According to the Federation of Cypriot American Organisations (FCAO), Greek Cypriots began immigrating to the United States in the late 19th century, while the first Greek Cypriot association there was founded in 1917, under the name Cyprian Brotherhood. The primary purposes of the Brotherhood were the moral and financial support and the education of its members.
Fast forward about a century later, in 2013, a group of young American Cypriots assisted by the Cyprus-U.S. Chamber of Commerce decided to set up the Cypriot Young Professionals (CYP) organisation, aiming to help members of the community build closer ties and attain their business goals in the United States and Cyprus.
This Saturday, June 24, CYP is hosting a big party to celebrate its 10th birthday. On the occasion of the group’s tin anniversary, Laura Neroulias, founder of LORA PR and the first president of the Cypriot Young Professionals, talks to in-Cyprus about CYP’s past and future, as well as what it does to empower American Cypriots both professionally and socially.
What was the idea behind the creation of the Cypriot Young Professionals?
What started off as a thought quickly became a greater discussion that ultimately cemented a strong journey for CYP. I still remember everything so vividly. It started off in mid-2012 with a kickoff meeting that took place at the Keo Room at the Cyprus Trade Centre in New York. The setting was set with about 15 Cypriot ‘kids’ (all in their mid-late 20’s), and five adults from the Cyprus-U.S. Chamber of Commerce. We were invited to all sit around a table, introduced ourselves and discussed how we can do something really great for young Cypriots who are looking to thrive in the business world, meet like-minded individuals, and ultimately, build communications and partnerships that would shape a strong economic future the Cypriot community in the States. Many of us did not even know each other previously, and in some ways, somehow, we were plucked from our everyday lives to attend this meeting that looking back, was fate.
The biggest impact from that meeting was that we had a mix of professions that were represented, including, public relations, architecture, education, finance, law, entertainment, the arts, accounting, fashion, fitness, real estate…and that made a whole difference. That’s when I knew this was going to be a very different organisation that was inclusive to all types of businesses. That was something I wanted to be part of.
Having the full support of the Cyprus-U.S. Chamber of Commerce since that exploratory meeting allowed us to have great mentors along the way. Every board member was excited for the next generation of Cypriots to take over and have it be done in our own style. Social media was starting to get really strong at that point and brought in many new ideas from a digital perspective that got everyone excited.
We were starting something in the Cypriot community that didn’t exist for the younger generation, and we took this very seriously. One of the reasons we have been able to continue to be successful through all 10 years is because we always have a core group of individuals involved that are part of very different professions which also means they all have different experiences, think differently, and bring in different perspectives, new type of creativity to events, programmes, partnerships and ways to promote and push each other to be leaders.
When we first were putting together the idea of the Cypriot Young Professionals, one of the most important things we focused on was being a resource for young Cypriots coming to America and wanting to find their way in the business world. Building CYP, we wanted to make sure we had programmes in place that would make them feel welcome to come, network, ask questions and become great.
I learned this from my father, Colonel Andonios Neroulias who previously was the president of the American Hellenic Institute and for years, and years, and years would host monthly networking events at the same location in New York City. I would see so many people coming from Greece and Cyprus with their resumes, looking to network and my father would always find a way to connect them with someone, or many people, that could help them navigate a new place.
It was important to build professional development programmes, host career fairs, put together fireside chats and leadership dinners, create entrepreneurial workshops and help connect and foster ‘pick up the phone’ relationships with many incredible Cypriot business leaders in the States so they too could navigate easier and be successful.
How does CYP help its members, both professionally and socially?
Over the last 10 years, the Cypriot Young Professionals has brought the community (young and elder) together both professionally and socially while at the same time, engaging a new generation of inspiring business leaders and entrepreneurs. Building a foundation for success by implementing impactful initiatives such as monthly networking events that highlight and celebrate specific young professionals and their successes to date, round-table discussions & fireside chats, leadership dinners & entrepreneurship workshops, to launching the CYP Mentorship Programme specifically designed to provide an opportunity for students and young professionals to work with a mentor, in an established professional in their field.
The idea of the programme was to establish a structured and formal relationship where individuals share ideas and experiences within the context of the mentee’s professional development goals, and perhaps, create a mentor and mentee relationship that could be life-long.
Bringing important Cypriot and Greek causes to the forefront has been a way for CYP to allow its members to grow together and give back within this short amount of time and throughout the 10 years, has become the fabric of the organisation. While promoting business, trade and creating ways to build leaders and entrepreneurs into our Cypriot community is at the core, the importance of supporting worthwhile causes has led to putting together initiatives that help reinforce and educate the public on the Cyprus Children’s Fund, the Cyprus Society for the Protection of Spastic and Handicapped Children, Thalassemia, and continuing to support the future, by way of launching a J1 Visa program, donating school supplies to Lefkara Public School & Limassol Public School, medical equipment for the newborn intensive care unit in Nicosia, and more.
Though the efforts of the Cyprus-U.S. Chamber of Commerce continuing to support the new era of Cypriot leaders, we have had several one-of-a-kind opportunities in meeting two Presidents of the Republic of Cyprus (Mr. Nicos Anastasiades & Mr. Nikos Christodoulides), as well as other notables within the Cypriot community including several of Ministers of the Cyprus Ministry (Finance, Tourism, Transport), the Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs, Ambassadors, several dignitaries, and business leaders.
While all of the above is just a mere glimpse into how this organisation creates value and helps its members thrive within their professional world, and also within a social setting. It’s also what you take away from it that really shows that this has worked.
What are some notable CYP members’ stories?
If I could sum this up, ultimately, it would be what has come about and out of CYP, especially from the founders that is most notable. We have all stuck together since the first meeting, and are now very successful business and career people due to the fact that CYP prepared us for so much that was to come, and so much that would be expected of us.
We have politicians and business leaders. For instance, Michael Tannousis is a New York Assemblyman who began his career in public service in 2006 when he was hired as an aide to former New York City Council Minority Leader James Oddo. After graduating from law school, he became an Assistant District Attorney in the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, where he prosecuted major felony offences. We also have Stathis Theodoropoulos who is 4th Ward Councilman for the town of Kearny, New Jersey and is the founder & principal of a successful lighting business, Firefly Lighting, which he has been able to grow due to the many connections he has made through CYP.
We have successful leaders who own their own businesses. For instance, Demetrios Comodromos has his architecture and design firm, Method Design. We have Petroula Lambrou Kalognomas who left her life as a corporate CPA to start a very successful cake pop & specialty dessert business, Patty Pop. We have Peter Michael who started his own real estate brokerage, Piere Michel Real Estate. We have Tatiana Raftis-Serghides who has been surrounded by cosmetics her whole life, and after the passing of her uncle, the incredible Nikos Mouyiaris, she wanted to carry on what became known as a family business and start a new chapter of cosmetics in the family called, The Beauty Tailor…and me as well who started my own public relations/marketing company called, LORA PR, focusing on media relations, social media, digital/SEO management, events, celebrity partnerships and more. Many of the CYP Founders are part of my client roster very own clients.
We also have those who have very successful careers at their respective companies such as Jovanna Tannousis (15 years working at one of the Big Four accounting firms) and Renos Savvides (20+ years in finance and currently at Neuberger Berman). While we may not be seeing each other at CYP monthly meetings anymore, we all work together and continue to mentor each other in our own ways. Sticking together has been a huge opportunity for us to succeed.
What do you have in store for CYP’s 10th birthday?
First off, we wanted to celebrate and honour the years of accomplishments CYP has had over the last decade. On Saturday, June 24, 2023, we’re going back to our roots to have a big event at CODE Astoria, which was previously known as Central Astoria, New York (Cypriot-owned), and more importantly, it was where we hosted all of our CYP events in the first few years. It’s very sentimental and we have great memories there including launching the CYP Mentorship Programme, hosting events for the Cyprus Children’s Fund and also, just being in the same room and coming together with so many of, “the Greats” of the Cyprus-U.S. Chamber of Commerce that always supported us.
As CYP founders, we also wanted to host an event that was a thank you to the Cyprus-U.S. Chamber of Commerce, as they were the ones that saw the need to create and put action steps in place to build a platform for young, business-eager Cypriots. They have been supportive of us in several ways, been open to our ideas, letting us run with them, coming to our events and always picking up the phone if we ever need anything.
While they all helped us and moulded us into the business professionals we are today, our goal is to do the same for a continued and bright future for CYP. There have been such incredible Chamber mentors over the course of 10 years that have always encouraged us to ‘go for it!” and continue to be completely open to, “passing the baton” to us. This event will also celebrate us supporting the next generation of CYP and the many new, and exciting things to be announced that will continue to bring a forward-thinking, strategic vision that stands the test of time and emphasizes a lifelong commitment to the Cypriot business community.
For anyone interested in learning more about, or to become a member of the Cypriot Young Professionals of the Cyprus-U.S. Chamber of Commerce you can find them on Facebook and Instagram. Also a quick email to [email protected] can do the trick!
*According to the latest data (2015) Federation of Cypriot American Organisations, there were between 70,000 to 80,000 people of Greek Cypriot descent living in the United States.
