Where were you born and where did you grow up?
I was born and raised in Dallas, Texas.
Who or what were the main influences in your life?
My pappou (grandfather) inspired me to become a physician, and my parents and brother emphasized the importance of education and our Greek heritage.
How did you get into your present work?
As a child, I spent my summers in Greece, and often I would go with my pappou to his medical office. I remember seeing the patients in his waiting room with concerned and even sad expressions, and after he had finished evaluating and treating them, they would leave happy and reassured. Many times patients and their family members would stop by his clinic to hug him and thank him for helping them. Witnessing those events as a child inspired me to pursue the medical profession with the hope to heal and help others like my pappou did for so many years.
As a successful American you could and perhaps have joined major organizations that are focused more on mainstream society. Why L100?
All my life my parents have been heavily involved with the organizations of the Greek Orthodox Church and the Hellenic community. They give tirelessly of their time and money to support these organizations and they always remind me about the importance of being involved and supporting organizations that seek to preserve and promote our faith and our rich Hellenic heritage. Leadership 100 was an easy choice for me because of its mission to support the Greek Orthodox Church and its ministries. L100 is unique from other organizations in that it requires all of its members to make a significant financial contribution in order to achieve its goals, which it has done successfully over the past 25 years.
How would you evaluate your so far experience in the organization?
I realize how important this organization is in its efforts to preserve our Orthodox faith; however, one of the nice benefits of being a member is the ability to network with a large group of successful people. I have had the opportunity to meet some of the most influential and successful leaders in our Greek American Community and I am blessed to have made many friends.
As a new generation leader, what are some ideas of yours on the future of Leadership 100?
Leadership 100 was initially founded to support the Archdiocese during a time of financial crisis in the mid 1980’s. The organization has done an amazing job in supporting the Greek Orthodox Church and its ministries with roughly $27 million in grants that have been distributed from 1989-2008. Through this financial support, it has indirectly supported Hellenism. It was at the Greek Church in Dallas where I went to Greek school, learned how to Greek dance, learned about Greek history, and shared my Hellenic identity with others. The reality is that our Greek Orthodox communities are placing less of an emphasis on preserving our Greek language and culture. L100 is the paradigm of how an organization can be structured and successful in its mission. I would love to see this organization play a direct role in preserving and promoting Hellenism. In the Greek community, our Faith and our culture are intertwined and are dependent on each other. We as leaders need to support both our religious and cultural heritage.
How has your involvement in Leadership 100 proved valuable in other activities of your life?
I have made many friends among the leaders in our community and through these friendships I have been able to have many experiences outside of the medical field which have expanded my horizons.
What qualities do you most admire or value in others?
Honesty, Loyalty, Wisdom, and Generosity.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My greatest achievement is becoming a physician. By being a physician, I have been able to realize many dreams including one of my most memorable which was being selected as the cardiologist for all of the 20,000 athletes and staff from the international community residing at the Olympic Village at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.
Who are your heroes in real life?
My heroes are the immigrants who had the courage to leave their friends, family, and country behind and come to America with hopes of a better life. My father came to the United States knowing no one and with one dollar that he received from a lady on his trip to America as a “gouri” (good luck), and my mother came here to get an education. Many of the Greek immigrants who came to the United States have contributed to the greater good of our country in every field.
How do you spend your time outside of work?
I try to spend as much time as I can with my family and friends. I also enjoy staying physically active with sports, playing and listening to music and dancing to Greek, Country and Latin songs.
What are your thoughts on the current economic crisis?
This is a very tough question to answer in detail without taking up the whole magazine. Generally, I believe that the qualities of honesty, loyalty, wisdom, and generosity are lacking in today’s financial and economic arena. Many of our major financial institutions and financial “gurus” lacked wisdom in their decisions to seek very high risk investment strategies in order to boost profits and returns. They were dishonest by manipulating and misleading their clients to believing that future great financial rewards were to come at an acceptable risk. The Ponzi schemes, sub-prime mortgage lending and the derivative games are some of these examples. Of course the need for prudence and wisdom that we expect from our financial and political leaders also extends to all of us as individuals. Unfortunately this individual prudence was lacking and contributed to the crisis.
This crisis has served as a wake-up call for all of us. We need to exercise more fiscal responsibility, be more thoughtful in our individual lives with regard to our real priorities and find ways that we can benefit ourselves as individuals and yet contribute generously to the overall improvement of our country and communities. It is through these changes that we may see a real end to this historic economic crisis and even emerge stronger than we were before.
Where would you like to be in your professional and personal life 20 years from now?
I would like to be the top senior advisor to the President regarding health care delivery and reform. After several years of running my own medical practice, I clearly see how broken, inefficient, and wasteful our medical system is. I would also like to be a medical correspondent for a large news agency in order to inform people on a massive scale on the signs and symptoms of disease and on how to improve their health and quality of life.
With regard to my personal life, I hope by that time I will have a loving and devoted wife with whom I can raise a great family with children who will contribute to the good of society and are proud of their Greek heritage.
What is your idea of happiness?
I am happy when I am helping others, enjoying the time I get to spend with family and friends, and striving to do my best to pass on the “dada” (torch) of Hellenism and Orthodoxy to future generations.
