| John Gavrilis, CEO |
 |
John was born, raised, educated and is a member of the Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, in Greektown. For over thirty years John has volunteered his services to the greater area Greek community, he has served on church boards, chaired Greek Festivals, served as a GOYA senior youth advisor, member of AHEPA Board of Governors, and is the security advisor to the area Greek Churches. John is one of the original founders of the Greektown CDC.
Colonel Gavrilis is a career public servant. He served for over twenty five years with the Baltimore City Police Department where he rose through the ranks from patrolman, Chief of Detectives and Field Operations to Acting Police Commissioner. He is currently the Chief of Police for the Maryland Transit Administration Police Force.
John is a graduate of the University of Baltimore, FBI National Academy and Greater Baltimore Committee Leadership School. He has received numerous awards for his community service to include the 2003 Daily Record newspaper Innovator of the Year Award. He was also inducted into the Patterson High School Hall of Fame along with Mr. Peter Angelos.
|
| Nicholas Karagiorgos, Associate Director of Development |
| |
Nick was born and raised in Greektown and attended John Ruhrah Elementary School. He currently lives in Greektown and is a member of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. A product of Baltimore City School’s, Nick went to receive a Bachelor’s of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland – Baltimore County where he is now pursuing a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering. Nick’s knowledge and passion for improving the community, as well as his attention to detail makes him a great asset to the Greektown CDC. |
|
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Greektown CDC Board of Directors is comprised of people who were both
born and raised in Greektown or major stakeholders of the community. Each
member has specific expertise that adds to our mission in community
development. |
| George Moniodis, President |
 |
George Moniodis was born in Greektown in 1937 and has been part of the community ever since. He was first drafted in the Army in 1960 and started his career in public relations in 1963. In the mid to late 1960s, Mr. Moniodis taught public relations and marketing at the University of Baltimore while being senior writer for Bethlehem Steel. He then became Director of Public Relations for Saint Agnes Hospital and retired in 2005. Mr. Moniodis is currently a legislative consultant and real estate agent. He also serves on many boards including the President of Buddies Incorporated, the Redline Community Advisory Council and AHEPA. |
| Gregory Schaffer, First Vice President |
 |
Greg Schaffer was named president of Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in 1999. Prior to his career at Johns Hopkins Bayview, Schaffer was a vice president at Saint Vincent's Medical Center, Staten Island, New York. He also held executive positions at the Hospital of Saint Raphael in New Haven, Connecticut, and McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts. Mr. Schaffer has been in integral part to the revitalization efforts in Greektown and many other SouthEast Baltimore communities. |
| Nick Georgalas, Second Vice President |
 |
Born in Samos, Greece, Nick Georgalas moved to Greektown in 1967 to start his career as a chef in Baltimore. Mr. Georgalas opened the famous Samos Restaurant in 1977 and has since been known as the crown jewel of Greektown to all Marylanders. Renowned for his fantastic cuisine and great personality, Mr. Georgalas has helped make Greektown a real destination. His restaurant is a constant meeting place for many residents, he is able to serve as a great liaison to the community and government officials. His son (co-owner/operator) lives in Greektown with his new wife. |
| Deno Yenias, Secretary |
 |
Deno Yenias was born and raised in Greektown and serves as a great resource to all construction related matters in the community. He is currently employed with the Maryland Transit Administration as the Construction Manager overseeing all mass transit developments. Mr. Yenias has also served as a former President of AHEPA (American Hellenic Education Progressive Association) and is responsible for the creation of the AHEPA senior center on Boston Street. He was also recently elected President of the Maryland Association of Engineers. |
| Ernest Rafailides, Treasurer |
 |
A Baltimore native, Mr. Rafalaides was one of the original members of the Greektown CDC Board of Directors. Early in his career he worked as a legislative aide to the House of Representatives and an assistant public defender. He has been part an active part of his father’s company, RAF Realty, which has managed Greektown homes since 1959. RAF Realty has evolved to Bayview Management in which Mr. Rafalaides is a managing member responsible for homes all over the Baltimore-Metro Area. Ernie is also a licensed attorney in Maryland. |
| Helen Johns, Vice President Emeritus |
 |
Ms. Helen Johns was born and raised in Greektown, Baltimore and has been a community advocate for over 50 years. Ms. Helen has been virtually part of every revitalization effort the Greektown community has undergone and continues to fight for her neighborhood. She worked as an executive secretary for General Motors and has been served on numerous committees and boards for the Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. Ms. Helen has tremendous knowledge of her community’s history with a passion that demands everyone’s respect. |
| Aris Melissaratos |
 |
Founder of The Aris InstituteTM and Senior Advisor for Technology Enterprise Development to the President of Johns Hopkins University, Mr. Melissaratos served as Secretary of Business and Economic Development for the State of Maryland from 2003 to 2007.
He worked for Westinghouse Electric Corporation for 32 years, retiring as Chief Technology Officer and Vice President for Science and Technology, responsible for research and development. Before that he was Chief Operations Officer for the company's Defense Electronics Group, responsible for $3.2 billion dollars in sales. He was born in Romania to Greek parents and immigrated to Greektown. His first job was a grocery clerk on Lehigh and Foster. |
| Dave Hash |
 |
Dave Hash is Special Assistant to the President, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, serving as liaison to neighborhood associations, community development groups, and other economic development organizations with which Bayview has been active for many years.
Prior to taking on this new assignment, Dave was most recently the Senior Director of Facilities Planning at Bayview, overseeing campus master planning. Before that, he managed the Facilities and Construction departments. Prior to joining Team Bayview, he worked in senior management at John Hopkins Real Estate and the Dome Corporation. Dave has been with Hopkins and its affiliates for 23 years.
Before coming to Hopkins, Dave had been in the public sector for 14 years, working as a city planner and economic development manager under then-mayor William Donald Schaefer. Dave received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Virginia Tech. |
| Jim Kraft |
 |
Born and raised in Baltimore City, Jim Kraft has fought for the community—as an activist, as a leader in the Democratic Party, and as a neighbor for over 30 years. A father of three and grandfather of four, he also understands the opportunities and challenges of supporting a family in the City.
Councilman Kraft is a Baltimore City Democratic Central Committee member for the 46th District and has been a member of the Maryland Democratic Party Executive Committee for 30 years. He is also a proud member of his neighborhood association, the Patterson Park Neighborhood Association, and the Friends of Patterson Park.
As your First District Baltimore City Councilman, Jim Kraft is currently the Chair of the Judiciary and Legislative Investigations Committee, Vice Chair of the Land Use and Transportation Committee, and a member of the Public Safety Subcommittee.
Councilman Kraft is proud to serve the First District and the City of Baltimore. |
| Michael Athas |
 |
Mr. Athas graduated from Johns Hopkins University with an Electrical Engineering degree and then served in the US Navy. In the 1950s he became an entrepreneur opening up a small live entertainment music venue. In the 1960s Mr. Athas owned and operated one of the most popular night clubs in Maryland called ‘Club Venus’ that would feature the most famous national acts of the time including Smokey Robinson, Frank Sinatra, Flip Wilson, ect. He then began to focus his career in the food service industry and catering business. He retired in 1992 and has since served on many church committees, is the current Chair for the AHEPA scholarship committee, and a past President of AHEPA. Mr. Athas adds invaluable experience to the Greektown CDC.
|
| Stelios Spiliadis, Past President |
| Owner of the Black Olive Restaurant located in Fells Point, Maryland. |
| John P. Angelos |
Executive Vice President of the Baltimore Orioles. |
| |
