Expert Committee on Armenia-Diaspora Unity

Levon Afeyan is a Canadian industrial entrepreneur of Armenian origin. Born in Lebanon, he moved to Canada at the age of 15. He is the founder & CEO of Seatply Products Inc; a manufacturer of plywood and solidwood components for chairs. As an active member of the Montreal Armenian community, he has served on the boards of a numerous Armenian organizations. He has also been an active member of the FCCQ (Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Quebec) and sat on the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Committee as well as the Manufacturing and Export Committee. In 2022 Mr. Afeyan was appointed by the Republic of Armenia as its honorary consul in the Province of Quebec

Hakob Asatryan is an Armenian journalist and prominent public figure in the Czech-Armenian community. In 1999, he co-founded ‘Orer’ Armenian European Magazine in Prague, and has been the Editor-in-Chief since its inception. As of 1991, he was the political analyst of Azg Daily Newspaper, and as of 1998, he is the newspaper’s Prague correspondent. From 1993 to 1997, Mr Asatryan was a correspondent and the head of the Yerevan office of the Paris-based ‘Les Nouvelles d’Armenie’ magazine, as well as the Yerevan correspondent of the Russian Service of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). From 1997 to 1998, he was the coordinator of the Swiss programme ‘Mass Media in Transcaucasia’ in Armenia. In 2009, he worked for six months in the then newly-established Armenian Ministry of the Diaspora as an expert adviser on Armenian communities and media in Europe, having been referred and selected by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Since 2015, he has been implementing the Armenian Communities of Europe project, publishing research articles on the history, present and future of Armenians in Europe in Orer magazine. For the past 25 years, he has actively participated in the activities of the Armenian community in the Czech Republic as well as various Armenian organisations across Europe. Mr Asatryan is co-author of the book ‘The Armenians in the Czech Republic and Slovakia,’ and has received many prizes and awards for his works and publications. Since 1996, he has been a member of Yerevan Press Club and Journalists’ Union of Armenia.

Hovel Chenorhokian is the founder of DiasporArm, a pan-Armenian platform, which bridges among Diaspora communities, associations and trades. He is an entrepreneur, writer and an activist. Born in Lebanon, in a family linked to the watch industry Mr. Chenorhokian settled in Paris in 1975 and co-founded one of the largest watch distributing companies in France. Being an out of box thinker and inventor he has created wide range of designs, including watches, household objects and interior design with several patents.

Armen Der Kiureghian is an Iranian-born Armenian-American academic, one of the founders of the American University of Armenia, where he served as the president from 2014 to 2019. After the devastating Spitak earthquake of 1988 in Armenia, he was instrumental in establishing the American University of Armenia in Yerevan as an affiliate of the University of California. He has served as the founding Dean of Engineering (1991-2007), the Director of Engineering Research Center (1991-2004) and as Interim Provost (2011-2012) of AUA concurrently with his position as Taisei Chair Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. Der Kiureghian's teaching and research interests are in the areas of structural reliability, risk analysis, random vibrations and earthquake engineering. He has pioneered methods for safety and reliability assessment of complex structures, for risk analysis and decision making, and for stochastic seismic analysis of buildings, bridges and critical equipment. He has more than 300 publications, including 130 in archival journals.

Babken Der-Grigorian is an Iranian-Armenian and a repatriate who specializes in Development Economics. He received his education at the University of California and the London School of Economics. Since 2012, he settled in his homeland, registering many successes in his jobs, including cooperations with a number of international human rights organizations and development agencies. Since February 2018, he has been an adviser to the human rights defender of NKR. In 2018-2019, he was the Deputy Minister of Diaspora of RA.

Siranush Dvoyan is a Ph.D. in philology, associate professor. He teaches at the American University of Armenia. Since 2011, he is the co-editor of the cultural critical site www.arteria.am. Mrs. Dvoyan coordinates the scientific programs of the Armenian Research Center in Humanities, participates as a member of the Council of the Institute of Humanitarian Studies named after Ashot Hovhannisyan. He is the editor and compiler of a number of contemporary Diaspora Armenian and Western Armenian authors. He is the author of about two dozen scientific articles published in Armenian and international press and journals. Research interests include the study of speech practices in transformations of public life and personal experience, articulations of public modernization processes, the liberalization of speech, and related practices. In recent years, he has been dealing with issues of state violence, particularly the Soviet Gulag and its artistic reproduction.

Artyom Geghamyan is a Ph.D. in law and a graduate of the John F. Kennedy School of Management of Harvard University, former Deputy Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia. He started the professional activity in 2001 as an assistant to the President of the Appellate Court for Economic Affairs. He worked in the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia as the head of the Department of Relations with the European Court of Human Rights, taught at the Faculty of Law of YSU and the Academy of Public Administration of the Republic of Armenia. Mr Geghamyan Currently works in the General Directorate of Human Rights and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe.

Dr. Aleksandr V. Gevorkyan is PhD in Economics, Henry George Chair in Economics and Associate Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics and Finance of the Peter J. Tobin College of Business at St. John’s University in New York City. Dr. Gevorkyan’s research focuses on open economy, macroeconomic development, diaspora studies, and post-socialist transition economics. He is a Senior Research Fellow at the Vincentian Centre for Church and Society, Board Member at the Armenian Economic Association and serves as Economics Subject Matter Expert for the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See To the United Nations. Dr Gevorkyan is a member of the editorial boards at the Review of Political Economy and Review of Keynesian Economics. Dr. Gevorkyan is the author of Transition Economies: Transformation, Development, and Society in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union (Routledge, 2018) and the editor of recently published Foreign Exchange Constraint and Developing Economies (Edward Elgar, 2023).

Sevan Kabakian is an Aerospace Engineer. He has a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Southern California. Since moving to Armenia in 2006, he has served as the Country Director of Birthright Armenia (Depi Hayq). Prior to moving to Armenia, Sevan worked for over two decades with the Armenian youth in Los Angeles, using the elements of volunteerism, learning, nature and theater.

Vahagn Melikyan is a prominent and experienced diplomat. After graduating from the Arabic department of the Faculty of Oriental Studies of YSU, in 1993 he attended special courses at the Egyptian Diplomatic Academy. In 1991-2014, he held many positions, including Assistant of the Foreign Minister of RA, Head of the Foreign Ministry Secretariat of RA, Head of the State Protocol Service of RA, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of RA in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay. Ambassadors, Deputy Minister of the Diaspora of RA, General Secretary of the MFA of RA and a number of other positions. Mr. Melikyan has the diplomatic rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.

Atom Mkhitaryan is a PhD in Physics, an expert in the field of higher education and science management and has master's degree in law. In 2008 worked in the State Science Committee of the RA Ministry of Education and Science as a department head, since 2010 as a department head in the RA Ministry of Diaspora. in 2013 completed the John Smith International Political Science Course in Great Britain. 2014-2018 was the deputy head of the Higher Qualification Commission of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of the RA. Mr. Mkhitaryan teaches at the International Scientific and Educational Center of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia.

Razmik Panossian is a Canadian-Armenian historian and political scientist. He received his MA from York University in Toronto, Canada, and his BA (honors) from McGill University in Montreal. Dr. Panossian holds his Ph.D. from the London School of Economics and Political Science. His thesis won the prestigious Lord Bryce Prize for Best Dissertation in Comparative and International Politics in the UK (2001) granted by Britain’s Political Studies Association. Panossian has taught at the London School of Economics and at the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) on the subjects of nationalism, ethnic conflict, post-Soviet transition/democratisation, and comparative politics. In 2004 he assumed the position of Director of Policy, Programs and Planning at the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development, a Canadian federal institution devoted to the promotion of democracy and human rights. Between 2010 and 2012 Panossian worked as an international consultant, including at UNDP in New York. Since 2013 Dr. Razmik Panossian is Director of the Armenian Communities Department of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. He is the author of many books and articles.

Hagop Panossian is a engineer, scientist, Ph.D. in engineering and founder. He received his BS from the American University of Beirut, Masters from USC and Ph.D. from UCLA. He was a Technical Fellow at Boeing (Retired) and a past Fellow of the Advancement in Engineering and the AIAA. He has been awarded the Engineer of the Year and the President's Award from Rocketdyne and the Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Armenian Engineers & Scientists of America (AESA), the organization he founded in 1983. Dr. Panossian was honored by the 100th Anniversary Central Committee of the Musa Dagh Resistance, in 2016 in his hometown of Anjar, Lebanon. Doctor Panossian has patents in vibration control and hydraulic actuators and has won several awards for his innovations. He is the author of over 80 technical articles and chapters in books on Control Systems, Failure Detection and Vibration Control. He is the founder of the ARPA Institute and has been its president since its inception in 1992. Мr. Panossian was elected as a Furbright Exchange Scientists in 1987 and spent a semester in Armenia, with his family, teaching control systems in the Polytechnic and the Yerevan State Universities. Dr. Panossian was also elected a Diaspora Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia and has received proclamations from the LA City Council and the California Assembly, as well as from the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church for his significant contributions to the community.

Vahe Sahakyan is a historical sociologist and a researcher affiliated with the University of Michigan-Dearborn Armenian Research Center. He holds a Candidate of Sciences degree in Sociology from Yerevan State University and a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He taught at the Department of Sociology at Yerevan State University from 2001 to 2008, and at the Department of Near Eastern Studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor between 2010 and 2017. During the past decade, he has conducted multi-sited empirical studies of the Armenian diaspora as part of his doctoral research, and later as a member of the Academic Advisory Board of the Armenian Diaspora Survey. He is broadly interested in the studies of population movements, nationalism, transnationalism, and diasporas from both theoretical and comparative perspectives. In 2022, he compiled and edited "Diaspora Studies: A Critical Anthology", a volume bringing together Armenian-language translations of 19 fundamental articles and book chapters in Diaspora Studies by renowned Western scholars, and published by Yerevan State University Press.

Ara Sanjian is Associate Professor of History and the Director of the Armenian Research Center at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Born in Beirut, Lebanon, he received his school education there. From 1986 to 1991 he studied for his master’s degree in History at Yerevan State University. From 1991 to 1994 he did his Ph.D. in modern history of the Middle East at the School of Oriental and African Studies, the University of London. From 1996 to 2005 he was the Chairman of the Department of Armenian Studies, History and Political Science at Haigazian University in Beirut. In fall 2003, he was the Henry S. Khanzadian Kazan Visiting Professor in Armenian Studies at California State University, Fresno. He joined the University of Michigan-Dearborn in January 2006. His research interests focus on the post-World War I history of Armenia, Turkey and the Arab states of Western Asia. He is the author of Turkey and Her Arab Neighbors, 1953-1958: A Study in the Origins and Failure of the Baghdad Pact (2001), as well as two monographs and a number of scholarly articles and book chapters, published in English, Armenian, Russian and French.

Hovhannes Sargsyan is a Ph.D. in philosophy and associate professor. He worked as a researcher at the Institute of Philosophy and Law of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia and currently heads the Department of Political Science at the Russian-Armenian University. Mr. Sargsyan has rich experience in teaching philosophy and political science courses. His scientific interests include national identity, formation of nationality, national security, strategic cultures and other issues. He is the author of about seven dozen scientific publications.

Anna Hess Sargsyan is the head of the Diaspora sector at Genesis Armenia. She is an international relations specialist, security and conflict studies expert and also specializes in peace mediation and negotiations. In both public and private sectors, Sargsyan has led a number of formal and informal peace processes and developed educational programs in peace and conflict studies. Anna is an author of a number of publications. Her current research focuses on the impact of geopolitical tensions on the resolution of protracted conflicts.

Sarkis Shahinian an architect from ETH Zurich, with emphasis in History of Urbanism and Preservation of Monuments and Sites. Since 2001 he is a technical translator at the Swiss Government. He is a Co-Founder and Secretary General of the Parliamentary Friendship Group Switzerland-Armenia. He is a Founding Vice-president of the Switzerland-Armenia Chamber of Commerce as well as Co- and Honorary President of the Switzerland-Armenia Association. In October 2006 Mr. Shahinian led the Parliamentary Friendship Group to Paris to denounce to the Director General of UNESCO the destruction of 3000 Khatchkars of the Djougha necropolis in Nakhitchevan (Azerbaijan) by the Azerbaijani army. In 2008, he was the kick-off initiator for the governmental Master Plan Project in Djermoug. Mr. Shahinian has dedicated himself with articles, public and pedagogic interventions to provide awareness on the history of the Armenians and to fight against the denial of the Armenian genocide.

Lilit Shakaryan is a sociologist and lecturer. From 2001-2007 she received BA and MA degree in Sociology at Department of Sociology of YSU. From 2013 to 2015, she has completed several courses, trainings and researches including courses at Arizona State University and research at University of Fribourg. From 2018-2021 she worked at Skill.am as trainer. From 2019-2020 Mrs. Shakaryan was Head of PR and Marketing Department at Ijevan Wine-Brandy Factory CJSC. From 2019-2022 she worked in various companies as as trainer, expert and researcher. From 2009-2023 she was lecturer at Department of Sociology of YSU. Since 2023 She is a PhD Candidate in Human Development and Family Science and teaching assistant and researcher at University of Nevada.

Nicolas Tavitian is a researcher at the Open University (UK), currently carrying out sociological research in several diaspora communities with the support of the Gulbenkian Foundation. After a career in EU advocacy, civil society leadership and environmental consultancy, he led AGBU Europe's work and directed its European office from 2012 to 2020, then served as advisor to the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs of the Republic of Armenia from 2021 to 2022. Mr. Tavitian is keen to contribute to the development of a nuanced and updated understanding of the Armenian diaspora and of the contribution it can make to Armenian statehood.

Khachig Tölölyan is an Armenian Diaspora expert, literary critic and publicist. Being a Doctor of Brown University, he was specialized and engaged in comparative literature, Diaspora and ethnic issues. He graduated from Harvard and Rhode Island Universities. Since 1981 he has been working at the University of Humanitarian Knowledge as Deputy Director, Director, Professor and Director of the English Department. Since 1991 has been Founder-editor of "Diaspora. Founder-editor of transnational research"(English), member of the Board of Directors of the Zoryan Institute. His research covers literary, social and historical issues. Mr. Tölölyan is the author of the book named "In the Diaspora" and many publications.

Arpi Vartanian is a regional Director of the Armenian Assembly of America. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Michigan’s Albion College with a double major in Spanish and Economics & Management. In 1986, she lived and studied in Spain. Before attending graduate school, Vartanian spent time in Italy, and worked at Ford Motor Company in Michigan. In 1993, she graduated from Phoenix, Arizona’s American Graduate School of International Management, also known as Thunderbird, with a Master of International Management (MIM). While a student at Thunderbird, she interned at the American University of Armenia (AUA) in Yerevan. From 1994-1995, she was the first Director of the NGO Training and Resource Center (NGOC), a project of the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly). From 1996-1997, Vartanian worked at the Assembly’s Washington, D.C. office, responsible for both Grassroots Affairs and the Terjenian-Thomas Assembly Internship Program. In 1997, Vartanian returned to Yerevan as the Country Director of the Assembly offices in both Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. In 2000, Vartanian was asked to return to Washington to become the Executive Director of the Armenian Assembly. In 2012, Vartanian joined the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) to head up its Armenian Representation office. In 2015, Vartanian rejoined the Armenian Assembly of America as Regional Director.

Ashot Voskanyan is an Armenian philosopher, diplomat, Ph.D. in philosophy and associate professor. In 1993, he founded the Armenian Research Center in Humanities where he chairs to this day. 1990-1995 he was elected to the first independent parliament, the RA Supreme Council, was a chairman of a standing Committee and a member of the Presidency. Later, Mr. Voskanyan was re-elected to the RA National Assembly, was a member of the RA Constitutional Commission and a delegate of the National Church Assembly. In 1995-2002 he was the RA ambassador to a number of European countries, including Austria and Germany. He was the permanent representative of the Republic of Armenia in the OSCE and the United Nations in Vienna, and also held a number of positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia. Authored more than 50 scientific publications in Armenian, Russian, German, English and French.

Vasken Yacoubian is a director of LAYC, one of the largest construction companies in Syria founded in 1923 as a family business, since 1985. He received BA degree in engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaig. He is a partner and chief technical director of Puzant & Leon Yacoubian Trading and Contracting (Syria). Since 2012, Mr. Yacoubian is a founder and CEO of Leon A. Yacoubian Contracting LLC (LAYC, Armenia). Since 2006, he is AGBU Central Board member and Middle East Coordinator (for Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, and Cyprus) and since 2015 president of AGBU Armenia. From 2010-2014 he was a chair of the Public Assembly of the Damascus Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Since 2015 he is a member of Ayb School Board of Trustees. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees at the American University of Armenia, the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute Foundation, City of Smile charitable foundation, and Byblos Bank Armenia.

Tigrane Yegavian is French-Armenian freelance journalist, essayist and Eastern Studies specialist. He is the contributor of "DIASPORALOGUE" book, author of "Geopolitics of Armenia" book and many other publications.

Arman Yeghiazaryan is a Ph.D. in history and associate professor. Mr. Yeghiazaryan lectured at the Diaspora Studies Department and headed the department from 2013 to 2022. Now he is the head of the "Diaspora Studies" master's program. He has work experience at the Yerevan State University, the State Committee for Relations with the Diaspora of the RA MFA, the staff of the RA Ministry of Diaspora. Arman Yeghiazaryan is a lecturer at the Chair of Diaspora Studies and has been the head of the chair since 2013. He is the author of "Smbat II, the Emperor of Armenians", "Ashot III, Voxormac: King of Armenians", "Homeland-Diaspora relations at the current stage" books, co-authored "Homeland-Diaspora relations. From 1918 to the present day" and many other works and articles.

Artem (Artyom) Yerkanyan is an experienced journalist, political commentator and presenter. He received his education at the Faculty of Russian Language and Literature of Yerevan State Institute of Foreign Languages named after Valery Brusov. From 1988-1998, he reported and edited many newspapers and magazines: "Komsomol", "Gortsarar Ashkhar", "Armenian Stock Exchange Bulletin", "Zhamanak", "Hayastani Republicut", "Bravo", "Stock Exchange News", "New". generation". Since 1990 he is the member of the Union of Journalists of Armenia and since 1995 he is a member of the Yerevan Press Club. Since 2002 he has been a correspondent for "Komersant" newspaper, and since 2003, he has been the editor of the news service of "Shant" TV Company. In 2009 Mr. Yerkanyan was awarded the awards of the Yerevan Press Club, and in 2010, the 5th International Festival of Russian-Language Television and Radio Programs. In 2011, he authored the "Armenians of the World" program of "Shant" TV.

Vahan Zanoyan is an author, public commentator, economist, global energy and national security consultant and anti-trafficking advocate. He has advised numerous governments throughout the world on national security and economic and energy policy issues. He has published two volumes of poetry in Armenian, and four novels in English.