Hatem

Rose Hatem graduated from Smith College in 2020, where she studied Greek, Psychology, and Museums. She attended CYA in Spring 2019, where she studied Ancient and Modern Greek, Religion, and Archaeology. She stayed in Pangrati for the summer and interned at the Museum of the City of Athens, taking the time to explore Athens and Greece more deeply with the help and support of CYA staff. Since then, she has served a year-long term as the Community Outreach and Engagement Coordinator for EqualityMaine and now is excited to be back with CYA as a Campus Relations Representative.