Teaching Staff
Argiro Kourouniotis – Academic Director
Argiro comes to us with a deep first hand knowledge of both Canadian and Greek society- having been born and raised for part of her childhood in Canada. She also lived in Greece for her later youth. She has taught in Edmonton’s Greek schools for many years, including now that she has returned with her family to live in Canada. Holding two Bachelor’s degrees and a Master’s degree in her field, she also has over 20 years of teaching experience and is highly proficient in second language learning and elementary education.
Lavredia Ntitsou – Assistant Academic Director
Lavredia holds a degree in Greek Philology and a Master’s in Teaching Modern Greek as a Foreign / Second Language, as well as extensive experience in teaching, creating books and interactive digital lessons in this field. She always attempts to keep current with the latest achievements in the methodology and technology of teaching Greek as a foreign language and is am able to adjust those tools to fit specific needs of my students. She currently also teaches ancient Greek to people who are interested in learning about the ancient Greek culture or the New Testament.
Fotini Kavadas – Program Administrator
Fotini is a pediatrician with a subspecialty in the area of allergies, asthma and immunodeficiency. Although born and raised in Alberta, learning Greek was of paramount importance to her and she taught Greek while an undergrad student for 6 years. She then moved to Toronto for further studies but returned to Edmonton and led the Hellenic Heritage Language School for 4 years. She is now both coordinating the development of this new venture as well as teaching beginner adults.
Senior Leadership Team
| Title | Bio |
|---|---|
| Katerina Liakou | Katerina has post secondary education in marketing, a background in social work from Greece and is a newcomer to Canada with over four years of experience teaching Greek as a second language both in Edmonton and Red Deer. |
| Efigenia Kouremenou | Efigenia is an Alberta Education Certified Teacher. In the past, she has taught Greek school and currently teaches elementary in Spruce Grove and will be leading our Greek “Moms and Tots” group. |
| Konstantinos Gkiortos | Kostas has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Greece and has taught adults Greek as a second language for three years. His success was clearly seen in the substantial progress of his students under his instruction. |
| Maria Zaphiropoulou | Maria is a Greek-Swedish addition to Edmonton with excellent language skills and two years experience teaching Level 1. She has a Masters degree in Business and Economics from Stockholm University and will be supporting us with the e- learning platforms we will be using. |
| Pantelis Neofotis | Pantelis is an IT professional and a Greek Canadian from Toronto with a strong musical talent with sole purpose to reignite the enthusiasm for Greek musical culture in our children. |
| Evelina Koutsopoulou | Evelina is a second year student at the University of Alberta, a successful feat after coming to Canada from Greece with her family only a few years ago. She has past experience teaching Greek as a second language to children and is passionate about experiential lessons that incorporate all learner types. |
| Panagiota Psarra | Panagiota is a newcomer to Canada with a degree in Business Administration from the Hellenic Open University. She is a welcome new addition to our team and eager to make connections with our youngsters. |
| Eleni Varelas | Eleni was born and raised in Yellowknife. However, she then spent 7 years living in Greece teaching English as a Second Language. She is now a speech language pathologist and has two years of experience teaching Greek as a second language here in Edmonton. |
| Dimitra Karagouni | Dimitra is a Kindergarten instructor, with 7 years teaching for a private school in Greece. We are excited to have her working with our children here in Canada for the first time. |
| Marie Fe Turiano |
We would like to welcome our new educational assistant! With over 10 years of experience working with children in Greece, Ms. Turiano brings diversity, and full fluency in speaking and writing Greek to our students.
|
| Anita Gumeni | Anita comes to the Hellenic Academia as a newcomer to Canada. She studied economics at the University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki and has a Doctorate in Sustainable Development. Prior to arriving in Canada she was a university lecturer for 7 years! |