WASHINGTON, DC, August 12, 2022 – Some of the most prominent current and former U.S. government officials, business leaders and other influential opinion leaders met with Greek-American students from across the country through the 7th Annual Heritage America Program August 9-11. This annual program is hosted by the National Hellenic Society (NHS) and Manatos & Manatos.

These esteemed speakers shared with students, in intimate virtual discussions, their family’s immigration experience and how Hellenic and Orthodox principles and ideals helped them achieve success.

Through this unique experience, these students better understand and appreciate that the amalgam of Greek and American culture and heritage produces far more success than either culture or heritage freestanding.  Greek immigrants ranked last among American nationalities in education and income.  Yet their children, in just one generation, leapt to the top rankings in both of these categories.  Furthermore, they accomplished this in the country that led the world in education and income.

This allows Heritage America students to identify which parts of their Greek culture and heritage are of greatest value.  Such knowledge better enables them to preserve these precious gifts of heritage for their own benefit, for the benefit of their progeny and for the benefit of our greater national community.

Speakers in the 2022 Heritage America Program included:

Business Leaders

• Principal, Metropoulos & Co., C. Dean Metropoulos
• Founder, Chairman, Calamos Investments and Chairman, National Hellenic Museum John Calamos
• Co-Founder and Managing Partner, KPS Capital Partners, LP, Michael Psaros
• Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board, Concordia, Nicholas Logothetis
• President and CEO, ECOS, Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks
• Co-Founders, Georgetown Cupcake Katherine Kallinis Berman and Sophie Kallinis LaMontagne

Government

• First Director of National Intelligence and former Deputy Secretary of State Ambassador John Negroponte
• Second-longest Serving CIA Director George Tenet

• Congressman Gus Bilirakis
• Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis
• Congressman Chris Pappas
• Congressman John Sarbanes
• Congresswoman Dina Titus
• Chief of Staff to Congressman Gus Bilirakis Liz Hittos

• Commanding General of the US Army Forces Command, 4 Star General Andrew Poppas
• US Ambassador to Greece George Tsunis
• Former Deputy Council to the President and current DC Circuit Court Judge, The Honorable Gregory Katsas
• Former Clinton White House Chief of Staff John Podesta
• Former Trump White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus
• Former Under Secretary of State (under Secretary Pompeo) Brian Bulatao
• Former White House Chief Technology Officer and Managing Director, Scale AI, Michael Kratsios

• First female Lieutenant Governor of California Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis,
• Former Governor of Massachusetts Michael Dukakis
• Former Mayor of San Francisco Art Agnos

• Partner, K&L Gates, Manny Rouvelas
• Head of Federal Affairs, Block, Tom Manatos
• Vice Chancellor for Government & Community Relations, UCLA, Jennifer Poulakidas

Greek Orthodox Church, Greece, Cyprus and NHS Leadership

• Greek Orthodox Archbishop of America, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros [video]
• Embassy of Greece Deputy Chief of Mission Theodoros Bizakis
• Embassy of Cyprus Deputy Chief of Mission Maria Savvidou-Panayiotou

• Chairman, National Hellenic Society (NHS) Drake Behrakis
• Executive Director, National Hellenic Society (NHS)  Art Dimopoulos
• Founder, Heritage America Andy Manatos
• NHS Board Member and Co-Founder, Heritage America Mike Manatos

Media

• Chief White House Correspondent, New York Times Peter Baker
• Chief Washington Correspondent, Fox News Mike Emanuel
• President, NowThis, Athan Stephanopoulos
• Former Fox 5 News DC Anchor, President & CEO, Laura Evans Media Laura Evans Manatos