Directorate General

Having been raised in a family environment where politics have always been in the center of interest, Maria felt, in a rather early age, that she had to engage herself in this particular social sector. So, she studied Political Science at the University of Crete (UoC) and “European Public Policy” at the University College of London (UCL).

In the next period, she expects her Master’s Degree from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in “Journalism and Communication”.
The certification she received from Harvard Kennedy School in “Public Narrative: Leadership, Storytelling and Action” gave her the opportunity to study the relationship between modern leadership and public action.

In 2017, she was appointed as Head of the European Affairs of Hellenic Association of Political Scientists. HAPSc is in Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). She has been in charge of organizing all over Greece simulations of regional and municipal councils operation, along with event planning and working on European projects. What challenges her is the difficulty to convince other people to take part in public affairs, communicating through dialogue and democratic procedures. In 2020, Maria was appointed as General Director of HAPSc.

At the time being, she has been working as a special advisor to a Greek MEP (Member of European Parliament) monitoring and briefing for the committees INTA (International Trade) and ENVI (Environment, Public Health and Food Safety) as well as advising on European matters and lobbying.

Maria strongly believes that mentoring each other empowers people to knowledge, followed by self-criticism, self-improvement and public action.

Elisavet Moundroulea is a graduate of the Department of Economics at the University of Piraeus. She works as a Transfer Pricing Consultant in the International Tax and Transactions Services department at EY.
In January 2019, she was elected for the first time to the position of Central Treasurer of the Hellenic Association of Political Scientists. For the period October 2017 – January 2019, she undertook the Director’s position of the President’s Office of HAPSc. She has been a member of the Association since May 2017. She is a researcher at the Laboratory of Economics and Health Management (LabHEM) of the University of Piraeus since September 2017.
She was distinguished as the Best Executive for the year of 2018 as well as for the month of October of 2017 for her action and contribution to the work of HAPSc.
She speaks English (C2) and German (B2). In addition, she is active in various volunteer groups and has participated in organizing committees of conferences and events. Her interests include among others issues of economics, economic analysis, entrepreneurship and volunteering.

Alkinoos Emmanouil-Kalos holds a Bachelor degree in International and European Economics Studies from the Athens University of Economics and Business, and a Master’s degree in Political Economy from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He first joined the Hellenic Association of Political Scientists as an intern back in 2018, and since then he has been an active member of the Association. He has contributed in the organization of numerous of HAPSc activities, from scientific events and seminars to the organizing committee of the POLITEIA International Conference and the Association’s presence in the Geneva Peace Week. Since late 2019 he works at HAPSc as an administration officer. Since 2021 he is Head of the Office of Internal Procedures, as well as the Head of the HAPSc Committee on Political Economy. He is also an associate of the Laboratory of Health Economics and Management of the University of Piraeus. His academic interests focus on macroeconomic growth regimes and functional income distribution, as well as on comparative political economy.

Εva Karamichail is from the Greek island of Lesvos. She is a second-year master’s student at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research of Uppsala University. Her academic interest focuses on the role of civil society in conflict resolution processes. Actively engaged in HAPSc she is; board-secretary of HAPSc Youth, Communications Manager of the Team of European Affairs and responsible for writing and submitting statements to the Economic and Social Council of the UN. Upon her graduation from the International School of Athens, where she completed the International Baccalaureate Diploma holding a scholarship, she pursued her undergraduate studies in International Relations, International Organizations, Policy and Governance in the Netherlands and Estonia. She speaks English and German. Parallel to her studies she has participated in a series of volunteering actions and programs offered by organizations, such as AISEC and Amnesty International, in Italy, the Netherlands and Greece. She enjoys travelling, exercising, dancing and listening to music.

Souzana Ch. Chatzivasileiou was born and raised in Giannitsa, Pella. She studied Political Science at the Democritus University of Thrace and holds a postgraduate degree in “Economics and Health Management” from the University of Piraeus. She completed a six-month specialization in “International Womens Health and Human Rights” at Stanford University.

She has worked at the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs and at the European Public Law Organization. She is a researcher at the Laboratory of Economics and Health Management of the University of Piraeus.

She is a member of the Hellenic Association of Political Scientists since 2017, while in 2018 she took over the duties of the Head of the Northern Sector of EOPE. Since 2020 she is the Manager of Communication & Press Office of the Organization.

Zoi Mantzouri was born in Ioannina and is a graduate of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration of the Kapodistrian University of Athens. She has completed her postgraduate studies in the field of Communication at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Since September 2013, she has been active in the Hellenic Organization of Political Scientists (EOPE) and has been the vice-president of the youth department (EONEPE). She has also participated in Greek-Turkish relations programs in collaboration with the University of Istanbul Kadir Has Universitesi. Since September 2019, she is the vice-chairman of the primary education committee of the Municipality of Ioannina and is active in youth actions as well as actions related to the integration of refugees in Greek society

She has been working for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) since December 2019 until today in the HELIOS an integration project as a Facilitator Site -Outreach. Since 2017 she has worked in a family business as she has completed her internship in the parliamentary office of Ioannis Stefos in the summer of 2017.She also speaks two languages, English and German.

Ilektra Simitsi holds a PhD in European Law with specialization in European Governance and the Open Method of Coordination from the Law School of the Democritus University of Thrace. She holds a degree from the Department of Political Science and Public Administration of the Kapodistrian University of Athens, a Master’s degree in European Law from the Law School of Democritus University and a Master’s degree in Public Administration and Human Development from the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance – UNU Merit. Her research interests include European Integration, Rule of Law, Human Rights, Migration and Education, Governance and Social Policy and are accompanied by her work experience in the design, management and implementation of projects funded by the European Union. During the last years she has been working as an implementation and development manager of European funded projects, while since 2020 she is a Visiting Researcher at post-doctoral level at the University of Peloponnese, in the Department of Political Science and International Relations. She speaks English and and has a good knowledge of French. Apart from her work and research activities, she loves nature, mountains and the sea, and is involved in mountaineering and climbing.