THE NATIONAL COORDINATED EFFORT OF HELLENES (CEH)

WASHINGTON, D.C., December 4, 2008 – Recently the National Coordinated Effort of Hellenes (CEH) expanded its leadership to include several more Hellenes from across the country who play a significant role in the formulation of U.S. policy on Hellenic and Orthodox issues. CEH is an informal network of such community members who are influential with key U.S. policymakers in the United States Congress and the Executive Branch. Attached is a picture of five of the six new members. The new members of the CEH leadership, who join Andrew A. Athens (Chairman), Philip Christopher (Vice Chairman), Andy Manatos (President), Panikos Papanicolaou and Nikos Mouyiaris, are as follows: George J. Tsunis, Chairman/CEO Chartwell Hotels. George has been in the hotel business since 1992. The Tsunis family has owned and operated hotels since 1985 under various flags including Hilton, Intercontinental, Starwood and Radisson brands. George became President and CEO of the family's hotel business. In 2006, George partnered with Rob McCarthy to found Chartwell hotels, LLC. and brought the management functions under the Chartwell umbrella. He also oversees his family's real estate and restaurant holdings which includes shopping centers, office buildings and storage facilities in New York and New Hampshire. George was also partner at Rivken Radler LLP in Uniondale, NY (Long Island's largest law firm) where he represented some of the largest national and regional real estate development companies in the areas of zoning, land use and municipal law. George has also served as Special Counsel to the Town of Huntington, and as Senator Alfonse D'Amato's appointee on the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, as well as a senior staff member of Governor George Pataki's 1994 election campaign. George has also served as Legislative Attorney for the New York City Council. In 1999, George served as Finance Coordinator for Suffolk County Executive Robert Gaffney's reelection campaign, and is a television political commentator, and has appeared on Fox-5's Good Day New York. George has a B.A. degree from N.Y.U. and a J.D. from St. John's University in NY. George is a member of the Dowling College Board of Trustees and has also been an active member of Dowling College's President's Council. George is currently the Chairman of the building and expansion committee at St. Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Church in Greenlawn, New York. George has also served on the Board of Visitors of Touro College, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, as well as the Boards of Directors of the Suffolk County Chapter of the American Red Cross, Board of Directors of VIBES (Victim Information Bureau of Suffolk), the Huntington Town-Wide Chamber of Commerce/Committee on Good Government, the Education and Assistance Corporation and the Private Industry Council of Suffolk County. George was the recipient of Dowling College's highest honor, the Presidential Medal in March 1999; the recipient of the American Eagle Award of the Suffolk County Conservative Committee in May 1999; and the recipient of the Harry Chapin Humanitarian of the Year Award for Long Island Cares in November of 2003. George was also named to the Long Island Business News 40 Under 40, as one of the 40 most influential persons on Long Island under the age of 40. Tasos D. Zambas, Alternate President, PSEKA; Chairman, Justice Committee, Cyprus Federation of America. Tasos was born in and raised until the age of 14 in the occupied area of Morphou until the Turkish invasion of July 20th 1974. After spending a year as a refugee in his own country he came with a student visa to stay with his uncle in the USA on August 25, 1975. He attended High School in Union City, NJ and graduated from Syracuse University with a BS in Finance in 1982. Tasos has been involved with the Cyprus Federation of America in a variety of positions and responsibilities. Presently, he is the Chairman of the Justice for Cyprus committee and Alternate President of the International Justice for Cyprus Committee (PSEKA). In cooperation with and assistance from the Cyprus Federation of America, Tasos led numerous Congressional trips to Cyprus and Greece since 1995. Some of our strongest advocates in the United States Congress were the benefits of these trips. Presently, Tasos is a Vice President-Investments in a major Wall Street Firm. He is married to Sharon Landgraf and they have one child, Demetrios, who is six years old. Endy Zemenides, President, Hellenic American Leadership Council; Vice President, PSEKA. Endy is a partner in the law firm of Acosta, Kruse & Zemenides, LLC. His practice focuses on government relations, land use, economic incentive, zoning, legislative and public sector related matters. Endy is also the Political Director for Citizens for Giannoulias, the political organization for Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias. In 2006 and 2007, Endy served on the Transition Team for Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias. Under Treasurer Giannoulias’ Chairmanship, Endy served as Executive Director of the National Greek Americans for Obama Committee. Endy graduated cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center – where he was an editor of the Georgetown Journal of Law and Policy in International Business and a student-fellow in the Harrison Institute’s Public Policy Clinic – in 2000. He also holds a Bachelors of Arts with highest honors from DePaul University and a Masters in the Theory and Practice of Human Rights with highest honors from the University of Essex in the United Kingdom. Since starting to practice law, Endy has represented several civic and charitable organizations – including the Mexican Fine Arts Center and Museum, the Hellenic Museum and Cultural Center, and the Midwest Immigrant Human Rights Committee – pro bono. Endy also serves on the Editorial Board and Board of Advisors of the National Strategy Forum, a Chicago based foreign policy organization, on the Board of Directors of the National Coordinated Effort of Hellenes, as President of the Hellenic American Leadership Council, the Board of Directors of Democratic Leadership for the 21st Century, the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Museum and Cultural Center, and the Board of Directors of the Hellenic American Academy. Endy has lectured in International Relations and American Foreign Policy in DePaul University’s Political Science Department, has been published in the area of national security in publications such as The National Strategy Forum Review, the Pentagon’s The Officer, The American Bar Association’s National Security Law Reporter and has appeared on WGN’s Milt Rosenberg Show, AKTINA FM’s On The Air, and on SKAI Radio in Greece. American Hellenic Council of California. Since its inception, the American Hellenic Council has been the focal point of political activities of Greek Americans in California. The AHC is a non-partisan political advocacy organization. Its goal is to promote democracy, human rights, peace, and stability in Southern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean, with an emphasis on Greece and Cyprus, by informing the American public and the government about on-going issues and conflicts in the area. The AHC has become an effective and respected political lobbying group whose purpose is to lobby the U.S. Congress for the protection and promotion of Greek-American interests. During its existence, the American Hellenic Council has supported numerous Hellenic issues, has made political donations and raised significant contributions for members of Congress who support Hellenic issues. The Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Congressman Howard Berman (D-CA) said of AHC, “I can attest that the AHC is one of the most effective organizations working for peace and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean.” The AHC leadership includes its President Dr. Nicolaos Alexopoulos, Vice President of Political Action Aris Anagnos, and board member Michael Galanakis. For more information on the AHC go to its web site at: www.americanhellenic.org Zenon Christodoulou, President. Greek-American Chamber of Commerce. Zenon Christodoulou is an active member in the business, academic, political and cultural communities. He has founded and owns several diverse businesses, and sits on the Board of Directors of many distinguished organizations, including the prestigious NJ Governor’s School and the NJ Business and Industry Association, the State’s largest business organization. He holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration with national honors from Fordham University, and is currently finalizing his Doctoral dissertation in organizational behavior. As an adjunct professor of business, and certified “champion” of Six Sigma Quality Improvement Techniques, he has lectured and taught numerous courses on management studies, business ethics and finance. Politically, he has served as a key activist and original member of Senator John Kerry’s presidential finance committee, and played a prominent role in NJ Governor Jon Corzine’s Statewide Advisory Council and Transition Team. In 2008, he was elected as the Somerset County Democratic Vice-Chairman and has been a frequent guest on NJ’s ‘Power and Politics’ television show along with various radio programs . Zenon is also actively involved in the Greek-American community, holding the position of President of the Greek-American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey and serving on the Elytis Chair at Rutgers University. George Dovellos, Board of Directors, United Hellenic American Congress (UHAC). George arrived in the U.S. in 1964 at age 16 and graduated from Purdue University. He is President, Owner and Founder of Royal Brush Manufacturing, Inc. which has over 100 employees in the U.S. and the UK combined. George is an Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and is very involved in his local parish of St. Constantine and Helen in Merrillville, Indiana. George has been particularly active for the Cyprus issue, as his wife, Eleni, is a Cypriot.
Picture caption: (L to R) George Tsunis, Michael Galanakis, Endy Zemenides, Tasos Zambas, Zenon Christodoulou.