Mr. Nikolaos Margaropoulos, President

Mr. Margaropoulos  was born in Thessaloniki and graduated from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Law School after having studied three years at the Law Faculty of Macerata University, Italy. He is managing partner at SCIENTIA LEGIS–Margaropoulos & Associates Law Firm with offices in Thessaloniki and Athens. He has been the Honorary Consul of the Phillipines in Thessaloniki since 1996.

Mr. Margaropoulos has been honored with the title of Cavaliere dell’ Ordine della Stella della Solidarieta Italiana (knighthood) by the President of the Italian Republic and also with the FICAC (World Federation of Consuls) Medal of Honour. 

Margaropoulos & Associates Law Offices is a member of the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce, the Italian-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce of Thessaloniki, of which Mr. Margaropoulos is a Member of the Board of Directors (2011-2013) and has served as elected Member of the Auditing Committee (2005-2007) and President of the same committee (2008-2010), the Greek-Turkish Chamber of Northern Greece, of which he is the Secretary General (2009-2010, 2011-2013) and the Hellenic-Filipino Chamber, of which he is an Honorary Member of the Board of Directors.

He is a member of various professional and social associations, including the Consular Corps in Greece (President in 2009-2010, Member of the Board of Directors since 2000 and Vice President in 2005-2006 and 2007-2009), World Federation of Consuls (Member of the Board of Directors 2009-2012, Member of the Legal Committee, Regional Chairman for South Europe & Representative at the signing of collaboration agreements with Prince Albert II Foundation and with the International Atomic Energy Agency), Propeller Club, Port of Thessaloniki (President 2008-2012), Dimitria Festival (Member of the Organizing Committee 2009-2010), Pinewood – The American International School of Thessaloniki (Board of Directors 2009-2014, President 2012-present), Transparency International, Macedonian Studies Society, Athens Club, Rotary Club of Thessaloniki – East (President 2007-2008), Rotary District 2481–Northern Greece – F.Y.R.O.M. Macedonia – Serbia – Montenegro (President of the Legislative Committee Fmr. Assistant Governor), AHEPA (American Hellenic Educational and Progressive Association), Chapter HJ3 and Donor of AHEPA Hospital (President of the Auditing Committee for 2 terms), Anatolia College Alumni Association (Founding President of its Club Managing Committee), Friends of the Deaf of Thessaloniki (Secretary General and Chairman of the Public Relations Department for 4 years), YMCA, Thessaloniki Branch, Friends of the Byzantine Museum of Thessaloniki, Friends of the Macedonian Struggle Museum of Thessaloniki (Member of Board of Directors 2009-2011, 2011-2013), and Friends of the Poor Fraternity of Thessaloniki.  

Mr. Margaropoulos is fluent in English, Italian and Spanish and has a degree in Sign Language. Mr. Margaropoulos has been serving on the Board since 2009.

Ms. Maria Kling, Vice President

Ms. Kling was born is Sweden and spent her formidable years in France. She served as CEO of Apollonia Hotel & Casino from 2005 to 2011.   After her sister, Ingela Kling, took over as CEO, Maria became a member of the Apollonia Board and focuses on Specific Projects & Events in the Marketing & PR department.  Prior to moving to Greece, Maria lived in Los Angeles where she worked in film and television.  

With focus to support Dr. Giampapa and the teachers in continuing their notable work and efforts in developing stronger and more innovative academics, as well as enriching extracurricular activities with the means available, she thoroughly enjoys her position as Vice President and Chair of Marketing for the Pinewood Board of Directors.  

Ms. Kling, who has lived in Thessaloniki for four years, has two children at Pinewood, Alexander, Grade 7, and Kiara, Grade 2.  Ms.  Kling has been serving on the Board since 2012.

Mr. Theodore Tsamourtzis, Treasurer

Mr. Tsamourtzis has been serving on the Board since 2010.

Mr. Robert Sanders, Consul General of the United States, Thessaloniki

Mr. Sanders, a career Foreign Service Officer, has served in a wide number of positions both in Washington and overseas.  Most recently, he served as the course coordinator for the field training course for American civilian personnel working in the field in Afghanistan at the Department of State's Foreign Service Institute.  Prior to that, he served as a Senior Watch Officer in the State Department's 24-hour Operations Center.  In 2008-2009, he was the senior civilian on a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Khost, Afghanistan.  He also has completed tours in Islamabad, Pakistan and Beirut, Lebanon, in addition to two tours in the Executive Secretariat in Washington.  

Mr. Sanders speaks Greek, Spanish, and Urdu.  He graduated from Georgetown University with Bachelor's and Master's degrees.  He is a native of California.

Mr. Sanders has been serving on the Board since 2012. 

Mrs. Annie Michailides, Appointed Member

Mrs. Michailides was born in Thessaloniki and graduated from Anatolia College. She studied Economics in A.C.S. American College of Switzerland, as well as Graphic Design in the Vacalo School of Arts in Athens. In 1980, she entered the tobacco sector of the family business. In 1988, she moved to the frozen foods sector “Uncle Stathis” as Marketing and Public Relations Director where she served as Vice President from 1990-1993. From 1993 to the present, she has served as Executive Vice President of EVIE Michailides S.A. and from 2003 to the present, she is Vice President of the Michailides Group of companies.  In addition, since 2008, she has been General Manager of EVYP LLP, a company for the production of hydrolyzed plant proteins for use in Organic and Conventional farming.

Ms. Michailides is a member of the General Council of the Association of Greek Industries (S.E.V) and member of the Greek-Turkish board of S.E.V. She is a founding member and Second Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Greek-Turkish Chamber of Northern Greece. She also currently holds the notable positions of Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Association of Entrepreneurs, President of the Board of Directors of the Propeller Club of Thessaloniki and Member of the Board of Directors of Pinewood American International School of Thessaloniki.    In 2010, through S.E.G.E. (Association of Greek Women Entrepreneurs), where she is a    member, she joined the Female Entrepreneurship Support Network of the European Commission and was named “Ambassador of Women Entrepreneurs” in Brussels. She is an active member of the Hellenic Management Association in the sector of Women’s Organization of Managers and Entrepreneurs.

She is a founding member of the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art Foundation and was a member of their Board of Directors from 1993 to 2009. She was also a member of the Board of the Federation of Industries of Northern Greece for 12 years, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Thessaloniki for 4 years and of the Philanthropic Association “Storgi” for children with neo-plasmatic illnesses.  

Ms. Michailides is married and has one daughter.  She has been serving on the Board since 2010. 

Mr. Patrick Ersgard, Member-at-Large

Mr. Patrick Ersgard is an actor/writer who was born in Sweden and received his formal education there. After several years in the Swedish film industry, he moved to Los Angeles, California. There, he continued his work in the entertainment business for another twenty years. He has spent more than twenty-five years in the Motion Picture business as an actor, writer and producer.

Mr. Ersgard, a citizen of both the United States and Sweden, resides in Thessaloniki with his wife and two children, Evelina, Grade 4 and Sophia, Grade 2, at Pinewood.

Mr. Ersgard has been serving on the Board since 2012. 

Mr. Nikolaos Fahantidis, Member-at-Large

Dr. Nikolaos Fahantidis was born in Kozani, Greece and received his bachelor degree, his postgraduate degree and his Ph.D. from the Electrical and Computer Engineering Dept. of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), Greece. During his Ph.D., he also attended the Computer Science Department of University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He has worked as a researcher in the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department at AUTH, the Computer Science Department of UPenn and the Faculty of Education at AUTH.

He started his academic career in 2000 as a lecturer at the Education Department of the University of Western Macedonia. Today, he is associate professor in the field of “New Technologies in Education”. He has worked also as a visiting professor at the Department of Philosophy and Education (AUTH), the Department of Education and Social Policy (UOM), the Educational Department of East Anglia (Norwich, UK). His affiliation with Pinewood began this academic year with the robotics after school club and the faculty training in educational technologies.

Dr. Fahantidis has a daughter, Evangelia, in Pinewood’s 12th grade.  He has been serving on the Board since 2012.

Mr. Antonios Liolios, Member-at-Large

Dr. Liolios was born in Veroia, Greece and attended the Medical School of the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, Greece, from which he graduated as an MD in 1987. He specialized in Internal Medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital and Critical Care at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, USA.

In Europe, he worked at the International Internal Medicine Clinic at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) Health Facility of NATO in Mons, Belgium. Parallel to his medical activities in SHAPE, Dr. Liolios produced and presented the weekly television program “The Medical Minute” at the American Forces Network (AFN).

Dr. Liolios has served as a member of Medscape's (www.medscape.com) Critical Care editorial board and produced one of the first worldwide web-based educational videos for them in 2005. 

In February 2010, he founded his own production company specializing in audiovisual medical media productions. Since then he has produced several medical television programs and various educational, informative and corporate videos. He has also written many medical articles in Greek and US newspapers.

Currently, Dr. Liolios is also affiliated with the Papageorgiou Hospital intensive care unit (ICU) in Thessaloniki, Greece. His affiliation with Pinewood began last year when he donated his expertise, personnel and equipment for the making of the first ever video in the school’s history, showcasing Pinewood’s qualities at each division.  Dr. Liolios has a daughter Despoina in Pinewood’s 12th Grade and twin boys in the 10th Grade.  Dr. Antonios Liolios has been serving on the Board since 2012. 

Mrs. Linda Kainz, Faculty Representative

Mrs. Kainz serves as the elected Faculty Representative on the Pinewood Board of Directors. Joining Pinewood in 1998, Mrs. Kainz hails from Vancouver, BC, Canada. She holds a B.A. in Sociology and Middle School Education from the University of British Columbia. At Pinewood, Mrs. Kainz has been working almost exclusively with Middle School children and is currently the driving force behind the conceptualization of the Middle School (Grades 6-8) as a teaching & learning environment that provides challenging academics while recognizing the unique needs of this important stage of childhood. One of the most important elements of the Middle School for Mrs. Kainz is the emphasis on hands-on learning and skills for increasing independence.   

Mrs. Kainz has held important contributory positions throughout her career at Pinewood, including Chair of the school-wide Accreditation Steering Committee, Vice President of the Pinewood Association of Teachers and member of the Marketing Committee. Currently, she is Faculty President and member of the Policy committees. She teaches Mathematics and Social Studies.

Mrs. Kainz and her husband have two lovely daughters at Pinewood, Stefani, Grade 6 and Talia, Grade 4, with whom she adores spending her free time.  She has been serving on the Board since 2010.