In celebration of International Women’s Day 2024, the 42nd Greek Festival of Sydney, in collaboration with The Greek Herald, will hold an inspiring event to recognise and celebrate the remarkable achievements of Greek women in Australia and around the world.
Taking place on Friday, 8 March 2024, at the Prince Henry Centre at Little Bay, Sydney from 6.30pm, the IWD event will feature a dynamic panel discussion highlighting the diverse contributions of multigenerational Greek women to multicultural communities.
The esteemed panellists for the night are:
- Andriana Simos: Panel Moderator & Digital Editor at The Greek Herald
- Jenny Zagas: Principal at Lucas Gardens School & Disability Advocate
- Anais Menounos: Sydney Lawyer & Co-founder of the St Nicholas Mission Academy in Ghana, Africa
- Marika Kontellis: Director at Zakumi Consulting, CEO at Inner Sydney Voice, CEO at Council on the Ageing NSW
- Yiana Roumeliotis: Community Engagement Officer at the Addison Road Community Organisation
In the lead up to the event – which will also feature the inaugural presentation of The Greek Herald Woman of the Year award – we will showcase each panellist and their accomplishments.
Who is Marika Kontellis:
Marika Kontellis is Director at Zakumi Consulting Pty Ltd, Executive Officer at Inner Sydney Voice, and Chief Executive Officer at Council on the Ageing NSW.
Marika was born into a community minded and activist family. Her father was a known and respected international wrestler who helped establish and support the Greek Community in NSW during the 1960s, 70s and 80s.
Marika has built a successful consultancy service exclusively for the health and social care sectors. She has worked with Australia’s most respected care agencies including The Benevolent Society of NSW, Cerebral Palsy Alliance, Disability Council of NSW, Catholic Care and presently, Inner Sydney Voice.
She is a relationship manager and knows how to push people out of their comfort zone and support them to participate in thinking to progress the common good. Her frontline social work experience brings credibility to her leadership advice when she supports social care organisations to understand their communities, predict future customer needs and honestly review service models.
Marika is a past member of the Disability Council of NSW, the Guardianship Tribunal of NSW and was, until 2012, an elected Local Government Councillor.
In between her paid work, Marika juggles her family commitments including caring and supporting her father and her mother who lives with dementia.
