CulturePolis
Greece| Aug 2025 - Present
As of August 2025, I have transitioned from Director to External Operations Expert at CulturePolis, continuing to support the organization through a flexible, freelance partnership. In this new role, I provide targeted operational support to ensure continuity across key administrative and project functions—without the full-time leadership scope of a directorship. This setup allows CulturePolis to benefit from strategic operations expertise while staying agile.
Skills used: Operations management · Project Management · Workflow optimization · Procurement oversight · Digital collaboration tools (Google Workspace, Asana etc.) · EU project compliance
CultiNet
Online | Jan 2014 – May 2015
Co-founded an online platform facilitating arts collaborations. 1st prize at the #2 Match & Develop a Startup competition by the National Bank of Greece.
Accelerators/Incubators:
– Orange Grove (http://www.orangegrove.biz)
– The Founder Institute – dropped out before incorporation (http://fi.com)
Blog/Events:
– Culture & Capital Blog – Online | 2014-2025. Editorial leadership and content strategy on cultural entrepreneurship, digital transformation, and value driven resilient operations. Reached 600 readers. This blog now transitions into Operations Antifragility, the SolutionTank editorial space focused on scalable systems, operational resilience, and organizational design.
– Design and moderation of Cultural Entrepreneurship Talks in Greece and Croatia | 2014-2015, convening practitioners, policymakers, and creatives to exchange applied knowledge. Reached 340 people.
Skills used: Business Development · Lean methodology · Operations · Fundraising · Recruiting · Team Leadership · Events
“Athena” Research and Innovation Center
Athens, Greece | Oct 2012 – Jul 2013
Administered complex technical deliverables and coordinated transnational research teams across 6 innovation projects. Monitored milestones, financials, and impact KPIs for high-tech EU initiatives.
Skills used: Project Governance · Project Management · Budgeting · Cross-sector collaboration · Policy Awareness
Testimonial
“I had an excellent collaboration with Maria-Louiza while organizing the International Conference on Research Infrastructures (ICRI 2014) as part of the Greek Presidency of the European Union, taking place in Athens last spring. Overall, she is a competent professional, consistent, hardworking, and communicative. She speaks several languages and has experience in the European Commission matters. Finally, she knows how to manage projects and their finances successfully.” Fotis Karagiannis, 2014
Real Estate projects
https://cpacorfu.com/ & https://gktizein.gr/ & various private clients
Greece | Aug 2006 – Sep 2010
Managed end-to-end client projects with strategic planning and vendor management. Developed agile delivery skills through design, execution and consulting.
Skills used: Business Strategy · Workload Prioritization · Customer Satisfaction · Project Portfolio Management · Strategic Thinking · Recruiting · Team Leadership
Testimonial
“Maria Louiza is an intelligent woman with positive and crystal clear ideas. She knows what she wants and how to achieve it. Working with her was inspirational and creative. She is patient and helpful in arriving to the right result. Her own profession as an interior designer gives her a useful insight into design in general, either it concerns web design or graphic design. A woman ready to share her own ideas…” Vicky Kolovou, 2008
New York College
Greece | Feb 2003 – Jan 2005
Creative courses training: ‘Critical Inquiry & Theory’ module for the BA “Interior Architecture – Decoration”, ‘Multicultural Aesthetics’ module for students of different disciplines.
Skills used: Lesson design · Training · Academic planning · Reporting
Lambrakis Foundation
Athens, Greece | May 2003 – Jul 2004
Coordinated EU digital heritage projects. Managed content for an educational platform (e-paideia.net).
Skills used: Project Governance · Project Management · Translating processes
Testimonial
“Competent researcher with an analytical mind and creative skills.
With the capacity to undertake initiatives, for problem-solving oriented work and facilitating decisions.” Nikitas Kastis, 2012
Maria-Louiza Laopodi, MSc 