Keynote Address

Fireside Chat

What is the Promethean Fire? The Legacy of Professional Values for the Next Generation

Moderator

Konstantine Ouranitsas (Drexel University, 2014) is an Engagement Financial Advisor at Deloitte, LLP and serves as CFO of Philo4Thought Hellenic Mentoring Initiative He is the Chairman and Past President of the National Hellenic Students Association (NHSA) of North America; a Hellenic American Leadership Council 2030 Fellow; New Leaders co-chair for The Hellenic Initiative; Chair of the National Young Adult League (YAL); Parish Council member for the St. Nicholas Shrine (WTC); and Chair of both the Youth and Evzone committees for the annual NY Greek Independence Day Parade In previous years, he was a very active member and community leader in several additional Hellenic Young Professional organizations.

Keynote Honoree

Endy Zemenides, Esq. (JD Georgetown University Law Center, 2000; MA, Theory Practice of Human Rights, University of Essex, 1996; Best MA Student, Deborah Fitzmaurice Prize, 1996; BA, Political Science, DePaul University, 1995) is currently Board Member for the Chicago Council on Global Affairs (since 2022); Board Trustee the College Year in Athens initiative (since 2018); Director of Spring Bank (since 2015); Executive Director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council (since 2012) previous years, he served as Counsel for Johnston & Greene (2010-2012); Senior Advisor for the Alexi for Illinois campaign (2006-2010); Partner at Acosta, Kruse & Zemenides (2002-2009); Associate for Altheimer & Gray (2000-2002); Research Associate for the National Strategy Forum (1996-1997); a Harrison Institute Public Policy Clinic Fellow ; and Research Assistant for Dr. David Barnum.

Honors & Accolades

Endy’s professional and philanthropic accolades include:

• 2022: appointment as Commander of the Order of the Phoenix, issued by PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis of the Hellenic Republic for excelling in public administration and raising Greece's overall international prestige;

• 2015 Lawrence M Adelman Memorial Award, issued by the American Jewish Committee.

His Academic accolades include:

• Emerging Leaders Class of 2015;

• Golden Key National Honors Society;

• 2010 Greek America Foundation 40-Under-40;

• Pi Sigma Alpha;

• Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities;

• 1993-4 Chaddick Scholar for dedication to community service;

• 1994-5 National Security Education Program Scholarship

We are very honored to add him to our list of distinguished Philo4Thought Keynote Honorees today!

Discussion Topic

Promethean Fire – Mentoring Across the Disciplines

Moderator

Alexandra Liotopoulos (M.B .A ., Strategic Management, St. John’s Univ. Tobin College of Business B A (2023); Political Science and Economics with a minor in Business and Liberal Arts Honors, CUNY Queens College (2021)) is Philo4Thought’s Programming Director, Graduate Research Assistant at St John’s University’s Career Center. Prior, she served as President of the CUNY Queens College Ikaros Hellenic Orthodox Students Association , completed Philo4Thought’s competitive Business Internship with a project that focused on nonprofit research, development and leadership She is a staunch advocate of her peers and dedicates a great deal of time community leadership and the general advancement of the Greek diaspora Her specialties include strategic management, administrative coordination, large- and small-scale event coordination, community outreach, policy development and compliance, and related research in these areas

Panelists

Dr. Kelly Downing (Ph.D ., Literacy, St John’s Univ. School of Education, 2023; M Ed , College of St Rose 2017; M A , Music/Jazz Voice, Manhattan School of Music 2000) is CEO & Executive Director of Sound Business Inc Dr Downing also founded Mentoring Kings, a hybrid critical mentoring and literacy intervention initiative geared toward male high school students of color (a vision based on his doctoral dissertation); Mentoring Kings literacy initiative based on the Hochman Method coupled with the fundamental principles of unity, self-determination, collective work & responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith Dr Downing is a former NYC Teaching Fellow with 20+ years of experience in educational instruction and administration, serving the NYC DOE in various capacities, including the positions of Parent Coordinator, Literacy Coach and English teacher at A Philip Randolph Campus High School He also served as Senior Faculty & Partnership Specialist at The Writing Revolution, training teachers, administrators and district leaders (nationally and internationally) in the Hochman Method.

Stacey Varghese (B A English/Government & Politics, St John’s Univ 1999) accepted an internship at the White House Press Office directly after graduation then made her way to Wall Street as a financial analyst for the CFO of Bear Stearns. In 2005, she returned to her SJU family to lead the Loughlin Society and soon became a gift officer She is currently the Director of Leadership Annual Giving and Engagement, where she continues to cultivate and steward relations with SJU alumni and donors through various outreach initiatives. More recently, in the critical months of the pandemic, More recently, Stacey established the first-ever Professional Development W ebinar Series that gives St John’s alumni unique opportunities for professional enrichment and empowerment in their respective fields

Dr. George Kourlas (PharmD, Arnold and Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy at Long Island University, 2004) is a Board Certified Nuclear Pharmacist (BNCP) in the division of Molecular Imaging and Therapy Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. In addition to his primary clinical work, George also serves as an Adjunct Professor for the Nuclear Technology program at Molloy University, where he teaches the specialized course on radiopharmaceutical chemistry

Discussion Topic

Learning the Ropes in Entrepreneurial Startups & Ventures

Moderator

Pierratos (Class of 2023, Double Major, Government & Politics and Homeland Security; Legal Studies Minor; Honors Student, St John’s University; Winner 2023 Student Leadership Award) is Philo4Thought’s Board Secretary and Brand Ambassador She is the descending President of SJU’s Hellenic Society (2021-3), she founded a scholarship initiative for Hellenic Students on campus. She is Vice President of the SJU Motor Enthusiast Organization, a member of the Hellenic Lawyers Association (HLA), National Hellenic Student Association (NHSA), of Athena and volunteers for Archangel Michael Church Anna has been recognized many times over for her academic and philanthropic efforts, most recently SJU Honors Program , NHSA , Philo4Thought and the NYS Attorney General.

Panelists

Brian Corcodilos (B .S . Architecture, Philadelphia University (2013); Engineering Studies, Brookdale Community College (2006-08)) is Founding CEO of the awardwinning DesignBlendz, recognized by the Philadelphia Inquirer’s 2018 Philly 100 and 3rd Fastest in 2019, as a one-stop shop for any design-build project DesignBlendz started out as a blog that focused on collaborating different principles of design, but what started out as a fun escape from school work with his friends, soon began picking up traction from local firms After graduation, Brian had a vision and jumped head first into building his startup from home, which blossomed to a great success Brian also has a passion for teaching and loves to help others on the path to success through lectures and 1-on-1 mentoring. Among other things, he runs The New How Podcast, featuring key members in the real estate industry who built their business around the use of novel technology In 2020, Brian’s charitable mentoring work was recognized by the NYC Mayor’s Office

Marianthi Vlachos (BA, Art History, Louisiana State University, 2013) is Founder of Hellenic Aesthetic, a Greek-American jewelry designer, retail entrepreneur, and member of THI’s Executive New Leaders Committee In 2022, she was the recipient of of Greek America Foundation’s 40-Under-40 Awards Hellenic Aesthetic, which launched as an e-shop in 2017 and as a formal “brick and mortar” shop in 2021, is the premiere platform for Greek brands around the world Most recently, Marianthi cofounded Rise With Apollo, a specialty coffee company, and serves as Creative Director for this new venture

Anthony Orisses (BA, Business Marketing, Hofstra University, 2007) is the Founder RARE CUT, the patented pocket square designed with memory metal to ensure no matter how you fold it - “It Stays Up” which is also the company tagline. After noticing pocket square fails firsthand at work, events and weddings for years, he was inspired solve the problem himself RARE CUT designs high-end pocket squares infused with hyper-thin memory metal, so they’re easy to fold and guaranteed to stay in place