Stelios Vassilakis was the Director of Programs & Strategic Initiatives at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. He holds a PhD in Classics and Modern Greek Studies from New York University. He has taught various undergraduate and graduate courses in classical literature, Byzantine culture and civilization, Modern Greek literature and Modern Greek language. In 1993, he received an Outstanding Teaching Award for Excellence in Teaching from New York University, College of Arts and Science. From 2000-2009, he was the CEO of greekworks.com, a start-up multimedia cultural, educational and informational company in New York, and the premier publisher of Greek and Greek-related books in the US.