Teaching Staff
We are a fully independent educational institution, ensuring that the most gifted instructors are working in an environment that protects and recognizes their talents so that our students are able to achieve the best outcomes possible.
Our instructors provide both online and in-person lessons, allowing us to access the best talent in Greek language education.
Dr. Fotini Kavadas – Program Director
Fotini is a pediatrician with a subspecialty in the area of allergy and immunology. 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. In 2019, she was one of the founding members of the Hellenic Academia as well as a teacher of various classes and she continues to coordinate the programming for our students to be a well balanced experience between language and culture. Fotini holds an Ellinomatheia certificate in Γ2 which is the highest attainable level.
Instructional Team
| Title | Bio |
|---|---|
| Dr. Maria Lychnaki | Dr. Maria Lychnaki is the former Consul of Educational Affairs at the Consulate General of Greece in Toronto. She brings with her a background of several University degrees in the field of education, fluency in 5 languages and a PhD in Psychology and Educational Sciences |
| Efigenia Kouremenou | Efigenia is an Alberta Education Certified Teacher and is born and raised in Alberta with an excellent grasp of the Greek language and strategies in maintaining it within our broader Canadian culture. She has 3 children, all admirably fluent in Greek! In the past, she has taught Greek school and currently teaches elementary in Spruce Grove with over 15 years of experience. She has led our parent and tot group in the past and now has the key role of overseeing the Greek 15/25/35 program to ensure we are following the Alberta curriculum and that our teachers are upholding a high standard of excellence. Her voice and guidance are an invaluable resource for our team! |
| Anna Asteriou | Anna is a talented instructor from Greece with a degree in elementary education from Patras, Greece. She is a very talented early years instructor, bringing play and hand-on learning to the classroom with excellent results. Anna brings crafts, songs and technology to the classroom to create an enjoyable experience for our younger learners, motivating them to continue in their journery in the upper grades. |
| Efsevia Spantidaki | Efsevia has a Bachelor in Primary Education from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and a Masters in Educational Psychology from the Neapolis University in Cyprus. She has been an instructor at the Metamorphosis Greek Orthodox School in Toronto and has been involved in Greek language research through Simon Fraser prior to that. For the last several years, she has successfully taught our adults and continues to do this with a passion for intregrating cultural elements into her lessons. |
| Isidora Skoulida | Isidora is a newcomer to Canada, raising 3 young children as passionate Greek-Canadians. She has a background in mid-wifery. While in Greece, she was part of professional level Greek folk dance groups and has a passion for dancing and Greek music. We are fortunate to have her teaching Greek dancing to our in-person students! Every lesson is full of smiles of accomplishment! |
| Eleni Tsalavouta | Eleni is a recent university graduate who grew up in Greece and moved to Canada in her teen years. She loves working with children and hopes to follow a career in education. Currently, she is teaching our in-person beginner students and brings a fantastic grasp of technology to the classroom! |
| Anatoli Kosma | Anatoli has many years of experience teaching Greek as a second language and is based in Toronto but has grown up in Greece where she received her primary and secondary education. Anatoli makes great connections with our teen and pre-teens and is involved in teaching some of our credit classes online. |
| 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 and has many years of experience with our little students at the Hellenic Academia. |
| Elena Kreouzi | Elena joins us in 2024/25 with a vast 20 year teaching experience. She is a French instructor in Winnipeg full time but also has taught in Greek schools in Winnipeg and Toronto, including Metamorphosis. Prior to arriving in Canada, she was a teacher in Greece and received her Bachelor of Education from Ioannina University. Upon immigrating to Canada, she pursued further education through and Effective Teaching Certificate from York University as well as an After-Degree through the University of Winnipeg. Kyria Kreouzi is teaching one of our credit classes online as well as our adults. |
| Sofia Giannoglou | Sofia is one of our new adult instructors and comes to us as a PhD candidate in the area of Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Learning Disabilities through the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She is currently living in Canada but while in Greece, was engaged in assessing children with learning disabilities as well as providing intervention strategies. She began her post-graduate studies through completion of a BA in philosophy, pedagogy and psychology in Ioannina. |