John S. Peppes, born in Athens, Greece, and raised in Tarpon Springs, Florida, is a seasoned executive with over 30 years of expertise in strategic planning, project management, and organizational leadership. His career highlights include leading global integration initiatives and developing innovative strategies that optimize business performance. Currently serving as the Director of OEM Integration and Digital Analytics at Stellantis Financial Services, he has successfully spearheaded initiatives such as managing the integration of a global supply chain, launching Stellantis Auto Insurance and implementing advanced digital analytics frameworks.

John’s leadership extends beyond the corporate sphere into his community and cultural engagements. He is an active member of AHEPA Chapter 195 in Ann Arbor, Michigan where he received a Leadership Award for his ideas, dedication, and volunteerism to promote the Hellenic ideals of education, philanthropy, civic responsibility, family and individual excellence.

As a Board Member and Director of KYKLOS Hellenic Society, he fosters cultural education and connection among Greek communities. He also serves as an advisor for youth programs and directs cultural dance activities at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Ann Arbor. Additionally, John has served as a dance competition judge at the Hellenic Dance Festival and Folk Dance Festival for over 15 years and continues to conduct dance workshops for dance groups and communities throughout the United States and Canada, promoting the preservation of Hellenic traditions.

John holds a Master of Business Administration from Grand Canyon University and is recognized as a member of Alpha Chi and Delta Mu Delta honor societies. He also earned a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations from the University of Florida and an Associate Degree in Arts and Communication from St. Petersburg College. His certifications include Project Management Professional (PMP) and membership on the Advisory Board for the Center for Supply Chain Management at the University of Florida.

DIRECTOR

Dr. Voula Erfourth, proud first-generation American and college graduate, serves as the Vice President for Student Success & Engagement and Dean of Students for Baker College, where she has worked since 2003. As the Dean of Students, Voula connects students and family members, faculty, administration, staff, and community members, and advocates for inclusive efforts on and off campus while promoting student growth and development. In April of 2024, Voula was appointed VP for Student Success & Engagement, which brings together all functions of student support services for the College. 

While recognizing the value in being a practitioner, Voula had the desire to also better understand and build her skills in scholarship and research and so in 2013 began the Higher, Adult, & Lifelong Education (HALE)-Educational Leadership Ph.D. program at Michigan State University. Her research interests center on college access issues for underserved student populations and college student transitions. Her 2017 dissertation was a qualitative study on the motivating factors that lead students from rural, economically disadvantaged areas to enroll in early college programs and why their experiences should matter for postsecondary institutions.

Voula also maintains connection with her Greek culture through her membership of St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Saginaw, MI, and also serves on the board for the Saginaw Greek Festival. Voula has been an active Greek folk dancer, mostly recently with KYKLOS Hellenic Society, for over 35 years, with whom she has performed and assisted in dance instruction in communities all over the state of Michigan, the Great Lakes region, and Florida.

DIRECTOR

Yvonne Hunt has been teaching and researching Greek dances for more than 40 years, working with Father Homer Dimopoulos to establish the dance program at St. Demetrios Church (Seattle) in 1974. During that time the “Paniyiri” dance group was formed under her direction and represented the Seattle Greek community at many functions throughout the state and British Columbia.

Yvonne also taught Greek dances in the University of Washington dance department in 1975-76 and 1978-79, as well as Greek and other Balkan dances at the Experimental College there from 1972-1979.

Yvonne’s first research trip to Greece was made in 1975 (one month), returning there again in 1978 for a month and finally moving there in 1979 for fourteen years. During seven of those years, she was the assistant to the director, Simon Karas, at the Society for the Dissemination of National Music. While living in Greece, she taught at the Hellenic American Union (6 years), the Athens Centre (11 years), the Tsiamoulis Elementary School (11 years), the University of LaVerne (Athens campus, 3 years), and various dance groups and cultural societies. In addition to the many teaching positions, she was also conducting dance research throughout the country, from the southernmost islands to the northernmost prefectures. She is still an associate researcher at the Centre for Asia Minor Studies in Athens.

The first summer dance seminar in Greece (Sitia, Crete) was organized by dancers from Norway and France in 1981, and Yvonne was invited to be the sole instructor. In the following years she organized, directed and taught at summer seminars throughout the country, and has been conducting carnival seminars in the Serres region since 2001. She has also taught seminars throughout Europe, the US and Canada.

Yvonne was on the organizing staff of the IOFA (ΔΟΛΤ) conferences in Larissa from 1987-1990, was a guest lecturer at Dora Stratou Theatre on more than one occasion, and had the privilege of presenting her work with Flambouro, Serres, both at a seminar there and at the theatre premier opening in 1989.

Since Yvonne’s return to the states in 1993, she has directed the dance program at Assumption Church in Seattle, has instructed the prize-winning college/adult group, Akrites, at St. Demetrios Church as well as being the resource person for the other dance directors there, and has directed several groups performing at FDF, as well as judging the competitions there. Concurrently she taught classes both in Greek dance and the Modern Greek language at local community colleges, St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church and several other venues. Classes in dance, language and Greek culture are still being taught by her.

Yvonne Hunt has presented papers and appeared on panels at many international conferences and symposia in Europe and America. Her publications include both English and Greek versions of the book, Traditional Dance in Greek Culture, Ο Παραδοσιακός Χορός στον Ελληνικό Πολιτισμό (1996), articles in both Greek and international periodicals and journals, the CD, Zourna Masters of Flambouro (with Christos Govetas and Neal Sandler, 1998), as well as liner notes for several other CD recordings of Greek music. Her book, A Nest of Gold/Μια Φωλιά από Χρυσάφι (2015), on the dances and traditional music and customs of the Serres region of Macedonia, is published by the Kyklos Cultural Society of Thessaloniki.

Yvonne’s full publication list is available in our ‘resources section’.

DIRECTOR

Haralambos (Harry) Koutroumanis was born and raised in Tampa, FL, and moved to Charlotte, NC, in 2023 after graduating from the University of Florida in Gainesville with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Finance. He began his career as a Wealth Analyst with Truist Wealth, and has been there ever since. He is currently a Wealth Advisor Associate where he advises high net worth clients using a team based approach offering complete wealth management services (investments, financial planning, credit, and estate strategies, etc.).

Harry gained interest in Greek folk music and dance through the Cretan Sillogo of Clearwater in 2017, and also began dancing with the Hellas Dancers of Holy Trinity Clearwater. He attended his first HDF (Hellenice Dance Festival) in 2018 with Hellas Dancers, and competed with them at FDF (Folk Dance Festival) 2019. He later joined Afieroma in Gainesville and competed at HDF from 2022-2023.  He is currently a co-instructor for Charlotte’s adult Greek Folk Dance Team, Filodoxia.

Despite having no Cretan origin, he fell in love with the sound and style of Crete. This spurred him to begin collecting research on the customs and traditions of Crete, with a primary focus on the Noumo of Rethymno. He traveled to Crete in the summer of 2024 to conduct his own first-hand research on the area of Rethymno (Melampes).

His goal as a researcher is to preserve village-specific idiosyncrasies in dance and music, and to study how the same dances from the same areas have evolved over time. Harry emphasizes the different styles of dance and music, primarily within Crete, throughout specific timeframes and how they’ve changed.

DIRECTOR

Paul Calzada was born and raised in Jacksonville, FL before moving to Hollywood, FL at a young age. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from University of Florida and is currently pursuing a PhD in Computer Engineering from there as well. He is a "Gruban" (Greek Cuban) American; His father is from Cuba and his mother's parents are from Greece, specifically Kremasti, Rhodes and Agrosikia, Pellas (Pontian roots). He began his dance journey in Hollywood, FL from a young age in elementary through high school. This group in Hollywood, Klironomia, performed at various local and metropolis functions including festivals, fundraisers, and the Hellenic Dance Festival. 

In university, he desired to bring the same fervor for Greek dance to his college town in Gainesville, FL by directing the Greek American Student Association dance group with UF. The group labeled the "UF GASA Dancers" performed at various university and local functions. He then founded the Afieroma Greek Dance Program at St. Elizabeth Greek Orthodox church in Gainesville in 2018 to bring the dance community into the church. He is currently director of Afieroma and enjoys teaching various dances from all over Greece with great emphasis on the Dodecanese. He has performed field research in Rhodes and is an active judge of the inaugural HDF Rizes competition in Dallas. Paul enjoys being able to teach authentic and unique content while dancing with his closest friends.