HCE is managed by the Council, which consists of Charity Trustees. Each HCE Council member follows the Code of Conduct.
Following an electoral process carried out during the Annual General Meeting that was held on 20/11/2020, the current HCE Council consists of:
Penny Karanasiou, President
“Penny Karanasiou is an official translator, entrepreneur and academic. She was born in Trikala, Thessaly, Greece. She came to the United Kingdom in 2010 for her doctoral studies and she’s been living in Edinburgh since then. She’s been working at the University of Edinburgh for the last 6 years, and she is also the managing director of 16 translation agencies in Scotland and Greece. She is married and has 3 children. She volunteers in many organisations and has been part of the HCE’s Council in the past”
Ioannis Lalos, Secretary
“Born in Piraeus with origins from Arcadia, Peloponnesus. In 1993, he moved for the first time to Edinburgh because of his wife and in order to study Computer Science. He works in the IT industry for more than 20 years as an employee in various companies and/or as a contractor. Aside his HCE voluntary work, Ioannis is a keen amateur musician and likes running, having completed 3 different full marathons, in Athens, Edinburgh and Paris. With his wife are very proud parents of 4 children.”
Antonia Papamichalopoulou, Treasurer
“I was born and raised in Glyfada, Athens in 1980. Upon graduation from high school, I attended courses in an Institute of Vocational Training for the degree of Administrational Secretary. For a few years, I worked as a hotel receptionist in a hotel that my father run, and then I moved to Thessaloniki, where I worked in the Local Conservatory of Kalamaria as a secretary. In 2009, I met my husband and in 2011, I gave birth to our son. The three of us moved to Edinburgh in 2018, without speaking the language very well. I currently attend Edinburgh College for ESOL English and British Sign Language. I work as a Pupil Support Assistant in a Special primary school.”
Harula Filippidou, Council Member
“I was born in Sweden to Greek Immigrant parents. I finished the Primary School in Kilkis and then we moved to Thessaloniki where I continued to the High school. I studied Pedagogy-direction Psychology at the University of Padova, in Italy and when I came back to Greece I worked as Italian tutor, Pedagogist at Youth Protection Centre of Thessaloniki, accountant Assistant, postwoman, sales representative, among many others. Because of the financial crisis in Greece, in 2013 I had to move to Scotland with my five years old son where I started working as Personal Assistant for disabled people at Thistle Foundation and since April 2022 I work for the NHS Lothian. As I have always been interested in the personal development, I studied Trauma Therapy and I had my personal Orgon Therapy in Greece and other alternative therapies in Scotland. In my free time I like reading, doing yoga and tai chi, I go swimming and I like cooking for my friends.”