Local Leaders
Barbara Euser, Neapolis, Greece
Barbara Euser was born in Denver, Colorado and grew up loving the mountains and wide Western spaces. When she was ten years old, her family took a passenger ship across the Atlantic to the Netherlands to visit her father’s many relatives. That trip inspired her fascination with travel, world cultures, and the sea. She has a B.A. and M.A. in political science from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a J.D. from the University of Denver. As a political officer with the U.S. Department of State, she served in Guangzhou,China, Washington, DC, and Paris, France. She is the author and editor of over a dozen books. From her home overlooking Vatika Bay, she sees Pavlopetri every day. After meeting archeologists at the site in 2010, she became aware of the dangers facing its preservation. She began working with other local people to protect their cultural heritage and the marine environment. “Pavlopetri is important to the entire world. We are the local stewards of the site, with the responsibility to preserve, protect, and promote it, so we may learn what it has to teach us — and our children.”
Werner Müller, Cologne, Germany
Werner Müller was born in the old German city of Cologne. After four years in the German Air Force, he worked for German television in technical network marketing and as a production manager and line producer. Because of his interest in aviation, he began to explore the rich aviation history of his hometown Cologne. What started as a hobby gradually became an obsession! Werner frequently gives lectures, writes articles and organizes tours and exhibitions on the subject. He also runs a large archive and the website www.Luftfahrtarchiv-Koeln.de
As a proud citizen of Cologne, he is actively engaged in trying to preserve and restore the historic airport building and the Prussian fortress, and to build out a stronger lobby for cultural heritage
integration in modern city planning. A developer once told him, “we have the cathedral and that’s enough” – Werner definitely does not agree.
The issue is in his DNA – Werner’s great-grandfather Wilhem Rieck was a member of the German expedition dispatched to build the Darulaman Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan in the 1920s. Photos and diary exhibits from that adventure are posted on www.Darulaman.de
We certainly agree with Werner when he says: “History is exciting and entertaining!”