Kyriakos Maridakis is a Former Royal Yacht Hotel Director for the Royal Family in Dubai – Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and member of the international executive committee SALAMINIA, and head of the diplomatic relations as well as member of the honorary international committee “Thermopylae-Salamis 2020” with President Marianna Vardinogiannis. Mr. Maridakis focuses on International Cultural Diplomacy in collaboration with sixty-three embassies, the Greek Government, Prefecture of Attica region, and International Organizations.

In 2024, Mr. Kyriakos Maridakis received RIEAS Certificate in "Cultural Diplomacy and International Relations" and he is also a Certified Accountant – tax Advisor in Greece member of the Hellenic Economic Champers of commerce, Financial Officer of Merchant Navy with 25 years of international experience in Greek and Foreign companies trained in the United States (Administration, Public Relations, Marine management and Personnel Management). He was awarded a Diploma of Virtue from the Foundation of the Hellenic World, where he is a member of and received knighthood of the International Diplomatic Club – “Association Caritative des Diplomates et Consuls (Ordre de Saint-Gabriel). He is also the Founding President of the Hellenic - Israeli Union, Founding National President, Good will Ambassador for the Internationador Club.

Daniela Cobo González (MA)

Daniela Cobo Gonzalez is a Senior Analyst at the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS) based in Athens, Greece. She was born in Quito, Ecuador, she holds an M.A. in International Relations from Webster University Athens campus in Greece, and a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and International Relations from Universidad De Las Américas (UDLA) in Ecuador.

In June 2023, she completed a research report at RIEAS titled “The Battle Against Drug Cartels and Organized Crime in Ecuador.” Daniela also focuses her research on Latin-American - European Union relations as well as Equador’s foreign and security policy.

Daniela Cobo Gonzalez has been an active member of the student council at Webster University Athens campus consistently engaging in various academic activities and striving to learn as much as possible from those around her.

Manju Dagar (Manu Chaudhary) is Senior Advisor in the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS). She received her doctoral diploma in “Hindi Literature” from Punjab University, Chandigarh, India.

Dr. Manju Dagar (Manu Chaudhary) is Executive Editor at the corporate magazine “Insight” specializing in International affairs. In 2021, she directed her own talk show “World 360 with Manu” on You Tube.

In 2012, Dr. Manju Dagar (Manu Chaudhary) received the Best Journalist Award by Journalist Association of India. In 2010, she received the Regional News Anchor Award by Media Federation of India.

Dr. Manju Dagar (Manu Chaudhary) has conducted more than 100 interviews of prominent personalities which include politicians, entrepreneurs and social media and communication specialists. She speaks fluently the Hindi and English languages.

Noelle Heineman is Senior Analyst at Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS) based in Athens, Greece. She graduated from the University of North Georgia (USA) with a Bachelor of Arts in Strategic and Security Studies.

In Fall 2022, Noelle Heineman pursues a Master of Arts degree at George Washington University in Washington DC, USA. Her study focuses on transnational security in the two-year master’s program, and she is recipient of the Jack C. Voelpel Fund, an academic-based scholarship fund from George Washington University.

In May 2022, Noelle completed a research report that focused on “transitional security issues in the Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean region”, specifically looking at the illicit trafficking of humans, drugs, and weapons at the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS).

Noelle Heineman is the administrative assistant for the National Intelligence Summer Academy hosted by the University of North Georgia. After completing her graduate degree, Noelle’s goal is to pursue a career in diplomacy with the U.S. State Department.

Sofia Mitic is a Senior Analyst at the Research Institute for European and American Studies based in Athens, Greece. Born in Belgrade, Serbia, she holds a Bachelors degree in Psychology, International Relations, and Management in Webster University Athens. She is focused in the field of Clinical Psychology and Counseling.

Sofia Mitic graduated from Webster University Athens with a Summa Cum Laude honors. While at Webster University, she was a part of a first research project funded with a grant from the United States. Following the graduation, she started as a Research Assistant in RIEAS.

Sofia Mitic is currently employed in the field of Customer Service at a global corporation and plans to get a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology.

Dr. Anthony Ioannidis is an Academic Advisor at the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS) and an Assistant Professor of Management at the Department of Business Administration, Athens University of Economics and Business, Greece. He has previously taught at the University of Patras, Greece, University of La Verne California, and Baruch College - City University of New York. He holds a B.S. from the University of Athens, Greece, and an M.B.A., an M.Phil., and a Ph.D. from Baruch College - City University of New York. Dr. Ioannidis also possesses working experience as management consultant with leading consultancy firms in the United States and Greece, in the areas Telecommunications, Media and Technology. His current research interests include strategy formation, organizational design, public-private partnerships, and entrepreneurship.

Mr. Sohail Nakhooda is Senior Advisor in the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS) based in Athens, Greece. He is Executive Director of Kalam Research & Media (KRM), a Publishing Director of the Libya Institute for Advanced Studies (LIAS), Head of Press and Media for Code on the Road (COR), and a member of the Board of Advisors of the Faith Centre of the London School of Economics (LSE). At KRM, he is the Co-Leader of the Islamic Analytic Theology project with the Sir John Templeton Foundation, and responsible for coordinating research with scholars and academic institutions from around the world in the fields of Theology, Science, Philosophy, Inter-faith and Sufism, and commissioning over 60 academic works under the Islamic Analytic Theology series. He was also the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the award-winning Islamica Magazine which he launched at the London School of Economics (LSE). Sohail is currently the Editor-in-Chief of Kalam: Journal of Islamic Theology.

Sohail has worked as Secretary of the Libya Stabilization Team and also with the Support Offices of the Executive Team of the National Transitional Council (NTC) of Libya in Benghazi, and was Private Secretary to the Libyan Ambassador to the UAE, Dr Aref Ali Nayed. He was former advisor to HRH Prince Ghazi Bin Muhammad of Jordan; Chief Archivist for ‘A Common Word,’ an inter-faith initiative led by King Abdullah II of Jordan; and a Junior Fellow of the Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute of Jordan.

He received a BSc in Government from the London School of Economics (LSE), postgraduate certificates in Catholic Theology from the Angelicum in Rome, and an MA in Protestant Theology from the University of Nottingham, UK. He won the British Academy Scholarship to pursue doctoral studies in Philosophical Theology at the University of Nottingham. Sohail has over 25 years of book and graphic design expertise and was a finalist in the prestigious British Book Design and Production Awards (2002) in London, and is an acclaimed photographer. Sohail’s research interests span Islamic Civilizational Studies, Philosophical Theology, Inter-faith Relations, Diplomacy, Conflict Resolution, CVE/PVE, Hermeneutics, Photography, Art and Design.

Mr. Dionysios Dragonas is Senior Analyst at the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS) based in Athens, Greece. He is a postgraduate student in Crisis and Security Management, in Leiden University. After earning his BA in International and European studies from University of Piraeus, he narrowed his focus on national security governance and intelligence.

Mr. Dionysios Dragonas is a member of the Atlantic Forum, while serving as a researcher for the National Security and Crisis Management Unit of the Institute of International Relations. Previous research experiences relate to the Cold War History Research Center of Corvinus University in Budapest and the Turkish and Eurasian Studies Laboratory of Piraeus University.

Publications

Dragonas, D. (2018), “The April 2017 Referendum as a Political Tool at Erdogan’s Disposal: on the Track of Totalitarianism”, qualitative analysis of the Turkish domestic politics dynamics, published in the official website of the Turkish and Eurasian Studies Lab, Piraeus 14 September 2018

Dragonas, D. (2018), “Excessive Powers at Stake”, qualitative analysis of the 2018 Turkish election, published in “Para Politics” newspaper, Strategies and Politics inlay, 23 June 2018

Dragonas, D. (2018), “The Transition to the Presidential System and the Boundaries of Democracy in Turkey: Establishing a Totalitarian Regime?”, qualitative analysis on Turkish domestic politics presented at the scientific conference Democratization, Strategy and Economic Relations: Turkey and the Eurasian region, Piraeus 25 April 2018

Dragonas, D. (2015), “The 10th of October Bombing Attack in Ankara: an Information Note on Turkey”, qualitative analysis of the terrorist attack in Ankara and its consequences in Turkish society, published in the official website of the Turkish and Eurasian Studies Lab, Piraeus 28 October 2015

Contributions

Provided editorial assistance in “Students on the Cold War: New Findings and Interpretations”, edited by Békés Csaba, Kalmár Melinda (2019), Cold War History Research Center, Corvinus University of Budapest, published in cooperation with the European Institute at Columbia University in New York

Relevant digital footprints

“The relative decay of the US: The beginning of the end of the first global hegemony” (2018)

“Deterrence Strategy: Revisiting the Greek case study” (2018)

“The state of dependence of the European defence by the Atlantic Alliance, 1945-1989” (2018)

“The evolution of the US nuclear strategy during the Cold War era” (2017)

Ms. Megan Palmer is Senior Analyst at the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS) based in Athens, Greece. Recently, she is second semester of the National Security Master of Science program at the University of New Haven located in Connecticut, USA. Prior to her masters, she graduated from Southern New Hampshire University with a Bachelor of Science in Justice Studies with a concentration in Homeland Security and Terrorism.

Ms. Megan Palmer graduated from SNHU with Magna Cum Laude honors and as a first-generation college student. While at SNHU, she was apart of the NCAA Division II Women’s Volleyball Team, took part in the study abroad program in Athens, Greece for a semester and she began as an intern for RIEAS as well as was an intern at New Hampshire Homeland Security and Emergency Management where she gained 14 emergency management certifications through FEMA.

Ms. Megan Palmer research interests have typically involved the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East with Muslim affiliated terrorist organizations. But she has had a lot of exploration in the private security world and aviation security. Her internship publication at RIEAS is on “Transportation Security Administration (TSA): Issues, Successes, and Solutions.”

Ms. Megan Palmer is currently employed with Securitas Critical Infrastructure Services in the private security world working at various aerospace defense companies, while completing her master’s at UNH and last year of sports on the UNH NCAA Division II Women’s Volleyball Team.

Ms. Megan Palmer plans to gain federal employment in a security related agency in the U.S. or join the military as an officer.

Katerina Vardalaki is a Senior Analyst at the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS). Originally from Crete, where she completed her BA in Sociology, and later moved to Leiden, Netherlands to acquire her MSc in Criminology and Comparative Criminal Justice. During her studies she completed her internship in Europol in the Department of Innovation. Her interests include cyber- crime, security, espionage, technological threats and intelligence. She has conducted multiple research papers on IoT, Fake News technologies, disinformation, and ransomware, and is passionate about OSINT.

Mr. Andreas Mountzouroulias is Senior Advisor at the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS) based in Athens, Greece. He is a Journalist, Author, Defence Analyst, Geopolitics Analyst and Businessman.
He is Editor in Chief in Greek website, Pentapostagma.gr and his research experience specializes in investigation and focuses on foreign policy, defense and on counter terrorism.
Mr. Andreas Mountzouroulias has been working for 10 years as journalist and he studied Political Sciences and Journalism.

Evripidis Tantalakis is a Senior Analyst in the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS). He is a PhD candidate with a full scholarship at the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Leicester, UK. Mr. Tantalakis has worked as an Associate Tutor in the Distance Learning MA programs at the University of Leicester, teaching modules on intelligence and security, intelligence ethics, and intelligence failure. He studied History at the University of Thessaly and earned his MA in International Relations and World Order at the University of Leicester. His research interests include intelligence culture, military intelligence, intelligence reform, insurgency, counterinsurgency (COIN) strategy, and COIN doctrine development. Mr. Tantalakis is also a member of the International Association for Intelligence Education (IAFIE).

Publications:
Evripidis Tantalakis (2019) Insurgents’ intelligence network and practices during the Greek Civil War, Intelligence and National Security, 34:7, 1045-1063.