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RIDGEFIELD, N.J. – Dr. Haikaz Martiros Grigorian, distinguished physician, and psychiatrist, Armenian-American community leader, and expert on the psychosocial effects of the Armenian Genocide, passed away peacefully at home on January 17 at the age of 90 after a long illness, surrounded by his family.

Born in Abadan, Iran, on November 18, 1927 to survivors of the Armenian Genocide, he emigrated to the United States in 1949. Dr. Grigorian received his undergraduate degree from Boston University, with graduate and medical degrees from Columbia University and George Washington University School of Medicine. He completed his residency at Wa

shington Hospital Center and his psychoanalytic training, from 1964 to 1974, at the Washington (DC) Psychoanalytic Institute. He was a practicing psychiatrist and a professor of psychiatry at George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, DC, and in NJ – both at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School (Newark) and at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (Piscataway). At UMDNJ he long served as Director of Residency Training and as Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, mentoring hundreds of medical students and residents.

He held numerous professional and visiting posts and fellowships, including Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association where he served on the Committee on Human Rights; President of the New Jersey Psychiatric Association; and member of the New Jersey Psychoanalytic Association. He participated in the White House Conference on Ethnicity and Mental Health in 1978 and was a delegate to the White House Conference on Aging in 1981. Dr. Grigorian worked on one of three transcultural research projects on drug addiction for the World Health Organization and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in Tehran, Iran in 1973-1974.

He, along with colleague Dr. Levon Z. Boyajian, delivered groundbreaking research on the “Psychosocial Sequelae of the Armenian Genocide” at the International Conference on Holocaust and Genocide in Tel Aviv in 1982. He was the recipient for the prestigious Bruno Lima Award from the American Psychiatric Association for his disaster-relief work after the Armenian earthquake, for which he also received a US Fulbright Fellowship. He was a member of the Psychiatric Outreach Program for Armenia since 1989 and Chairman of the Medical Board for AGBU Medical Outreach for Earthquake Victims from 1990 to 1991. With years of devotion to the Armenian Community, he contributed his professional expertise to the Armenian diaspora experience on many levels, making use of opportunities to introduce Armenian socio-cultural aspects to the world professional community.

In 1994, President Levon Ter-Petrosian of Armenia bestowed upon him a special recognition for humanitarian services. In 1995 he received the Armenian Students Association Sarafian Award for Good Citizenship and recognition from the Armenian American Society for Studies on Stress and Genocide.

He was a co-founder of the Armenian Assembly of America in Washington, D.C. in 1972, Vice Chair of its Steering Committee in 1972, and a member of its Board of Directors from 1973 to 1975. He was a vital member of the Armenian American Health Professional Organization (AAHPO). He was an AAHPO Honoree in 2011, and served on the AAHPO Board of Directors. He was founder of the Diaspora Foundation, incorporated in 1985 and was its President. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Land and Culture Organization and a member of the Board of Trustees of Sts. Vartanantz Armenian Church.

Haikaz is survived by his wife of 62 years, Siran (nee Papazian), brother Dr. Sombat Grigorian and family of Potomac, Maryland, his children Nyiri (Robert Bruce), Magda (Simon), Nareg, and Raffi (Nancy), nine grandchildren Taleen, Ian, Cilicia, Max, Olivia, Russell, Eli, Aidan and Liam. He was predeceased by his sisters, Sirvart Mensoian (Newton, MA) and Azniv Dersookian (Bethesda, MD) and his parents, Khachig and Yeghisabeth Grigorian.

His wake took place on January 19 at the William G. Basralian Funeral Home in Oradell, NJ, and his funeral service on January 20 at Sts. Vartanantz Armenian Apostolic Church in Ridgefield, NJ. He was then interred in Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, New York.

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WYNNEWOOD, Penn. – Antoine S. Bazarbashian passed away peacefully in his sleep on January 23.

Born in Beirut, Lebanon, to Hester and Sarkis Bazarbashian, Antoine came to the United States in 1960. His career as a lithographer began shortly after he immigrated, and he was very passionate about his work. Antoine was a devoted father and husband. His family was his pride and joy in life. Antoine was well known for his quick wit and comedic timing.

He was a dedicated advocate of the Armenian community in Philadelphia, as well as across the United States and Canada. He was the former chairman of the Philadelphia chapter of the Tekeyan Cultural Association, member of the Central Board of Directors of the Tekeyan Cultural Association of the United States and Canada, Executive Committee member of the Philadelphia chapter of the Armenian General Benevolent Union, and a passionate member of the District Committee of the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party of the Eastern United States and Canada. Antoine was an active parishioner of St. Sahag and St. Mesrob Armenian Apostolic Church for many years and a member of the Knights of Vartan.

In 2015, Antoine was honored with a lifetime achievement award by the Central Board of the Tekeyan Cultural Association for his lifelong service. He will be greatly missed by his family, friends, and the Armenian community in Philadelphia and throughout the world.

Antoine is survived by his wife Rose (Yessayan), sons Armen (Bridget) and Vicken. His funeral service will be at 11 a.m. on Friday, January 26 at St. Sahag and St. Mesrob Armenian Apostolic Church in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. Viewing is one hour prior to the service in the church and interment will be at Arlington Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Sahag and St. Mesrob Armenian Apostolic Church, the Tekeyan Cultural Association, or the Armenian Sisters Academy.  All donations should be mailed directly to the specific organizations.

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By Aram Arkun

Mirror-Spectator Staff

WATERTOWN, Mass. – On Sunday, January 21, St. James Armenian Church’s Armene and Veronica Tarvezian Hall was packed, with standing room only, for a program sponsored by Friends of Hrant Dink commemorating the 11^th anniversary of Dink’s death. There were two main speakers, Ohannes Kıliçdağı, and Gaye Özpınar, and a special guest.

St. James pastor Fr. Arakel Aljalian welcomed the audience and introduced Herman Purutyan who served as master of ceremonies. Purutyan in turn introduced the speakers.

First was Ohannes Kılıçdağı, a graduate of Getronagan Armenian High School in his native city of Istanbul. He has a doctorate from Boğaziçi University in Istanbul and taught the social and cultural history of Turkey at Bilgi University, again in Istanbul. He was a research fellow at the University of Michigan in 2012-13, and at present is a visiting post-doctoral fellow at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University. He is a columnist for the Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos, which Hrant Dink helped found.

Kılıçdağı acknowledged the Kurds and Turks in the audience, and seemed to focus much of his talk on them. He suggested that they moved to the US as part of an accelerating trend of emigration from Turkey among the middle and upper classes because, he said, they thought that “they were not living in a just and free society. They could not see a secure and happy future for themselves nor for their children. As for Armenians, this has been the situation not just for a few years, but for 150 years or more.” In other words, he stressed, in Turkey today everyone has the potential of turning into Armenians, though they are luckier because they are still alive. Sooner or later, he said, anybody in Turkey, unless a just and free society were to be established, might decide to emigrate.

Watertown Hrant Dink Commemoration

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Hrant Dink’s primary concern, Kılıçdağı said, was the democratization of Turkey and the peaceful cohabitation of its peoples. Dink, he said, was fighting for a free and just society for all, not just for Armenians. If Turkey did not face the mass violence of the past, including the Armenian Genocide, it could affect anyone in the future.

Hrant Dink was killed, Kılıçdağı explained, because he succeeded in opening people’s eyes to this, and this made him particularly dangerous to the rulers. He said, “What was special about him was his skill in communications. … He could make even those who had hostile feelings toward him to listen to him.” He built bridges between peoples or different segments of Turkish society which were living in isolation from one another, Kılıçdağı said.

Turkish Armenians reacted in various ways to Dink, who had suddenly led to much more attention being directed at them in Turkey. They had previously been used to living almost invisibly, in silence, even if their rights were being violated, but Dink encouraged them to demand their rights and justice. Kılıçdağı said, “Hrant Dink saved their dignity and gave it back to them. After all, you can’t keep your honor, as a human being, if you cannot object whenever you face an injustice or oppression.” They began to act as if they were equal Turkish citizens, not just a minority.

Kılıçdağı proposed that leaving Turkey does not mean leaving the struggle for democracy and justice there. This is a common struggle for Turks, Armenians and others. He suggested that one way to continue is by supporting the most important heritage of Dink, the newspaper, Agos. Kılıçdağı stated: “Agos still tries to defend the rights of all oppressed groups or identities and to give voice to them. It also tries to protect the Armenian heritage in Turkey, to remind [about] what has been forgotten, as well as to defend and demand Armenians’ rights vis-à-vis public authority.”

The second main speaker, Cambridge-based Gaye Özpınar, was born and raised in Bursa, Turkey. She earned her Juris Doctor degree from Suffolk University Law School in Boston in 2006 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Brandeis University in 2002.  Before starting her own office in 2010, she worked with the Boston immigration law firm Barker, Epstein and Loscocco and the American Consumer Law Group in Waltham, Massachusetts.  She also served as ‘Of Counsel’ to Exemplar Law Group.

Currently her practice is focused on US immigration law, and she has helped many individuals and businesses solve their immigration problems.  She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), National Lawyers Guild (NLG), Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. (MCLE), and Political Asylum/Immigration Project (PAIR). She is also an active member of BostonBul, a nonprofit group focusing on human rights violations in Turkey.

Özpınar’s talk was very emotional and moving. She declared that sometimes literature helps us in dealing with pain. In particular, she said that In the Ruins, Zabel Yesayan’s book on the 1909 Cilician massacres “describes my feelings, of what I feel when I need to talk about the Genocide as a Turk, and about remembering Hrant Dink, commemorating him, that grief, that pain that causes physical, debilitating pain.”

Özpınar said that she had a dream at night prior to her talk, and in the dream asked Hrant Dink what she should say. He responded that she should speak from the heart. Indeed, Özpınar spoke openly and passionately, and told the audience about her own path of coming to grips with the Armenian Genocide, which did not happen overnight, in order to help Armenians in the diaspora understand how this is possible.

She said that she should like to think that the majority of the people in Turkey who do not know about the Genocide “are people who could see things if shown, they are people who keep their hearts open…”  However, they grew up in Turkey, regardless of their politics, with a nationalist educational system which taught that talk about genocide is simply an attack on Turkey.

Özpınar went back to her own childhood to give examples. She grew up in a privileged family and thought, like many children, that she could change the world. She said that she wrote a long essay in fourth grade, in which, she said, “I was holding hands with Atatürk and we were going to save the country. I was very well aware that we were a backward country…I don’t know if it came from a dream or I made it up, but I still have that image in my mind, holding hands, walking with him, knowing that we will make this a better country.”

When she was 11 years old, her parents sent her to an international camp in Italy, and she felt obliged to act as a “mini-diplomat,” and “act as an exemplary Turk to show everyone else that Turks are good people.” In this camp and another two years later, she defended Turkey against all sorts of criticism and asserted that it was progressive.

She made her first shift in attitude after coming to the US. She came to Brandeis to study, and there was a Turkish-Armenian dialogue event in the year 2000, but she stayed away, because, she said, “I was not ready.” She thought that perhaps somebody would attack her. Instead, she tried to become more American than a Turk.

However, by 2006, she read a book by the novelist Yashar Kemal, who talked about what happened to the Armenians in a few places. She said to herself that something happened here, and decided “I have to read about this. What happened—what happened to the Armenian people? What did they teach me? They did not teach us anything.”

In high school her history teacher announced that the students who were going to go abroad for their education should come to her office to get a folder of information. The students would get attacked while abroad, and the folder contained the answers which they could use. Özpınar however never went to the office to pick up this file, thinking that she would on her own eventually look into this.

In America, she met Armenians who, she said, “affected me, who bettered my life in the United States.” She said that she felt that such human interactions “is what Hrant wanted—for Armenians and Turks to meet, in spaces like this, to share their stories, to continue to fight for justice, to continue to fight and ask for democracy wherever we are.”

She concluded, to great applause, that “Changing the laws, fighting for democracy, getting into office, asking for resolutions for Genocide recognition, I would say that is only one part of the job. The other part is for us to open our hearts, to share our individual stories, to tell people our own stories, to share pictures, because I think that is how it starts, and that is the most valuable part. And Hrant, they couldn’t stand him because he started that, as Ohannes said. They were scared of him because he started that. And I am here, and my Turkish friends are here with you today sitting, listening, and sharing because of Hrant Dink. And we will continue to do it.”

Harry Parsekian of the Friends of Hrant Dink organization then introduced a guest in the audience who only a week ago arrived in Boston: Ayşe Kadıoğlu, who was a professor of political science at Sabancı University in Istanbul and on the Hrant Dink Foundation board. Parsekian related that she is a graduate of Boston University, where she obtained her doctorate, and was a student of Howard Zinn, and now has come to Harvard. He exclaimed, “She is a mobile, global Hye–she is a very dedicated Armenian.”

Dr. Kadıoğlu said that Hrant Dink was a friend of hers, and went on to tell an anecdote about the 2005 icebreaking conference in Istanbul on Armenians during the decline of the Ottoman Empire, where a woman was screaming periodically that “you are traitors, what you are doing is an awful thing for this country,” despite the efforts of panel chairs to quiet her. After Hrant finished speaking, Kadıoğlu looked around to find him and suddenly saw him being hugged by that woman who was screaming. Hrant shrugged his shoulders, as if to say, I don’t know why—she is the one hugging me.

Kadıoğlu said, “He could talk. He could convince people. Maybe that is why they thought of him as dangerous. He could really communicate. Maybe that is why he was shot.” Kadıoğlu said that Hrant wrote in his last piece in Agos about feeling like a pigeon looking to the left and right in anxiety, and “that is a feeling we all share right now, living in Turkey…we all feel threatened.” She said she always thought of Hrant as trying to establish bridges between people, and “on the day of his funeral, there were hundreds of thousands of people who went out there to guard that bridge, in his name. I always thought he would have loved to see that.”

Parsekian thanked Kadıoğlu for her talk, and in Turkish thanked all the Turkish friends who came. Finally, he declared, “To me, Hrant Dink was a humanist, and as far as that is concerned, I consider Hrant a Mandela…a great humanist and human rights person who cared for everybody, not just Armenians or Turks, but humanity.”

After a break for refreshments, Zadik Özcan gave some presents and mementos on behalf of the Friends of Hrant Dink to the two main speakers, Kıliçdağı and Özpınar.

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LOS ANGELES – California Governor Jerry Brown appointed Victoria Bedrossian Wilson, 48, of Los Angeles, to a judgeship in the Los Angeles Superior Court, according to his December 22, 2017 announcement.

Wilson has been a Supervising Deputy Attorney General at the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General since 2001, where she has served as a deputy attorney general from 1994 to 2001.

She has handled several significant cases. Wilson received the Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in 2007 from then-Attorney General Jerry Brown.  She has taught appellate brief writing to new attorneys at the Attorney General’s Office and lectured at peace officer training courses for the California Peace Officers’ Association.

She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Southern California School of Law (USC) and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with honors: Phi Beta Kappa; Magna Cum Laude; Dean’s Honor List.

She graduated from Alex Pilibos Armenian High School in Hollywood. She is the daughter of Armine Bedrossian and the late Kourken Bedrossian and is married to Malcolm Wilson.

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By Alin K. Gregorian

Mirror-Spectator Staff

NEW YORK — For Dr. Garo Armen, time is running out for rural Armenia and therefore he is focusing on reviving it as quickly and efficiently as possible.

The organization has raised $35 million to help rural Armenians.

When asked how is he able to get so many high-profile celebrities for the annual winter fundraising ball, he cited the importance of the cause.

“If what you’re doing is real, and you convey the urgency of what needs to be done in a realistic way, it will attract genuine people in pursuance of the cause,” he said. “These people come not because we are paying them  but they genuinely believe in the cause. We are blessed that [it has] almost [become] a phenomenon that feeds on itself.”

Armen said he created COAF for one reason: “One simple word: the need.”

Compounding the need is that there is so much potential among that population.

“The government wasn’t doing it and the church wasn’t doing enough for the people of Armenia,” he said.

“At the time, I was so busy that I needed COAF like I needed a hole in the head,” he joked. “I wasn’t looking for a purpose in life but when I witnessed the Armen villages,” he said he felt he had no choice but to help.

Armen, 64,  is chairman and chief executive officer of Agenus Inc., formerly known as Antigenics Inc., a biotechnology company that discovered Oncophage, a personalized cancer vaccine recently approved in Russia for patients with earlier-stage kidney cancer.

In addition, he made news in the early 2000s for resuscitating Elan Corporation, which worked on drug development based in Ireland, through a $1 billion restructuring program. (Armen left Elan in 2004, and eventually, in 2013, the company went under.)

For Armen, the need was immediate. The condition of the people, because of their lack of resources, was dire, but it was compounded by that population being advanced “intellectually and culturally.”

The combination of the two factors created “such a disconnect that it would lead to losing people as resources.”

And that was not acceptable to him.

COAF, he said, wanted to “create conditions that allow them to advance.”

“We peeled through layers and as a result implemented the program,” Armen said, creating ones “appropriate for each [village] setting.”

The help, he said, goes to Armenia in real time. “It’s a crisis, so we don’t have the luxury to establish a foundation. We address the crisis. We come in with a plan to resource people,” he noted.

First order of business, therefore, was establishing schools as well as improving medical care for the villagers as well as establishing a civil society.

In many cases, he said, renovating schools is not enough; teachers and principals need to be trained and retrained on how to educate. “We want to take education beyond the traditional setting and take health care beyond heath care setting.”

“We started with one village in Armavir,” he said. “Then the neighboring villages came to us and said ‘Mer Mekhgeh Incheh (What is our fault?)’ that you are not doing it for us,” he recalled.

Thus, the program first expanded into five villages in the region and later into other provinces, for a total of five provinces (marzes) and 44 villages.

“We are doing it with the same methodology,” he said.

One major concept to which he referred to as “beautiful” was the COAF Smart Program. The COAF Smart Center, located in Lori, will officially open in May. “It’s a phenomenal architectural masterpiece,” he said with pride.

The center basically provides high-speed internet, as well as classes in a variety of subjects including technology (programming, engineering and robotics), music and arts, linguistics and communication, as well as classes on recycling, health and lifestyle and business and civic education.

Many other smaller hubs will be connected to the main center.

He further explained that his ambition is very simple: “to afford them the freedom to do what they want to do. Some think rural life is best suited for them.” He said he wanted to create conditions where “you can be in a rural setting and be productive.”

“We are thinking about the future that doesn’t resemble the arc of the past,” Armen said. “The purpose is to basically convey a message to the people that it’s OK to think big. We have become a nation that thinks small. We have to change our thinking because our people are worth it.”

That way, he said, they can support families while staying in their local villages.

In addition, he explained, “I cannot envision a country where only the capital city is the driver. Where will people in the capital city get their food from? In Armenian villages, the level of sophistication is so high that it would be a waste of people resources not to provide them the means to advance.”

Again, and again, Armen went back to the theme of dreams and visions for success. “We have to have a dream to fulfil. Without the dream, there is no chance you can realize that dream,” he noted.

“Having an objective that is worthy helps,” he added.

With the technology which COAF is focusing on, village residents can “press a button” and be able to use high-speed internet. The center for the Internet is the village of Debed.

There is no time to lose, he said.

“Armenia and Armenians are in danger of becoming an extinct species,” he said. The real dangers facing the country force it to plan efficiently and do some hard work.

For Armen, being Armenian means something, as he grew up with his grandmother’s stories about the Armenian Genocide.

He first visited Armenia in 2001 and later again in 2003, where he honed his vision for COAF and what his organization could provide to Armenia.

Now, he visits the country four to six times a year and COAF has a staff of 150 on the ground. The group also cooperates as needed with other organizations.

Teen Immigrant in New York

Armen arrived in New York in 1970 from Turkey at age 17 literally with no money, but the drive to make it. He worked through college and did various jobs day and night, including for a time a messenger for the Armenian General Benevolent Union office, and paid his way through college and graduate school. He received his doctorate in physical chemistry from the City University of New York.

“Opportunities presented themselves through luck, hard work or good judgment,” leading eventually to his current status as the head of a pioneering biotech company.

He became more interested in biomedicine when he was taking care of his mother, who died of cancer. He founded and is the CEO of Agenus, which employs 250 people in three different locations, Lexington, Mass., Berkeley, Calif. and Cambridge, UK.

“I want to make Agenus a huge success,” he cited one of his goals for the future.

The field of immunology, he said, “is very embryonic but still the company has done a phenomenal job.”

“We are driving that to a much higher level of success,” Armen said. “I want to piggy-back that success with COAF to address issues in rural Armenia. We can create a country that will not only prosper but help neighbors prosper.”

He has two sons and lives with his partner, Dr. Alice Saraydarian, and divides his time between homes in Boston, New York, Yerevan as well as a farm in Maine. He chuckled that he was a “gypsy” and lived on planes most of the time.

To learn more about COAF visit www.coafkids.org

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ROCKVILLE, Md. — Middlesex Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian and Arlington Police Chief Fred Ryan were among the national experts to participate in a discussion on implementation of Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) programs on Monday, January 29.

Koutoujian and Ryan were invited to participate in the dialogue convened by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrationhttps://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline (SAMHSA) and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) due to their leadership in implementing programs to assist individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs). The goal of the convening was to develop guidance for implementing MAT programs across the criminal justice system to assist individuals with SUDs.

Koutoujian and Ryan are nationally recognized leaders for their efforts to address the opioid crisis in Massachusetts. In addition to participating in the convening, Koutoujian has previously presented on the MSO’s Medication Assisted Treatment and Opioid Recovery (MATADOR) program at the White House, while Chief Ryan has testified before the United States Senate regarding the Arlington Opiate Outreach Initiative.

“I want to thank SAMHSA and the BJA for the invitation to participate today,” said Koutoujian. “As we all seek to stem the tide of the opioid epidemic, nothing could be more important than learning from one another and sharing best practices. This convening provided an opportunity to do both.”

“Those with Substance Use Disorders are our neighbors, friends, and loved ones, and law enforcement stands on the front lines of the battle against this epidemic,” Ryan said. “I am grateful to participate in a dialog with other leaders on this subject, including my friend and colleague Sheriff Koutoujian.”

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Kansas City Star) — Kansas City Star sports columnist Vahe Gregorian has been named the National Sports Media Association’s Missouri Sportswriter of the Year for the fifth time.

Gregorian has been with the Star since 2013. He holds a master’s degree from Missouri, has co-authored several books and was nominated for a Pulitzer in 2000 while with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

He and Star colleague Sam Mellinger were also each named Top 10 columnists in the country in the large-category classification of the most recent APSE contest.

Also honored by the National Sports Media Association (NSMA) this week were KC native Kevin Harlan as National Sportscaster of the Year, and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski as National Sportswriter of the Year.

Harlan was recognized for his work on NFL, NBA and college basketball broadcasts. He began his career as the radio and TV play-by-play man for the Kansas City Kings and later worked on KU, Mizzou and Chiefs broadcasts.

Mike Kelly, radio voice of the Missouri Tiger Radio Network, earned his fifth Missouri Sportscaster of the Year award. Kansas’ Sportswriter of the Year is Bob Davidson of the Salina Journal; K-State Radio’s Wyatt Thompson was named the Kansas Sportscaster of the Year for the third time.

Sportscasters Woody Durham and Bryant Gumbel and Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post were named to the NSMA Hall of Fame.

Vahe Gregorian was born in Beirut, Lebanon, and his love of football began when he was a child playing in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania’s Pop Warner league. He was class president of Swarthmore High School during his senior year. He then made the varsity football team at the University of Pennsylvania. He graduated in 1983 with a BA in English and continued his studies at the University of Missouri’s Graduate School of Journalism, the country’s oldest school of journalism, where he earned an MA in 1988. In 2004, he was chosen as a Knight-Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan, where he focused on history and the demise of sportsmanship.

He is the son of Dr. Vartan and Clare Gregorian.

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GLENDALE — Glendale attorney Sarkis Babachanian has assumed as the 70^th president of the Glendale Bar Association, succeeding Arbella Azizian.

Babachanian was sworn in by Burbank Superior Court Judge William D. Stewart at the association’s January 10 installation dinner at the Oakmont Country Club.

Also installed were attorneys Arpa Stepanian as vice president, Michael J. Zuckerman as treasurer and Armine Bazikyan as secretary.

Founded in 1949, the Glendale Bar Association serves Glendale, the third largest city in Los Angeles County, as well as La Cresenta, La Canada-Flintridge, Burbank, Pasadena and neighboring communities.

The association is dedicated to enhancing respect for the rule of law and the professional practices of its members. It offers networking and career development opportunities, insightful continuing legal education sessions, an arbitration service to settle attorney-client fee disputes and community service, including the association’s Law Day program in which local judges and attorneys lecture hundreds of local high school students on law-related topics.

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YEREVAN — Armenian Democratic Liberal Party (Ramgavar) Supreme Council Chairman Vartan Nazerian received the Gratitude Medal of the Republic of Armenia from President Serzh Sargsyan on Sunday, January 28.

The Appreciation Medal is given out traditionally on Army Day, in gratitude for support shown toward the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia.

Nazerian is a resident of Los Angeles.

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By Berge Ayvazian

BOSTON and NEW YORK — Armenia has emerged as a rising star of tech entrepreneurship, targeting to be one of the top next generation technology hubs. This was the theme of the two #FutureIsTech networking evening meetings in Boston and New York City, devoted to the potential for tech start-ups and venture capital in Armenia.

More than 80 young professionals attended these two inspiring meetups with friends and enthusiasts at the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) Center in Watertown on January 19, and later at the Microsoft Technology Center, in New York, on January 24.

The programs in the two cities featured a presentation by Ashot Arzumanyan, co-founder of SmartGateVC, an Armenian pre-seed venture capital firm.

Arzumanyan presented the history and potential of the Armenian tech community as an opportunity to invest in a promising startup. He emphasized the progress made in the Armenian tech economy and venture capital (VC) investments in Armenia over the past three years. A total of $87 million in cumulative disclosed venture capital funding has been raised between 2015-2017, by Armenian start-ups including PicsArt, Codefights, SoloLearn and Teamable, led by major VCs including Sequoia, Sutter Hill Ventures, DCM Ventures, Learn Capital, e.venutures and True Ventures. There have also been several notable acquisitions of Armenian high tech companies since 2010, including

* Virage Logic being acquired by Synopsys in 2010

* Itegrien acquired by vmware in 2010

* Monitis acquitted by GFI in 2011

* LiveLook acquired by Oracle in 2014

* Icon apps acquired by Science in 2014

* Memori acruired by Cisco in 2014

* Sorcio acquired by Helpsystems in 2016

* 6cdm acquired by Moody’s in 2017

“Armenian tech has great team, reliable track record and clear focus on succeeding globally,” he said.

SmartGateVC is newly launched venture capital firm backed by top-tier investors from Silicon Valley targeting seed stage investments in Armenian tech companies in Artificial Intelligence, Cyber-Security, Block Chain/Quantum Physics and the Internet of Things. This new fund is designed to complement larger VCs such as Granatus Ventures and Hive Fund both founded in 2014.

In addition to Arzumanyan, formerly of Granatus Ventures, the co-founders of SmartGateVC include Vazgen Hakobjyan, CTO of Teamable, and Hambardzum Kaghketsyan of Draper University, leading the Silicon Valley executive entrepreneurship program founded by Venture Capitalist Tim Draper.

SmartGateVC has raised $500,000 to date and plans to provide pre-seed investments to promising Armenian entrepreneurs and support their start-ups through the early stage of their development. Having attracted a large group of advisors and mentors, the new firm has plans to raise another $1-2 million this spring to support its first 4-6 portfolio companies.

(Berge Ayvazian is co-founder of the Armenian High Tech Council [Armtech].)

The post Armenian Tech Start-ups and Venture Capital – Reaching for the Brass Ring appeared first on The Armenian Mirror-Spectator.

By Aram Arkun

Mirror-Spectator Staff

WATERTOWN – The Flaming Pit (in Armenian, Varvogh Tonir) is a new wood fire grill and pizza restaurant and caterer newly started last fall by Tigran Yesayan in Watertown at 222 Arsenal Street. It offers Armenian and Caucasian specialties like Ajarakan khachapuri (a delicious combination of eggs and cheese in dough that is boat-shaped and cooked on the grill), various types of kebabs and barbecued meats, and vegetables grilled Armenian style and mixed into a salad. Even among the pizzas, one version called Ardora includes pastirma (basturma). Alongside the Armenian items, the Flaming Pit offers American favorites like hamburgers, French fries, chicken wings and chicken fingers, as well as Italian items like calzones, strombolis, cannolis and zeppolis.

Yesayan left his native Armenia when he was 19 in 2002, and later his parents joined him. In Armenia, Yesayan studied at the University of Physical Culture for two years before emigrating, and was a weightlifter. He wanted to explore the United States and worked in a fast-food restaurant for a few months in the Washington D.C. area. He traveled a lot and then in September 2003 moved to Boston in order to go to school. He graduated Mass Bay Community College with an associate’s degree, and then to Northeastern University. In both schools he studied accounting, so he ended up in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in finance and accounting.

Yesayan accrued some experience in American restaurants while pursuing his education and acclimating to life in the United States. He worked in an American restaurant owned by an Armenian in Maryland for eight or ten months before moving to Boston. In Boston he worked for Charley’s Saloon downtown on Newbury Street, Bertucci’s, and briefly at a pizza place on Mount Auburn Street which no longer exists. In 2005 he became involved in the construction business while going to school. All that time he said, “I always had the idea to open a restaurant.”

Yesayan also knew he wanted to open his restaurant in Watertown. Aside living in Watertown himself and not wanting to drive a distance to the restaurant, Yesayan said, “I think the number one reason is because of the Armenian community, then, the growing American population here, and third, all the buildings coming up. I could already see what was happening, especially to Arsenal Street, with the Arsenal project, the apartment buildings here, and the growing Armenian community.” He feels that within the last ten years a lot of Armenians have moved there from Armenia and even California. Even Yesayan’s landlord is Armenian.

Until recently, Yesayan said, there were not too many formal Armenian restaurants in the area, and the oldest one, Karoun, unfortunately recently closed. He said, When I was going out, I wanted to go to an Armenian restaurant, but there was no choice.” Now, a new wave of Armenian restaurants have opened or are about to open in the Watertown area, with the Flaming Pit in the vanguard. Yesayan pointed out that his restaurant is a bit different than the others, and uses an Aztec wood-burning grill, but in any case, he said, “the more Armenian restaurants the better.”

The Flaming Pit was founded as a family business. Yesayan said, “My parents are here, even though I don’t want them to work too hard, but it is the beginning so they are helping a lot. My friend Alex [Alexander Yeghiayan] is running the place as general manager and I help as much as I can, because I have the other business.”

The restaurant opened on October 24, 2017 and had to overcome various difficulties, including a chimney fire on November 30 that led to a six-day closing, and issues with the software used for sales. Yesayan said, “I am happy. The most important thing is that we were able to overcome those problems.”

The restaurant has two dining areas, and a bar. Yesayan is in the process of obtaining a liquor license, and then plans more renovations, to turn one part of the restaurant more formal, with pictures on the walls, music and televisions. He already has built the tables from scratch for the restaurant and plans to build the chairs too. There will be swinging doors. He plans first to provide stereo music but later live music at least one or two days a week. He said, “It is nice and clean right now but we want to make it fancy, so people will come to enjoy the atmosphere as well as the food.”

Yesayan revealed a few secrets. He is working on a true fire pit, or Armenian tonir, and secondly, planning to add kofte, or blended meatballs Echmiadzin-style, made with very fresh meat. This will be added to the menu. In addition, the restaurant will have specials every day to see which dishes people will want on a regular basis to add to the menu. For example, sbas yogurt soup at present is featured as the soup of the day. His plan is to become known for a limited number of unique menu items instead of having a vast menu selection.

A number of Armenian associations are planning to have parties and gatherings in the restaurant. So far, Yesayan has not advertised, but has benefited from favorable articles in the Boston Globe (praising the khachapuri) and the Boston Eater as well as Facebook and Yelp reviews. Once the renovations to the second section of the restaurant are finished and the liquor license obtained, a grand opening will be advertised, hopefully sometime in March.

The Flaming Pit is open Monday to Thursday 11 am to 10 pm, Friday and Saturday 11 am to 11 pm, and Sunday 12 pm to 9 pm (see flamingpit.net).

The post Flaming Pit Restaurant in Watertown Offers Armenian and Caucasian Specialties appeared first on The Armenian Mirror-Spectator.

MEDFORD, Mass. — The Fletcher School’s Tavitian Scholars Program (https://tavitianfoundation.org/) at Tufts University is back for its 19th year. Fifteen scholars arrived on campus in January to take part in the six-month-long program, which offers training in public policy and administration for mid-career Armenian government officials.

Conducted in collaboration with the Tavitian Foundation, the program is divided into two terms, each consisting of two five-week periods, during which students take a series of 11 courses and engage in extracurricular and travel opportunities.

The program has an impressive array of alumni who work in mid-to-senior level positions in the office of Armenia’s president, the parliament, Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justice and Economy, and other government institutions.

Fletcher’s Director of Executive Education Robert Loynd said he is excited to see the new scholars acclimate to the school. “We are thrilled to welcome this incredibly talented group of Armenian scholars and professionals,” he said. “The Fletcher School is privileged to further prepare these leaders to continue making a lasting and positive impact on Armenia’s domestic and foreign affairs.”

Below is more information about each.

• Asanet Aloyan:

I hold a master’s degree in Business Administration from the American University of Armenia. Currently I am chief tax inspector in the Methodology of taxes and mandatory payments division of the State Revenue Committee (SRC). I am also lecturer at training center of the SRC. I’m giving trainings for staff of SRC and also for taxpayers about all the clarifications and amendments in tax legislation. Before working in the public sector I was working in private sector having different positions mostly in financial organization starting from administrative manager, financial analyzer, economic analyst, team leader, chief financial specialist to chief accountant and director.

• Naira Avchyan

I hold an MBA degree from the American University of Armenia (Affiliate of the University of California) as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Radio engineering from the State Engineering University of Armenia (SEUA). Currently, I work as a securities market regulation expert at the Securities market regulation division of the Central Bank of Armenia. I have an expertise in regulatory and legislative policy and procedures for the financial sector, consumer finances, public finances, corporate finances, private pension system, financial markets and instruments, collective investment schemes, financial analysis, and risk management. I am a member of several working groups in the Eurasian Economic Commission. I have played a key role in designing and implementing the pension reform in Armenia. Currently, I am in the process of getting my PhD in finance.

• Mariam Ayvazyan

I am an adviser to the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly where I am responsible for producing legislative drafts and writing opinions on legal drafts. Previously, I worked as a adviser to the Minister of Justice and as a legal expert at the Center for Research and Analysis at the National Assembly. I hold a BA, MA from the Faculty of Law at Yerevan State University.

Currently I am a PhD student at Yerevan State University. I am also a graduate of the George Marshall European Center for Security Studies.

• Gagik Barseghyan

I hold a PhD in Economics in the Scientific-Research Institute of Agricultural Economy at the Ministry of Agriculture (Yerevan, Armenia) in 2000. I have graduated from the Armenian Agricultural Academy receiving the degree Economist on Finance and Accounting and the School of Public Administration of the Republic of Armenia receiving the degree of Civil Officer. During post graduate study in the Scientific-Research Institute of Agricultural Economy I was the deputy head of the council of youth scientists. Currently I am the Coordinating head of the Budget Office at the National Assembly of Armenia. Previously, I worked as an expert at the Standing Committee on Financial credit and Budgetary Affairs of the National Assembly (2002- 2016, an assistant adviser to the Prime Minister (2000-2002) and Deputy Head of Minister’s Staff of Agriculture (1999-2000).

• Ara Edoyan

I hold a diploma specialist’s degree (equivalent to master’s) in Philology and accomplished post-graduate courses in American Literature in the Yerevan State University. I worked at the Ministry of Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports as a counselor to minister, participated in art management international courses in the United Kingdom for a month. Now I work at the Ministry of Education and Science of Armenia for about 15 years, 10 of which as deputy chief of staff. I have worked as an acting vice-rector at a university where I was responsible for education–industry links, organizing internships. At my present job I am coordinating the annual work-planning of the ministry departments, the assessment process, and the correspondence involved in drafting laws and regulations and other daily tasks.

• Gayane Hayrapetyan

I have been working at the Ministry of Culture, Youth Affairs and Tourism of the Republic of Artsakh since 2012, first as assistant to the minister, then as chief specialist at the Division of Youth Affairs. I am currently holding the position of the Head of the Secretariat. Throughout these years I have coordinated a number of international cultural and youth projects from music festivals to youth forums and non-formal education projects. As part of dealing with human resources management in my present work I took part in Civil Service Traineeships in Warsaw in October.

I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in English Philology from Artsakh State University and a Master’s Degree in Management from Mesrop Mashtots University.

• Arega Hovsepyan

I hold a master’s degree in Oriental Studies from Yerevan State University. Currently I am a Leading Specialist in the Information and Public Relations Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh. I responsible for monitoring Turkish and Azerbaijani media, making translations and analyses of regional developments, logistical support to journalists, press accreditation, organizing official and other meetings of journalists in the framework of their visit, interpreting etc. I took certificated courses in the Diplomatic School of Armenia where I studied public diplomacy, negotiation and communications skills, political analysis and diplomatic correspondence, working with the media and financial reporting as well. I am lecturer in the Mesrop Mashtots University on the subjects of Ethno-political history of the South Caucasus region and History of the Republic of Turkey.

• Gohar Kartashyan

I hold a master’s degree in Economics from the International School of Economics (Tbilisi, Georgia). Currently I am a macroeconomist in the Monetary policy department at the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) with a focus on macroeconomic forecasting and analysis. Here I mostly deal with developing and communicating views on the global macroeconomic environment supported by quantitative and qualitative analysis. At the Yerevan State University I studied economics and management, was a member of the “Student Scientific Society” of the Faculty and had been working for the Ministry of Finance in Armenia. I am also passionate about issues related to energy and environmental management in Armenia.

I worked in the Resident Coordination unit of the United Nations in Armenia. I have completed several programs in Macroeconomic diagnostics, macroeconometric forecasting and received a professional certification from Tilburg University.

• Narek Melkumyan

I hold master’s degree in International relations and diplomacy from Yerevan State University. I have graduated also the Diplomatic Academy of Armenia and Yerevan School of Political Studies. I’ve participated also in many both international and local conferences, seminars and trainings and was actively involved in different educational and social projects. Currently  am working in the Municipality of Yerevan as an Assistant to the Deputy Mayor. I’m responsible for coordinating and implementing different projects related to health care, trade and services, external design and advertisement and also IT sphere.  I actively promote sustainable development in Armenia especially in my hometown Berd through different festivals and projects. I`m co founder and co organizer of Shamshadin Honey and Berry festival and also co organizer of Harvest festival: Rural life and traditions.

• Hrachya Papikyan

I hold a master’s degree in Management, Finances and Control from the French University Foundation in Armenia and Université Jean-Moulin 3 (Lyon, France). From 2012, I have been working as an analyst in the Financial System Stability and Development department of the Central bank of Armenia. Besides my key responsibilities, which include risk assessment and regulative activities concerning to payment systems, now I am involved in several strategic projects for Central bank of Armenia as an expert. Among them are development of a new Panamanian fast money transfer system and development of FinTech strategy of Armenia.Before starting my professional career, in parallel to my education I used to work as a sales agent in telecommunication and insurance fields.

• Arevik Petrosyan

I hold a Bachelor’s degree from Yerevan Brusov State University of Languages and Social Sciences and Master’s degree in Public Administration from the Public Administration Academy of Armenia. Currently I am the Youth Programme Assistant Coordinator of the UNAIDS-supported project and Office Manager of “AIDS Infoshare” project implemented by the National Center for AIDS Prevention of the Ministry of Healthcare. My career (also volunteering period) has been focused on the prevention of HIV infection, particularly with youth, adolescents and labor migrants. I develop information and educational materials for different population groups, conduct seminars, webinars on HIV/AIDS issues. I have completed a course in project management at the American University of Armenia.

• Lilit Petrosyan

I am a Public Law Expert at the Center for Legislation Development & Legal Research at the Ministry of Justice. I have previously worked as an assistant to the Chief Deputy Minister of Justice and as a judge assistant in the Court of Cassation.

I am pursuing a PhD in Administrative Procedure Law at Yerevan State University. I also teach civil and administrative procedure in the faculty of Law. I have represented Armenia in Courtroom 600 at the Nuremberg Moot Court (dissecting both procedural and substantive issues of international criminal law) and in the Jessup International Law Moot Court. I have also published articles on a wide range of legal topics including women’s rights, detention, vandalism, and administrative claims. Currently I am the head of Career Center of Law faculty and provide the bond between the employers and students, organizes seminars and conferences to improve student’s skills.

• Artur Sayadyan

I hold a master’s degree in Economics from Yerevan State University and later Master of Laws (LL.M Program) from the American University of Armenia. Currently I am a chief customs officer in the Internal Audit department of the State Revenue Committee of Armenia. I attended several summer schools in Germany while being a student, and worked at ACBA-Credit Agrikole Bank of Armenia for 2 years parallel my Master’s classes of economics.

Prior to my current position at State Revenue Committee I owed my own business importing modern greenhouse equipment from Israel and construction of greenhouses all over Armenia. Currently we have a family business which is a cozy hotel in the center of Yerevan.

• Pavel Tadevosyan

I hold a Doctorate degree in Civil Procedure Law and a Master degree in European Law from Yerevan State University in Armenia. Currently, I am the Adviser to the Head of Staff of the Ministry of Justice of Armenia. I’m delivering educational lectures in the Law Faculty of YSU on Civil Procedure for both Bachelor and Master’s courses. I have published more than 10 articles in different international and domestic law journals and a monograph.

I am also a member of the chamber of the advocates of RA. Moreover, I’m making specialized trainings for the future members of the Chamber. Before moving to the Ministry, I used to work in one of the leading banks of Armenia as a head of Juridical Analyzes and Legal Acts Drafting Department and also was the representative of our Bank in the Central Bank during customer interests defending procedures.

• Viktor Yengibaryan

I have studied sociology at Yerevan State University and Transnationalization at Ruhr Universitaet Bochum. Currently I work as an advisor to a Member of Parliament of Armenia. I am the chairman of Yerevan council of Bright Armenia Party (liberal) and also coordinate International contacts of the party. Returning from Germany in 2004, I worked at UNDP Armenia office as data entry specialist in a humanitarian demining project. In 2005 I established the European Movement in Armenia NGO, later the organization became a full member of International European Movement, which is the biggest pro and pan European NGO. I worked as a European Integration expert. Later I joined the GIZ (German International cooperation agency) as a portfolio manager.

The post Tavitian Scholars Arrive for Six-Month-Long Program at Fletcher appeared first on The Armenian Mirror-Spectator.

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Affiliate of the Armenian International Women’s Association (AIWA) announces that applications are now being accepted for the Hasmik Mgrdichian Scholarships. The Hasmik Mgrdichian Scholarships were established in 2011 to annually award scholarships to university students. Thanks to the continued generosity of Hasmik Mgrdichian, each year $5,000 are awarded to five students.

Applications are now available on line and are open to all California Women residents of Armenian descent who are applying for education in an accredited college or university. Applications are also accepted from students applying for graduate or undergraduate programs. The scholarship awards are based on both financial need and merit.

Nicole Nishanian, president of AIWA-LA stated: “Our scholarship program was created by Hasmik Mgrdichian, one of the founders of the Los Angeles Affiliate. We take great pride in her legacy to recognize and assist in the education of young Armenian women. It is gratifying each year to receive their applications and to learn of their scholastic achievements and goals for the future.”

The Scholarship Committee, chaired by Lily Balian and with committee members Hermine Janoyan, Cindy Norian, Diane Cabraloff, Diana Hekimian, Houry Aposhian and Lysa Gregorian, granddaughter of Hasmik Mgrdichian. They are committed to reaching out to all California universities and colleges to inform women students of the opportunity to submit application for scholarship awards. Flyers and notices are being sent to Armenian schools, organizations and churches.

In addition to the Hasmik Mgrdichian Scholarship Awards from the Los Angeles Affiliate, other scholarships are available through the AIWA International Board in Watertown, Massachusetts. Applications are available in all fields ranging from mathematics and architecture to government, public administration, psychology, art and design, diplomacy and in the sciences.

Applications for all AIWA scholarships for the 2018-2019 academic year can be downloaded from the AIWA website (www.aiwainternational.org) or through the Los Angeles Affiliate website: www.aiwaLA.org. Young women are urged to apply for both scholarships.

The deadline for applications this year is April 20, 2018. Winners will be announced in late May or early June.

The post Armenian International Women’s Association Announces 208 Hasmik Mgrdichian Scholarship Applications Now Available appeared first on The Armenian Mirror-Spectator.

WASHINGTON — For many Armenian parents, it’s a dream come true when their child finds an Armenian spouse. But as soon as the wedding planning commences, that’s when the problems — and the comedy — begin.

The sequel to the original hit play, “Where Is Your Groom? (Pesad Oor Eh)” Part II will perform for the Washington, DC Armenian community on Saturday, March 10, in an event hosted by the Knights and Daughters of Vartan to benefit schoolteachers in Yerevan, Armenia.

The story picks up as the parents of newly engaged couple Lara and Ari come together to celebrate the anticipated union. But before the soorj is even served, the initial pleasantries quickly diminish as debates launch over what church the service will take place, who will be the best man and if Adiss or Manuel will sing at the reception. To make matters even more frustrating for Lara, her fiancé goes missing, past suitors show up and a matchmaker is hired to help her brother find a wife.

The Knights and Daughters of Vartan believe the modern, humorous story will resonate with audiences through laughter, while also giving them a chance to examine the more serious issues of cultural preservation in the Diaspora.

“I feel it’s important to organize events which enrich our cultural heritage,” said Araxie Vann, matron of the Daughters of Vartan. “Bringing this theater group to the Washington, DC Armenian community will help young diasporans relate the subject matter to their own lives, while at the same time looking at the situation from the outside and finding humor in it,” said Vann.

The play has struck a chord not only with audiences during its run, most recently at New York City’s Miller Theatre and the Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown, but also for the 20-person cast and crew. Hailing from all backgrounds in the New York metro area, the young professionals in the production have also deeply connected with the play and its characters.

Playing the role of the family matriarch Siroun, Nairi Hartounian said she was reminded of the strong women she was surrounded by while growing up, who served as an inspiration when she assumed the character of the overbearing, yet compassionate mother and wife.

“We’ve had three, sometimes four generations in the audience and they’ve all been able to identify with what they see on stage,” said Hartounian, a graduate student at New York University studying public relations and corporate communications. “This is a universal story and we all find pieces within ourselves through all of the layered characters.”

The Washington, DC performance will serve as a fundraiser to provide assistance to the teachers and workers of the Knights and Daughters of Vartan School in Armenia’s capital city. A special committee has been formed under the chairmanship of former Matron Doris George.

“Proceeds will be disbursed to the schoolteachers in order to encourage them to stay and teach in Armenia because these children are the future of the country and they are in need of education,” said Vann. “The purpose of this school is to provide students with the knowledge and skills to allow them to step into the real world and face the future challenges in Armenia.”

“Our group is committed to entertaining and stimulating dialogue within our Armenian community, but also to serve as a positive representative of our culture,” said writer and director Taleen Babayan. “We are proud to perform in the greater Washington DC area for the Knights and Daughters of Vartan and support the education of our youngsters in our homeland.”

“Where Is Your Groom (Pesad Oor Eh)?” Part II will take place on Saturday, March 10, at 6:30 p.m. at the Richard J. Ernst Cultural Center in Annandale, Va. For tickets by credit card, visit paypal.me/DaughtersofVartanUS or call a member of the Knights or Daughters in Washington, DC.

The post Popular Comedic Play ‘Where Is Your Groom?’ Part II to Be Performed in Washington, DC appeared first on The Armenian Mirror-Spectator.

By Aram Arkun

FRAMINGHAM,  Mass. – Members of the Zangakner Performing Arts Ensemble gave a performance of part of its Armenian repertoire to help celebrate Poon Paregentan at the Armenian Church of the Holy Translators on Sunday, February 11 after the Divine Liturgy. Zangakner was led by its director and founder Hasmik Konjoyan. A number of the children and their families attend this church regularly.

The full ensemble is preparing for its major annual concert on June 3.

The post Zangakner Performs at the Armenian Church of the Holy Translators appeared first on The Armenian Mirror-Spectator.

By Aram Arkun

Mirror-Spectator Staff

BOSTON – Armenia had a booth at the thirteenth annual Boston Globe Travel Show from February 9 to 11 at the Seaport World Trade Center. It was sponsored by the State Tourism Committee of the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments of the Republic of Armenia with support from the Marriott Hotel of Yerevan, Armenia.

The motto of the booth was “Armenia: the land of warm hospitality.” Makar Melikyan and Lusine Shirinyan of the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in Washington D.C. were the organizers, while a travel agent provided touristic information, and took the contact information of visitors to the booth.

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On Sunday, February 11, there was an Armenian cultural performance, with duduk player Tigran “Tiko” Avetisyan as well as singers Meghri Dervartanian and Hovhannes Khacheryan, who performed two songs.

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Boston area volunteers like Armine Hovhannissian, Arminé Manukyan, Sona Antonyan, Pirzu Bogossian, Anna Elmezian, and many others helped make the booth a success.

Armenia had a special ad placement on the visitor information page of the travel show. Armenia was the only state from the Caucasus with an exhibit booth. From the general region, in addition to Armenia, Turkish Airlines had an exhibit booth. There were some 150 state and private exhibitors from all corners of the world in Boston in what was one of the largest consumer travel shows in the United States.

This was the first time the Armenian government has organized such an exhibit on the East Coast. According to Melikyan, “this Boston trade show is one of the premiere American venues for the promotion of tourism, travel and country branding. Consequently, this was an important first step for the Armenian Embassy to take in order to establish Armenia’s presence.”  Shirinyan and Melikyan added that there will be an increased Armenian presence in such venues in the United States on a regular basis in the future.

The post Armenia Appears at Major East Coast Travel Show for First Time appeared first on The Armenian Mirror-Spectator.

By Taleen Babayan

Special to the Mirror-Spectator

NEW YORK — An innovative approach to discussing spirituality and religion brought together close to 40 Armenian young professionals from across the country during the Urban Spirituality Retreat held February 3-4 weekend at the Lexington Hotel.

Organized by Solange Merdinian, Lara Setrakian and Michelle Nahabedian, with the support of the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU), the event aimed to create an engaging experience into the spiritual world and offer participants the opportunity to not only hear from speakers but also discuss and share their thoughts, concerns and ideas in regards to the Armenian faith and culture.

“Our goal is to share the light of what we come from,” said Setrakian, a journalist, who encouraged everyone to embark on this journey together “in a spirit of non-judgment.”

The idea for the weekend retreat emerged from last summer’s AGBU Focus Weekend, held in Beirut, Lebanon, during a daylong summit to brainstorm ideas of how to make the Armenian community stronger. Merdinian brought up the topic of exploring ways to deepen relationships with the church.

“Our religion and culture is very related and we need to find a space for each one of us to get to know it more,” said Merdinian, a mezzo-soprano musician. “For me it was through singing and creating a spiritual connection through our music and our Badarak.”

To begin the program, Merdinian offered a musical meditation to the group, singing Der Voghormia [God Have Mercy], followed by the Hayr Mer, which everyone sang in unison.

Discussing faith and fellowship, Very Rev. Daniel Findikyan, director of the Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center at the Eastern Diocese, stressed the importance of Christian education and the significance of Armenian monasteries, which have diminished over the centuries.

“The Armenian monasteries were the theological engines of the Armenian Church,” said Findikyan, nothing they also served as artistic centers where monks composed music. “We are now a church trying to survive without an engine.”

In order to combat the lack of quality education in Sunday Schools and help answer the question of “who we are as Christian Armenians,” Findikyan, along with several others, formed the quarterly magazine The Fellowship of St. Voski.

“Our idea was to create a resource for educated, urban people exploring life’s questions, who don’t have much to draw on aside from the Badarak,” said Findikyan. “We said we wanted to be part of the solution to provide resources.”

The magazine covers significant figures in the Armenian Church in “modern, intelligent terms,” as well as “explaining the traditions and history of Christian Armenian life.”

“We are here to be of support to the Armenian Church and the children of the Armenian Church through this publication,” he said, remarking that St. Voski was a first century disciple of St. Thaddeus and a miracle worker of Greek descent, who is cherished yet unknown among Armenians.

Recounting his personal journey as he searched for a spiritual home, Deacon Eric Vozzy, who works in the Creative Ministries Department at the Eastern Diocese, shared how he had been a member of various churches throughout his life, despite being baptized in the Armenian Church as an infant. In the midst of a “vocational crisis” when he was 24 years old, Vozzy decided to attend Bible School in Charlotte, North Carolina to study theology. During his time there, he was invited by Fr. Stepanos Doudoukjian to St. Nersess Armenian Seminary to meet with Findikyan and discuss his faith.

Through his deep theological discussions with Findikyan, Vozzy realized he truly is Orthodox and enrolled in seminary in 2011, successfully graduating with a master’s degree in Diaconal Ministry.

“My conversion was more about being in communication with God,” said Vozzy. “It’s about union with the divine and that’s what I was drawn into with Orthodoxy.”

“Faith, for me, was an abstract idea,” he continued. “But there’s a fullness that’s only found in Church. The Armenian Church has a voice for the whole world.”

Dr. Roberta Ervine, associate professor of Armenian Studies at St. Nersess Armenian Seminary, spoke about the significant role of Armenian queens in regards to the Armenian faith.

“For Armenians, faith has always had a visible and positive effect on life,” said Ervine, whose focus was on “royal women who chose to visibly show their faith and construct projects that are still standing.”

Ervine elaborated on royal women throughout Armenian history and the Armenian Kingdom, including Shushan, Sophia, Shahandukht, Shahandukht II, Kataranide and Mariam Bagratuni, who built two churches on the shores of Lake Sevan.

“These Armenian women built, endowed, served and gave life and energy to institutions that embodied their faith,” said Ervine. “They challenge us today in exactly the same way that they challenged their contemporaries.”

“Whatever we are and whatever we possess it is all a tool in the hands of faith.”

Director of Ministries at the Eastern Diocese, Very Rev. Mesrop Parsamyan spoke about Christian Meditation and how to handle stressful and burdensome schedules.

He noted that the word “meditation” comes from the Latin meditatio meaning to contemplate, ponder and “to unveil the mystery which is in our hearts.”

“If non-Christian meditation practices aim at emptying the mind, Christian meditation engages the mind and the heart in prayer,” said Parsamyan. “Meditation is reflecting on God’s word with the help of the Holy Spirit.”

He remarked that meditation is a process that involves both the heart and the mind and quoted St. Gregory of Datev who said that prayer “is like human being, the words of the prayer, which comes out from the mind, are the body and the desire and affections, which proceed from the heart are the soul.”

After highlighting the importance of the heart and the mind during meditation, Parsamyan gave the participants practical tools on how to start a lifetime of rich Christian meditation. He presented them with the structure of the Christian meditation, which is preparation (recollect and read from the Holy Scriptures), meditation (reflection and prayer) and conclusion (thank God and carry a word and phrase for the day.)

Parsamyan finished with a meditation on Luke 8:22-25 (Calming of the Storm) followed by the St. Mesrob Masdots sharagan (hymn).

At the conclusion of the presentations and discussions, the group had time to digest and reflect on the conversations by breaking out into sessions to talk about their own personal experiences, their relationship to the church and what changes they would like to make in their faith and culture.

The participants were grateful to have the chance to share their opinions among their contemporaries and welcome new ways of discussing these relevant topics.

“It was refreshing and enlightening to see how many like-minded young professionals were engaged in the day’s activities,” said Gregory Surabian. “Given today’s generally anti-religious climate, the discussion of religion and spirituality in our community is more important than ever if we are to ensure the existence of our Christian identity in the future.”

“It was nice to be around a group of people who all have different stories as far as their relationship with the Armenian Church and have reached a point in their lives where they want to learn more about the church itself and its deep connection to the Armenian culture,” said Linda Ravul. “The topic of spirituality has been an integral part of the Armenian Church and culture and hopefully we can spark conversation and essentially make changes for our community today and generations to come.”

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LIVERMORE, Calif. – Felice Takakjian-Bedrossian, concert pianist and pedagogue with a long and distinguished career, died peacefully on February 11 at age 91.  Successful debuts at Weill Hall in 1949 and Town Hall in 1953 launched her on a concert career that took her through North America, Central America, Europe, and Japan under Columbia Artists.  She served as Goodwill Ambassador to Germany in 1953 and to Japan in 1959, with her recitals and lecture programs broadcast over Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberation.

A native of Oceanside, NY, and graduate of Oceanside High School in 1944, she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from New York University in 1948 and an Artist Diploma from New York College of Music in 1949.  She served on the faculty of the New York College of Music from 1950-1960, of Syracuse University from 1960-1963, and of Molloy College from 1971-1980.  Felice was a champion of contemporary composers, and her premieres of piano works of the Armenian-American composer Alan Hovhaness earned critical acclaim. She also served as one of the organizers of the Khachaturian Competition in New York, which helped to launch the careers of distinguished, Armenian concert artists.

She married in 1960 and continued teaching privately in her studio in Freeport, Long Island until her relocation to California with her husband, Paul, in 2013.  Her specialty was teaching piano pedagogy, and her legacy is felt and continued by her many piano students.  She is survived by her husband, Paul, and son, Peter, of Livermore, California.

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By Judith Saryan

BELMONT, Mass. – It wasn’t just the Armenian delicacies Nick Pittman tasted at his friend Laura Zarougian’s house while growing up in Cambridge that led him to consider Armenia for his Peace Corps service, but they definitely came to mind. It was also the challenge of learning a new language and alphabet and discovering a new part of the world, as he explained in his talk, “Grassroots Development in Rural Armenia: Challenges, opportunities, and Lessons Learned,”  as part of the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) and Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Series on Contemporary Armenian Issues, held at NAASR on January 18.

Most people don’t realize that Peace Corps Volunteers can now express a preference for where they want to serve and apply for an opening. A graduate in economics from Reed College, Nick arrived in Armenia in the spring of 2016 and jumped into intense language and work training.

After a stint in Sarnaghpyur, he settled in Margahovit in Lori Province in northern Armenia as a community and youth development volunteer and worked closely with a small grassroots NGO that focuses on youth empowerment. There are a total of 70 Peace Corps Volunteers in Armenia, who all work in rural areas or secondary cities like Gyumri and Vanadzor, Nick explained. Roughly one third are youth and NGO development volunteers, and two thirds teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) volunteers.

After the mandatory three-month home stay after training, most volunteers move into
their own housing and work with local partners to develop and implement projects. Peace Corps Volunteers are welcomed in rural Armenia since they increase opportunities for personal advancement by bringing valuable skills, such as English-language education and organizational training. Young people in these communities are eager to get a good education and participate in programs the Peace Corps offers in conjunction with local organizations. Many of these enrichment programs emphasize creative thinking, including the English-language writing contest held each year called “ Write On ”.

Nick emphasized that Armenia is rich in human resources although limited in financial or
physical resources. The lack of paying jobs for villagers across the rural landscape often leads to seasonal migration to Russia.

In less than a year, Nick had mastered one of the biggest challenges — language acquisition. Today, Nick not only speaks Armenian very well, he reads poetry in Eastern Armenian and delights in humorous Armenian sayings. A popular one he shared with the audience was, “Don’t die donkey, spring will come,” which, depending on tone of voice, can mean what you’d expect, that there is no need to worry, or can mean the exact opposite, that something like the bus you are waiting for will never come.

Last June, Nick was one of the leaders of a project called Border to Border, founded several
years ago. Groups of volunteers, a mix of Peace Corps and local youth, hike across Armenia
taking different routes and stopping along the way to teach classes focused on healthy living to youth.

Nick and his organization also initiated a four-day camp in Margahovit named GLAD, Girls
Leadership and Development, focusing on mental and emotional health for local girls. The
curriculum included yoga, journaling, and seminars focused on team-building, business
development and entrepreneurship, artistic and creative expression and environmental
responsibility. An important phase of the project is follow up, which includes a monthly club for camp participants to review what they learned and check in with each other on their health, and a monthly seminar at which the participants share skills and practices from the camp with other village youth.

The Peace Corps has also developed programs targeted for boys including TOBE (Teaching Our Boys Excellence). The internet has made communications much easier for remote villages and can now be used to teach organizational skills and collect data to evaluate the effectiveness of these programs.

Nick inspired the audience, as was evident during the question and answer session, when several people asked about opportunities to volunteer in Armenia. In addition to Peace Corps, he described many ways to volunteer, chief among them Armenia Volunteer Corps, which accepts people of all ages, and Birthright Armenia. Nick has also worked in Armenia with US-based nonprofits like the Armenia Tree Project. In addition, m entorship programs are springing up, including a new AGBU program of cooperation between the Diaspora and Armenia called Bridges for CSOs.

The positive response to Nick’s talk at NAASR showed the importance of presentations like this, offering ways for the Peace Corps in Armenia to connect with the Diaspora and for the Diaspora to learn about connecting directly with Armenia. To learn more about Nick’s experiences with Peace Corps in Armenia and to read more of his favorite Armenian sayings about donkeys, check out his blog.

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