By Demetris Tsakas and Constantine S. Sirigos

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, NY – Members of the Greek-American community – expatriates, immigrants, and people born in the United States of Greek descent – all talk about the change they crave or the tumult they fear from the upcoming Greek elections, but three brave souls, all women, are actually doing something about it.

Rania Antonopoulos and Iole Kalavrezou and attorney Niki K. Kerameus appear on the lists of at-large Parliamentary candidates which were released Monday afternoon.

Antonopoulos, Senior Scholar and director of the Gender Equality and the Economy program at the Levy Institute at Bard College a liberal arts school at Annandale-on-Hudson, NY is guaranteed a seat in Parliament, having been placed second on the at-large list of the far left party SYRIZA. Kerameus, who has worked for the legal giant Cravath, Swaine & Moore is number three on conservative New Democracy’s list.

Kalavrezou is 5th on the list of the fledgling smaller left-of-center party “To Potami,” and has more slender prospects.

The election of these candidates may prove to be a first step towards Greece’s greater use of the inexhaustible human resources and capabilities of the Diaspora.

THH contacted Cravath to learn more about the 34 year-old Kerameus, who worked for a number of years at its New York office, but was told it was the policy of the firm not to speak to the press on such matters. Calls to the office of the managing partner were not returned at press time.

Kerameus is a partner in the firm of Kerameus & Partners in Athens. She has served as a teaching assistant at the University Paris II – Pantheon-Assas Law School, where she earned a master’s degree and a law degree and was ranked first in her class. At Harvard Law School she completed an LL.M. degree with a focus on international arbitration and litigation.

Since 2007 she has worked as a lawyer in Greece. Kerameus regularly publishes articles and studies in Arbitration law and speaks at conferences. In 2014 he was appointed member of the legislative committee for drafting a single legislative framework for the organization, operation and supervision of NGOs in Greece.

She is also a community organizer and a founding member of the Non-profit Association “Desmos”, which help the most vulnerable citizens such as the homeless.

When Antonopoulos’ news was announced, the officers and members of the local SYRIZA organization contacted TNH to express their joy and excitement.

Antonopoulos will depart from New York on Thursday for Athens in order to join the SYRIZA campaign under the leadership of Alexis Tsipras.

Antonopoulos holds a PhD in economics from the New School for Social Research. She has published studies in international journals such and has served as Professor of Economics at New York University, a visiting professor at Barnard College, Columbia University and an expert at the United Nations and the International Labour Organisation.

“I’m ready to participate in the great effort to bring the homeland out of the crisis,” she told TNH on Skype between meetings immediately after the announcement, which she said “was no surprise, but a great honor.”