With over 35 years of experience in education, Dr. Leonardatos brings an abundance of knowledge and expertise to the American Community Schools of Athens.
Dr. Leonardatos began his journey in education as an English and Social Studies teacher at the Greek American Institute (GAI) in the Bronx, NY. He then took on the role of Chair of Social Studies at Archbishop Molloy High School before returning to GAI where he began his career as a high school principal. His leadership extended over 19 years as the principal of Clarkstown High School North, and most recently, he served as the Head of High School at Léman Manhattan Preparatory School. Among his notable achievements are developing a Universal Pre-Kindergarten Program, expanding IB and AP course offerings, initiating an IBDP Programme, participating in the IB for All program, and serving as president of the School Administrators Association of New York State.
Dr. Leonardatos earned his Ph.D. in Educational Policy from the University at Albany. He has enhanced his global perspective by visiting and building relationships with high schools on four continents. His contributions to the field of education include publishing articles in educational journals, teaching School Law at the graduate level, and serving as a peer reviewer for professional education publications.
Dr. Leonardatos is thrilled to join ACS Athens and embrace life in Greece. He looks forward to engaging with the students, faculty, staff, and community. In his first year as Academy Principal, his primary focus will be to listen, learn, and support the student-centered environment of ACS Athens.
Outside of his professional commitments, Dr. Leonardatos enjoys spending quality time with his wife, Kristy, and their two mini huskies, Hudson and Nooma. You can often find them walking their pups, hiking, exploring, cooking, or catching a basketball game. Both are eager to immerse themselves in their new community and make a meaningful impact.
email: leonardatosh@acs.gr
Mr. Embrock continues to be a dedicated and passionate educator and lifelong learner with 31 years of experience in education. He became the Middle School Principal at ACS Athens in 2023-24 and is excited for his second year with this amazing school community. His experience includes 12 years of teaching Secondary Social Studies (all in the state of South Dakota in the United States) and 19 years in Secondary Education Administration.
Mr. Embrock earned his Bachelor of Science degree from South Dakota State University (SDSU) with a major in Geography Education and also earned his Masters of Education with a specialty in Education Administration from SDSU. He continues to learn and grow as an educational leader to best guide and facilitate teachers in their pedagogical practices.
Mr. Embrock will encourage teachers to reflect on and collaborate on their teaching pedagogy and challenge themselves to further develop their learning with a growth mindset. Communication and collaboration are priorities to improve our teaching practices and student learning. There will be a focus on developing and cultivating positive professional relationships with teachers and staff and showing an authentic appreciation for their dedication to our students.
A major priority of Mr. Embrock is to enhance the positive and healthy learning environment of ACS Athens Middle School. Students need to feel safe and a sense of belonging in order to learn. Our school will promote a culture of respect of self and others with a focus on responsible character. Our students will be encouraged to demonstrate a growth mindset with a love and curiosity of learning.
Mr. Embrock and his wife, Susan, celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary this past August and have 3 children - Aaron (27), Isaac (24), Amber (21). He enjoys spending time with his family, experiencing the outdoors, golfing, hiking, traveling, reading, and watching movies.
Mr. Embrock is excited to continue serving the ACS Athens school community as Middle School Principal and is confident that his passion and experience will enhance our students’ learning experiences and their success.
email: embrockm@acs.gr
Ms. Andrikopoulos, born in Melbourne, Australia, earned a Bachelor of Science Education with a major in Mathematics from Melbourne University, Australia 1983.
Ms. Andrikopoulos has been teaching at ACS Athens since 1989. She has taught Science and Mathematics at all elementary, middle, and academy levels and has worked extensively with the curriculum.
Ms. Andrikopoulos has also held Math Bowls, Math Clubs, Mathematical Olympiad Programs, and SAT classes for interested and motivated students. She has taught students in the Youth-to-Youth Program, helping them adjust and integrate within a regular daily school program.
Ms. Andrikopoulos has been JK -12 Mathematics Coordinator for over ten years, developing and implementing curriculum initiatives. She has also led the school as an Internal Coordinator for Accreditation, leading the Middle School with Action Research and supporting the Sustaining Excellence protocol.
Through many enriching experiences during her teaching career, Ms. Andrikopoulos has published articles on “The Art of Teaching Mathematics” and "Brain Research and Cognitive Thinking”. She has also been an active participant and school presenter at NESA Conferences in Europe and Asia, AERO Mathematics Conferences in Europe, and USA, ICODL and EDEN-OSOS Conferences in Athens, Greece.
Ms. Andrikopoulos has also published a series of mathematics books, "Mathematics A Thematic Approach Books 1, 2, 3" for upper elementary and middle school students to help them consolidate, use, and apply mathematical concepts. She has also published a mathematics book "General Knowledge Math Refresher" to help educators prepare easily and thoroughly for their Teaching Certificate.
As a scholar and educator, her research in recent years has involved finding ways to enhance conceptual understanding of mathematics. Her Action Research work mainly focused on Cumulative Assessments, Student-Designed Culminating Projects, Instructional Rubrics, Best Fit Differentiated Instruction Models, and Cultivating positive mindsets to demonstrate Sustainable Development Goals through student models to address global challenges.
Ms. Andrikopoulos has also created school videos through the ACS Media Studio as she has implemented various processes with her students in and out of the classroom on Project-Based Learning.
Ms. Andrikopoulos is currently the Elementary School Principal. She takes great pride in being a member of ACS Athens and is always looking forward to implementing best practices supported by a professional learning community framework. She is passionate, and her goal is always to cultivate a positive, healthy school environment where students feel confident and strong.
Ms. Andrikopoulos values providing opportunities for students to develop into independent thinkers and responsible, conscious citizens. She is continually and carefully working towards supporting the best-fit learning path for our students.
Ms. Andrikopoulos enjoys traveling, exploring new places, and spending time with family.
email: andrikopoulosd@acs.gr
Sophia Moros, Principal and Director of Early Childhood and Development at ACS Athens, has a rich educational and professional background. Born and raised in Chicago, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and a Master of Arts in Reading from St. Xavier University. She is currently pursuing an Educational Doctorate (EdD) in Learning Design and Leadership at the University of Illinois, Urbana.
Sophia began her career teaching elementary students in Illinois public schools. After earning her M.A., she worked as a Reading Specialist, collaborating with Sony Corporation to implement the Lightspan interactive reading program, which used the Sony Playstation to help low-performing students meet state standards. She also served as a Reading Literacy Teacher for ESL students and later earned TESOL and Business English Certificates from Trinity College, Barcelona, where she also taught.
In 2009, Sophia joined the American Community Schools (ACS) Athens, where she created a nurturing and innovative environment for elementary students. Her professional growth included certifications in Dyslexia from Buffalo State University, participation in AERO International training, and presentations at European Council of International Schools (ECIS) conferences. In addition to this, she presented at the 9th Annual Learning Difference Conference to showcase an ACS Athens Elementary School initiative program she and Ms. Stavi Dimas, ACS Faculty, created for second grade, called "iteach2!.at the 9th Annual Learning Difference Conference and collaborated with Dr. Andreas Tsokos, previously the Academy Science Teacher and Division Chair of Science/Mathematics & Technology, on demonstrating Conceptual Mathematics at the ACS Athens Colloquium.
To further her leadership goals, Sophia completed an Academic Leadership Course in Standards-Based Curriculum in Virginia and continued her training with the AERO U.S. Department of State Mathematics Workshop. She later shared her expertise in conceptual mathematics and Growth Mindset with the Elementary School faculty.
After six years as Elementary School Principal, Sophia now serves as the Director of Early Childhood and Development, overseeing grades Pre-Junior Kindergarten through Second Grade. She is passionate about this role and is excited to introduce innovative designs in the Early Childhood Department, including the creation of the Conscious Cub mascot, reflecting her commitment to the ACS Athens community.
email: moross@acs.gr
With over 25 years of experience in the multinational corporate sector, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry, Ms. Demi Aroni has established a highly regarded career as a strategic communications leader. Ms. Ms. Aroni's expertise encompasses the development and execution of comprehensive communication strategies, including internal and external communications, crisis management, corporate social responsibility initiatives, stakeholder engagement, and patient association collaboration. Additionally, Ms. Aroni excels in regulatory and compliance communications, employee training programs, reputation management, and brand communication, driving organizational success through effective and aligned messaging across diverse platforms and audiences. Notably, Ms. Aroni was a key member of the European team responsible for designing and implementing the Code of Conduct governing interactions between the pharmaceutical industry and the medical community. Ms. Aroni also contributed to the founding of the European Institute of Health in Barcelona, Spain.
As an experienced consultant, Ms. Aroni has developed and executed corporate communication strategies for leading pharmaceutical companies and designed training programs on Effective Communications, Team Building, Innovative Thinking, and Effective Leadership. Ms. Aroni holds two bachelor's degrees, in Business Administration (UK, University of Plymouth) and Psychology (University of Strasbourg), and has completed advanced programs from prestigious institutions, including the London Business School, focusing on Effective Leadership.
email: aronid@acs.gr
MaryAnn Augoustatos is an educator. Her field of specialty is high school mathematics and international school administration. Born and raised in Manhattan, New York and being of Greek descent she has spent over three decades as an educator at the American Community Schools of Athens Greece ( ACS Athens). She holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and a Masters of Arts in Education. She is a certified International School Administrator and has received her secondary mathematics teaching certification from the State of New York.
She is currently the Director of the Learning Commons at ACS Athens, an entity in our school that she was instrumental in co-establishing. The Learning Commons is the center of student and faculty collaboration, learning, research and knowledge construction at ACS Athens. This learning space provides our students and faculty with state of the art facilities, such as a media studio, a math and science studio, a writing/research studio, an incubator of students’ creative ideas , an Artificial Intelligence lab and more. These spaces are staffed with professionals having expertise in the fields of Mathematics, all Sciences, Writing, Research, Literacy, STEAM education, and Media. Students and faculty function as architects of their own learning as they pursue their intellectual curiosities. The Learning Commons is commonly referred to as the heartbeat of education at ACS Athens.
Prior to being a Director of the learning Commons, she spent almost a decade as a Middle School principal at ACS Athens and almost two decades as mathematics department chair.
Upon entering ACS Athens she taught mathematics for 20 years and spent 16 years of her instructional career as the Mathematics Department Chair having created the position of Elementary School Math Specialist and the ACS Athens Mathematics Competition as a few of her highlights. Her teaching experience consists of High School Mathematics courses throughout all academic levels with an emphasis on IB and Honors level courses. Two years prior to becoming Principal, she assumed the position of JK-12 Technology Department Chair concurrently. During her principalship, she began and completed a full curriculum review process for all courses school-wide at ACS Athens.
Additionally, Ms. Augoustatos is a chair of the Middle States Association. She has been on multiple team visits as a team member and chair serving the Committee of Institution-wide Accreditation of the Middle School Association of Colleges and School (MSA) in the Middle East and Europe. At ACS Athens she is currently chairing the re-accreditation process school wide through MSA's Sustaining Excellence protocol.
email: augoustatosm@acs.gr