Armenian National Committee – Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918
Fax: 818.246.7353
ancwr@anca.org

PRESS RELEASE

April 15, 2009
Contact: Andrew Kzirian

ANC-WR Engages UCLA Students in Public Service Panel

– Panelists Encourage Greater Participation in Government

Los Angeles, CA – Members of the Armenian Student Association at UCLA
(UCLA ASA) gathered this past Wednesday to learn more about life in
politics from a panel of Armenian Americans involved in public
service. The event was co-organized by the UCLA ASA, the Armenian
National Committee – Western Region (ANC-WR), and the Armenian
Assembly of America. Moderated by UCLA ASA President Iren Tatevosyan,
the panel fielded questions from the audience and discussed a range of
issues related to their jobs, how their interest in their careers
developed, and challenges the Armenian American community faces today
regarding public service.

Panelists Areen Ibranossian (Mayor Villaraigosa’s staff), Haig
Kartounian (US Representative Adam Schiff’s staff), Glendale City
Clerk Ardashes Kassakhian, as well as California State Transportation
Commissioner and former Glendale Mayor Larry Zarian mixed anecdotal
stories about their experiences coming up in the public service sector
with veteran advice to students considering following a similar career
path.

`We wanted to host this panel so that young Armenian Americans could
put a face they could relate to on a career in public service,’ said
Tatevosyan. `Providing a range of experience across different sectors
of the field, the panel was meant to encourage more students to
consider pursuing such opportunities as careers and not just as
part-time, volunteer side interests,’ she added.

During the course of the evening’s discussions it became apparent that
there were many different paths to politics, but that an underlying
passion for public service was a core common denominator. Ibranossian
described how he first got involved by volunteering on the first
election campaign of former Glendale Mayor Raffi Manoukian after
hearing a presentation by Kassakhian. That volunteer opportunity
quickly led to subsequent job opportunities on other campaigns and
finally a staff position with then newly elected Los Angeles City
Council Member Villaraigosa.

Kassakhian reminisced about how the UCLA community rallied to confront
the Turkish government’s efforts to establish a pseudo-academic chair
in modern Ottoman history at UCLA when he was the UCLA ASA president.
That experience, which involved raising awareness and advocating the
issue among the student community and government as well as the
university administration, led to the understanding of the importance
of civic engagement.

`Panelists highlighted the need for Armenian Americans to engage
community leaders and become community leaders themselves,’ noted
Mariam Tsaturyan, the UCLA ASA’s Cultural Director. `Ardy’s
experience with the UCLA ASA as a student himself shows that it is not
just about presidential elections and international affairs, but that
the issues that are most important to our community require public
service at all levels starting with the campus and our local cities
and towns,’ she added.

As a deputy director for US Representative Adam Schiff, Kartounian
described the various policy issues he and the Congressman’s staff
address. Kartounian noted that it usually takes months to years to
see a policy agenda come to fruition and it is a great feeling when
that happens, but taking care of constituent needs provides the
day-to-day rewarding experience that is at the core of public service.

Zarian was first elected to Glendale City Council in an environment
quite different from today’s political scene in Glendale. While there
remains a segment of the city that does not support Armenian American
candidates due to bigotry, Zarian noted that his success in overcoming
the bigotry of this small group was by being an actively engaged
citizen within and beyond Armenian community circles. Like the other
panelists, his interest in politics and public service started at a
young age and he encouraged members of the audience to get involved in
the community at large as well as getting experience with local
campaigns.

`Sometimes individuals in our community look at politics as a means to
power,’ remarked Lilit Azarian, Vice President of the UCLA ASA. `The
next generation of aspiring leaders – be they prospective ASA leaders
or City Council Members – needs to take Mayor Zarian’s message to
heart and establish themselves as public servants through volunteerism
to the community at large before qualifying themselves as candidates
worthy of representing the Armenian American community,’ she added.

For the Armenian National Committee, the event was the latest in its
efforts to work with student groups throughout the region to help
encourage greater civic engagement and provide educational forums for
Armenian American youth.

Earlier this year, the ANC Professional Network held the first of its
professionals panel series with the Woodbury University ASA where the
topic of discussion was careers in community media. On April 15th,
the ANC-WR is co-hosting a workshop on confronting genocide denial on
campus at the University of Southern California with the USC ASA.

`I think the UCLA ASA did a wonderful job putting together this
evening’s panel and it provides yet another means by which we can
encourage more students to pursue careers beyond the traditional box,’
said Haig Hovsepian, Community Relations Director with the ANC-WR.
`The ANC looks forward to these opportunities to work with student
groups to provide a greater awareness of the challenges confronting
our community and how the youth can be part of the effort to address
them,’ he added.

Following up on this event’s look at public service and politics, in
May, the ANC Professional Network will co-host its next professionals
panel series event with the Glendale Community College ASA and the ANC
Glendale to provide an in-depth look at election season political
careers.

The Armenian Students’ Association at UCLA was established in 1945 to
promote and encourage a greater appreciation for Armenian culture and
community life on campus through educational, philanthropic, and
social activities. It serves the growing community of students, and
works with faculty as well as staff to promote the growth of Armenian
studies and campus life at UCLA.

The Armenian National Committee – Western Region is the largest and
most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in
the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of
offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States
and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANC-WR promotes
awareness of the Armenian American community on a broad range of
issues.