Northeastern University
Ph.D. Political Science, Public & International Affairs
Northwestern University
M.S.J. Broadcast Journalism
Valparaiso University
B.A. Journalism
Dr. Mary Cardaras is a writer, EMMY award-winning journalist, and documentary filmmaker. A Greek-born adoptee, Dr. Cardaras is the author of the acclaimed Ripped at the Root: An Adoption Story (Spuyten Duyvil, 2021) and editor of The Voices of the Lost Children of Greece: Oral Histories (2023). She is an advocate for the restoration of Greek citizenship for some 4,000 Greek children, now adults, whose citizenship was stripped from them when they were taken from their country after the Cold War. Her pioneering initiative, “Nostos for Greek Adoptees” aims to compile an anthology of Greek adoptee stories and facilitate reunions of adopted children with their birth relatives.
Dr. Cardaras has been teaching journalism courses to university students since 1991 – including at LaSalle (Philadelphia), Syracuse (London campus), the American International University (Richmond, UK) and Northeastern (Boston). As a teacher, she has fostered the development of students as curious, engaged, and effective citizens of their communities and of the world. The Demos Center, an international center for university students with year-round programming promoting democracy through the encouragement of civic engagement, is the culmination of her dedication to government and public policy that serves the people; journalism that shines a light in the dark corners of the world; and in the fostering of art and creativity, which are the hallmarks of all free societies. The core mission of the Demos Center is to provide a premiere study abroad experience in one of the most consequential cities on earth: Athens, Greece.