A longtime pillar of New York’s Greek-American broadcasting community, Ioanna Antzoulis-Giannopoulos, Director of Operations of Hellenic Public Radio–Cosmos FM, died on Sunday, August 23, at her residence in Fanos, near the town of Glyfa in Fthiotida, central Greece. She was 72.
Antzoulis-Giannopoulos was in Greece with her family for her customary summer stay in Fthiotida.
News of her death was shared with Cosmos FM listeners by longtime producer and former GAEPIS president Stelios Taketzis during a Sunday broadcast. The station altered its programming following the announcement, with music from Manos Hadjidakis’ The Smile of the Mona Lisa accompanying tributes to her.
Ioanna Antzoulis-Giannopoulos: A central figure at New York’s Cosmos FM
For two decades, Antzoulis-Giannopoulos was one of the people responsible for the day-to-day operation of Cosmos FM, the New York-based Greek-American public radio service.
She joined the Greek American Educational Public Information System (GAEPIS), the nonprofit organization behind Cosmos FM, as a volunteer in 2001. She later became an administrative assistant and in 2006 took over as Director of Operations, a position she held until her death.
Her position remained central to the organization in 2026. In remarks at Cosmos FM’s 31st Phidippides Award Gala in New York in June, Archbishop Elpidophoros of America publicly acknowledged Giannopoulos as the station’s Director of Operations alongside its board and executive leadership.
Cosmos FM broadcasts through WNYE 91.5 FM and is described by New York City’s media service as the metropolitan area’s only daily bilingual, non-commercial Greek radio program, carrying programming in Greek and English on news, Greece and Cyprus, culture, religion, music and community affairs.
Her role, not only behind the microphone, but also as a media strategist was widely recognized. Producers and volunteers affectionately referred to her as the person who held the Cosmos FM family together, while a 2023 account of the Phidippides Award gala recalled her being described as the “Guardian Angel of Cosmos FM.”
From Lamia to Brooklyn and Greek-American radio
Antzoulis-Giannopoulos was born in Lamia, in the region of Fthiotida, and was raised in Athens. In 1973, she moved with her family to Brooklyn, New York.
She took English writing courses at New York University and later earned a liberal arts degree from Brooklyn College. Her involvement with Greek-language broadcasting began early: at 18, she worked on the daily Greek radio program Paralikas Show on New York station WEVD.
She later stepped away from radio while raising her two sons, George and Thomas. During those years, she was active at Three Hierarchs Greek Orthodox Church, serving as Parent-Teacher Organization president, as a member of the school board and with the parish Philoptochos organization. She also studied accounting and computer science in evening courses while working in the family business.
Her return to broadcasting through Cosmos FM in 2001 marked the beginning of what became more than two decades of service to an institution closely associated with preserving Greek language, culture and community life in the New York metropolitan area.
Honored for service to the Greek-American community
In March 2018, the Association of Greek American Professional Women honored Antzoulis-Giannopoulos with its Greek American Woman of the Year Award. The distinction recognized her work and contributions to the Greek-American community and the wider Hellenic diaspora.
Her sudden death prompted an outpouring of condolences from Greek-American organizations, community officials, and prominent figures who had worked with her throughout her decades of service to the diaspora.
Antzoulis-Giannopoulos is survived by her sons, George and Thomas, and other family members.
The cause of her death has not been announced. Funeral arrangements are expected to be released by the family at a later time.
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