Artemis Pipinelli, Phd, was born in Athens, Greece to Maria (nee: Karalis) and Achilles Pipinelli on November 11, 1945. Growing up in post-WWII Athens was challenging and surely shaped the determination and grit that she embodied. With a flair for the dramatic even at an early age, Artemis developed a love of acting, which led her to a career in Greek cinema. She had roles in three comedic movies: Ο Εξυπνάκιας (The Smartaleck, 1966), Η Κοροϊδάρα (The Big Fool, 1967), and most notably, Η Kόρη μου η Ψεύτρα (My Daughter the Liar, 1967), where she played a key supporting part of Eleni.
In 1968, Artemis came to New York City, to pursue her Bachelor’s of Arts and continue her acting career. She enrolled in an English as a Second Language course at New York University and it was there that she met Bigan Saliani, a filmmaker who recently immigrated from Iran. After marrying, they celebrated the birth of their son, Dimitri, in 1970. Although they later divorced, Artemis and Bigan remained friends for the rest of her life, spending holidays and other special events together, with Bigan and his family, Mary, Julian and Kamran.
Artemis broadened her career as an entertainer, moving to Las Vegas in 1977, where she performed in a magic act that would provide material for many a story later. Having earned her undergraduate degree in Drama in 1976, Artemis started pursuing advanced and professional studies after returning to New York in 1979. She later earned her Master’s of Arts degree in Drama Therapy from NYU in 1990 and another Master’s of Arts in Psychology from the New School for Social Research. She also became a Licensed Creative Arts Therapist, Certified Sex Therapist, and Certified Life Coach. Artemis ultimately went on to graduate with a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Walden University in 2005; her dissertation “Psychological Variables and Depression among Nursing Home Residents” received the Psi Chi 2006 dissertation award.
Artemis’s deep interest in psychology and her love of learning, and then teaching, led her on a path that was rewarding not just for its intellectual engagement but also, and perhaps most importantly, to the relationships she formed in an expansive community of friends, colleagues, and students. She served as an adjunct professor at Lehman College, Hunter College, BMCC, and TCI College.
She made an impact in people’s lives through her involvement in professional organizations, such as the American Psychological Association Division 52, International Psychology, where she was a member. Artemis also served in a number of leadership positions, including: Treasurer and four-time President of the Division of Women’s Issues of the New York State Psychological Association; President of the Independent Practice Division of NYSPA; Executive Board member of the New York State Psychological Society, Academic Division; and Executive Board member of the Manhattan Psychological Association.
Although she lived in the United States for most of her life, Artemis maintained deep ties to Greece and her extended family. She regularly visited her brothers, Yiannis and Vagelis, and sister-in-law Katerina; she was a doting aunt to Marianna and Achilles, and delighted in spending time — in person and virtually — with Achilles’s daughter, Elektra, and Marianna’s sons, Nikiforos and Anastasis. She loved spending time with her godson Nikos Apostolakis and his family. She also treasured her life-long connection with her cousin, Fotini Falidas, as well as Fofi’s daughters, Maria, Vasiliki and Ioanna. She is survived by these family members, as well as her loving son, Dimitri, his partner, Cynthia Yang, Chris Rozzono DeGobbi (her housemate) and many colleagues in the field of Psychology she forged over the years.
One of the words that Artemis said the most during her stay in the hospital where she ultimately passed was “love.” She surely would want to be remembered for her appreciation and embodiment of beauty and glamor, for her scrappiness and intelligence, and for her fantastic sense of humor that brought so many people joy. But, perhaps most of all, she would want to be remembered for the love that she savored, that she shared, and that she inspired.
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