Loula Loi Alafoyiannis introduced me to Vicky Tzolis in Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney’s living room. So I figured she must be someone interesting.
I did what any good writer does: I interviewed her on the spot.
Vicky was very interesting. A well-connected Greek-American, Vicky lives on Long island where she volunteers to help both the mentally ill and women’s empowerment.
Greek-American Vicky Tzolis lives on Long island where she volunteers
to help both the mentally ill and women’s empowerment.
Her friend Loula Loi Alafoyiannis is the founder, global president, and C.E.O. Euro-American Women’s Council (EAWC), who I have written about in the past (here). Vicky is on the EAWC’s Board.
We were sitting in the home of Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney, the powerful yet compassionate Congressional Representative for New York’s Upper East Side, one of America’s most influential districts.
“I like to bring people together,” Vicky told me in front of the Congresswoman’s roaring fireplace. “The Euro-American Women’s Council allows me to network with professional women who have their feet both here and back home.”
Through the Euro-American Women’s Council, I understood that Vicky could help other women attain positions of leadership – and help pave the way for the next generations of women business leaders.
EAWC's mission is to specifically strengthen the status of women in the global marketplace by building strategic alliances between women in business and prominent leaders across the U.S. and Europe.
Born in Greece, Vicky was one of six children. She finished the British Institute in
Salonika, with a proficiency degree in the English that led her to teach children.
“I like the Council because is about mutual respect, cooperation and shared goals between women of the United States and Europe,” Vicky told me. “I like to help mentor younger women to grow into strong professionals.”
Born in the second largest Greek city of Salonika, the capital of Macedonia, Vicky was one of six children. She finished the British Institute in Salonika, with a proficiency degree in the English that led her to teach children.
After coming to North America and traveling extensively through Canada and the U.S., she settled in New York City. Here, she pursued her education in film at New York University, while working for a film lab and distributor, acting as a liaison between the U.S. and her native Greece.
She studied Hospitality Management at N.Y.U., entering into the hotel business and becoming a hotel partner in 1978.
She later received her Bachelor degree of science from Adelphi University on Long Island, with a focus on Business Administration.
I enjoy meeting powerful female role models such as Greek-American Vicky Tzolis.
Today she lives in Manhasset, a tiny and tony hamlet in Nassau County, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island.
“Manhasset” is a Native American term that translates to “the island neighborhood.” Vicky is certainly the Island’s good neighbor.
There on Long Island, she is a supporter of the MICA program which helps individuals with the dual problem of mental illness and chemical abuse.
MICA programs across New York State, serve Mentally Ill Chemical Abusers by providing a range of services for chronically mentally ill individuals with and without the complicating problem of alcohol/substance abuse.
This program includes group, individual, and family counseling, medication treatment, crisis intervention services, discussion and activity groups, case management, support, and self-help empowerment services.
Like my own mother, Vicky is also a member of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), supporting educational funding for underprivileged women. The AAUW advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research.
In addition to running her own business and volunteering, Vicky makes time to be a wife, a mother, and grandmother. She is a rare and dynamic global citizen and a positive force on Long Island.
To read related stories by Jim Luce, see:
The Euro-American Women's Council's Loula Loi Alafoyiannis(Daily Kos)