Zoye Marino Fidler
Executive Producer / Co-Founder and President Emeritus of the Greek Heritage Society
The Theodore Saloutos Award

Zoye Fidler is a native of Seattle. Her parents were Marino Marinopoulos from Bouyati Arcadia in the Peloponnese and Erene Frangopoulou from the Island of Leros Dodecanese. She attended Queen Anne High School and the University of Washington.  Ms. Fidler is the mother of three children: William Marino Fidler, Zoye Erene Marinopoulou and James Anthony Marinopoulos and two granddaughters: Anne and Amelia Fidler. She was active in the Greek community in Seattle and began her love of documenting oral histories of her heritage by conducting several interviews for the 40-year anniversary of the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church in Seattle.  She was the founder of the Greek folkdance group “Levendia” in Seattle, and co-editor of the cookbook “The Key to Greek Cooking,” first edition.

In 1985 Zoye Marino Fidler co-founded the Greek Heritage Society of Southern California, an organization dedicated to the preservation of the Greek culture by documenting histories of early Greek immigrants.   She served as president for 20 years, recently retiring from that post. 

In the early years of the Greek Heritage Society Ms. Fidler focused on interviews of the pioneers who first came to the United States and who lived throughout southern California. In later years she focused on Greek immigrants who came after World War II as well as Greek Americans, to present a more complete picture of the Greek experience in southern California.  Ms. Fidler is presently working to establish an archive and resource center for the display of historical documents and folk art treasures of the Greek culture. 

Ms. Fidler has also planned and produced major exhibits and programs held at various sites in the southern California area. She has interviewed several hundred Greek immigrants on video and participated in the development of musical productions, “Ekdromi:  A Festive Greek Outing,” and “Ekdromi:  A Greek Folkloric Celebration.”   Ms. Fidler was instrumental in producing the seminars that focus on Greek-American citizens; “Yiorti:  A Celebration of Greek Womanhood” and “Modern Greek-American Women.”  She is the executive producer of the award-winning documentaries “The Greeks of Southern California -- Through the Century: The Pioneers 1900-1942” and “The Promise of Tomorrow 1940-1960”.  In addition, Ms. Fidler was Chair of a historical exhibit for the 36th Biennial Clergy-Laity Congress held June 2002 and assisted in the historical exhibit of Saint Sophia Cathedral’s 50th Anniversary. She was an aide to the Greek Olympic Team during the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and in 1989 she visited Cyprus as part of the “Women Walk Home” program.

Over the years, Ms. Fidler has generously given much of her time and knowledge of Greek cultural issues to the community.  She continues her role on the Greek Heritage Society board as an interviewer and chairing screening opportunities of their documentary “The Promise of Tomorrow:  1940 -1960” throughout the United States.