Staff

David Wisner, Ph.D.
Executive Director
drd@act.edu

David Wisner holds a Ph.D. in Modern History from the University of Rochester. He has written on the French Revolution, neo-idealist epistemology, and neo-classical art in such journals as the Annales historiques de la Révolution française, French History, the Journal of the History of Ideas, the Journal of the History of Collections, and the Gazette des Beaux-Arts. He has also published one monograph, in the series Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century (Oxford). Since coming to Greece in the mid-1990s he has been particularly active in such issues as civic education, public policy, and US involvement in Southeast Europe, having participated in events and projects organized by the World Bank, the Bertelsmann Foundation, the Stability Pact, the German Marshall Fund, the US Embassy in Athens and the US Consulate General in Thessaloniki, among others. He appears regularly to discuss US and international politics on Greek radio and television, and writes occasional political commentary for a Greek newspaper. In his capacity as Director of the Dukakis Center Dr. Wisner has also organized innumerable lectures, round tables, and workshops on national, regional, and international public policy issues.

Stelios Kelaiditis, MA
Research and Teaching Assistant
kelaidit@act.edu

Stylianos Kelaiditis holds a BA in International and European Economic and Political Studies from the University of Macedonia, an MA in War Studies from King’s College London, and an MA in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's TransAtlantic Master's program in collaboration with Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. His research interests lie in the Middle East, diaspora and international migration, and EU and US foreign policy. He has received funding from the Alexander S. Onassis Foundation, the Kokkalis Foundation, the University of Macedonia, and the Luxembourg Institute for European and International Studies. He has served in the Hellenic Navy and interned at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Office in Greece. Mr. Kelaiditis is currently an Adjunct Instructor of International Relations at the American College of Thessaloniki.

Pandelis Rafail
Management Assistant
rafailpandelis@gmail.com

Pandelis Rafail studies Business Management, concentration in Finance, at the American College of Thessaloniki, with a Minor in Web Development. He has four years management experience in SMEs, in which capacity, among other things, he created a technical support department for employee and customer satisfaction. He is particularly interested in the intersection of management, finance, and social responsibility. Mr. Rafail provides IT expertise on Dukakis Center projects.

Stavroula Dolmatzi
Research Assistant
20060131@student.act.edu

Stavroula Dolmatzi majors in Management at the American College of Thessaloniki and was the floor manager in the Third Annual Dukakis Symposium. She has participated in two internships sponsored by the Dukakis Center, and has also done internships for Sarah Lawrence and TESOL.  She is responsible for the Young Diplomats Club and is a member of InterAct. Shehas been involved in a variety of projects, including Model of United Nations simulations, and she is a volunteer for many organizations, among others Amnesty International and A21.

Dimitris Diamantis
Research Associate
ddiamantis@act.edu

Dimitris Diamantis is an experienced manager and researcher, with more than 10 years of experience in the private, public, and non-profit sector. Among others, he has collaborated with the Consulate General of Greece in Boston, the City of Boston, the City of Thessaloniki, Deloitte Consulting, and the American College of Thessaloniki, where he has taught courses in non-profit management and public service.  During the past 10 years he has as well volunteered to more than 15 organizations and initiatives, both in Greece and in the US. At present he runs his own business, focusing on developing original web applications. Mr. Diamantis holds an MBA from Boston University, a Graduate Certificate in Program Evaluation from Tufts University and a BS in Management from the American College of Thessaloniki. He is currently supervising the Dukakis Center project in comparative municipal governance.

Krystallia Kalachani (Athens)
Research Associate
krysta@kalachani.gr

Krystallio Kalachani has a BA in Foreign Affairs and International Relations from ACT and an MA in Public Relations and Communication from La Salle University, Athens campus. She also studied Biology in Italy for five years. Upon graduation she worked for two years with a specialized aviation service provider company in Athens. Since 2008 she is the owner of two wholesale, import-export companies, holding managerial positions in both. She is interested in domestic and foreign politics, especially issues of human rights, societal change, and the effects of to political and economic policy. Her studies and her work have given her the opportunity to come in touch with people from every continent, broaden her negotiation skills, and deepen her cross-culture understanding.

Ian Kehoe
Research Associate
ian@act.edu

Ian Kehoe is an organizational consultant in education with over 10 years experience in the private and public sectors. He is currently completing his PHD at The University of Sheffield having developed action research on engaging students in leading organizational change in their secondary schools. His work has included consultancy for the Department for Education in the UK, Cambridge University, University College Cork, the National College for School Leadership, and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, and teaching at the University of Sheffield and the University of Macedonia. Mr. Kehoe's research interests are in the fields of students as change agents, the organizational theory of schooling, systems psycho-dynamics, critical pedagogy, inclusion, and education policy.

Maria Patsarika
Research Associate
mpatsarika@act.edu

Maria Patsarika specialises in the sociology of education. She has completed her PhD at the University of Sheffield and she is currently undertaking post-doc research at the University of Macedonia with the aim to explore the relationship between the school institution and young people’s creativity. Dr. Patsarika's research focuses on the potential for young people’s creative development, personal fulfilment and collective growth through exploring the margins between formal contexts of learning and civic engagement and the more casual interactions that unfold in their everyday lives. Dr. Patsarika has also collaborated with various not-for-profit organisations and learning charities in the UK, including Futurelab and The Ideas Foundation, as well as the Education and Visitor Services Department at the British Houses of Parliament.

Laura Strieth
Research Associate
lstrieth@act.edu

Laura Strieth has worked, studied and volunteered in 32 different countries, is trilingual, and has a BSc in Applied Biology and an MSc In Science Communication. While working as a Science Communicator in the UK she developed a variety of creative projects to engage people with science and ethics issues such as genetic testing, climate change, and more. Currently she works at the American College of Thessaloniki as the Student Services Coordinator, in which capacity she also coordinates ACT's service learning program. She is a strong believer in volunteer service and has volunteered in a variety of international projects, recently spending a year in the mountains of Costa Rica working in an indigenous Nobéré community. Currently she gives weekly classes to a group of teenage girls at a Roma community in Thessaloniki.

Ruth Sutton
Research Associate
rsutton@act.edu

Ruth Sutton has worked in development aid and civil society, both in the field and in communications and education. She also been a journalist and was a speech writer for a Euro-MP. Prior to coming to ACT, she was Development Coordinator at the Centre for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe. She has co-authored a book on participative, critical-thinking education methodologies and coordinated the recent ACT projects "Recycle Monster" and "Street Kid 2 School Kid." Co-convenor of the "Inspiration Exchange" she is also one of the team of the Roma-Girls’ Empowerment Project. She has a BA in Politics and Philosophy and an MSc in Education for Sustainability, and is also Adjunct Instructor of International Relations at the American College of Thessaloniki.

Despina Ventouri
Research Associate
dventouri@act.edu

Despina Ventouri was born in Athens and studied Business Administration and International Marketing at the American College of Greece and the University of Sunderland (BA and MBA) in the UK. She has worked for more than a decade in prominent multinational corporations (Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters, Euromoney Institutional Investor), in the areas of International Marketing Communications, News, and Customer Service, both in London and in Athens. She has extensive International Management experience in Central and South East Europe, and a deep understanding of cross-cultural communication issues throughout the Balkans. Ms Ventouri contributes expert advice to the research projects of the Dukakis Center in International News, International Business and Management.