Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918
Fax. (202) 775-5648
Email. [email protected]
Internet
PRESS RELEASE
June 17, 2009
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Aghakhanian Holds Capitol Hill Meetings as Part of Pepperdine
Doctoral Program
— Advocates for Adoption of Armenian Genocide Resolution
WASHINGTON, DC – Armond Aghakhanian, a longtime community activist
and doctoral candidate at Pepperdine University’s highly regarded
School of Psychology and Education, completed a four day
series of advocacy meetings in Washington, DC on behalf of the
Armenian National committee of America (ANCA).
Aghakhanian’s trip to the nation’s capital will help him meet the
practical requirements of his National Policy Experience (EDOL
753B) class, which is an integral part of his doctoral program in
Organizational Leadership.
During more than a dozen scheduled meetings and many more informal
Member and staff contacts during his time on Capitol Hill,
Aghakhanian made the moral, historical, and genocide-prevention
case for official U.S. condemnation and commemoration of the
Armenian Genocide, specifically advocating for the adoption of
legislation, H.Res.252, before the U.S. House to formally recognize
this crime against humanity. This human rights legislation,
introduced by Congressman Adam Schiff, seeks to ensure that the
lessons of this atrocity are understood and applied by the U.S.
government to prevent future genocides. The measure, despite broad
bipartisan support, has been blocked from passage due to heavy
pressure from the Turkish government, which, despite overwhelming
evidence, continues to deny the Armenian Genocide.
Among the Congressional offices that Aghakhanian met with to
discuss this human rights legislation were Representatives Laura
Richardson (D-CA), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Gary Miller (R-CA), John
Campbell (R-CA), Brian Bilbray (R-CA), Susan Davis (D-CA), and Mike
Thompson (D-CA). On the Senate side, he met with the senator from
his own Golden State, Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). Each of these
visits included briefings on the current state of this legislation,
an update on the opposition’s efforts to prevent its adoption, a
review of the rationale behind its enactment, and a robust question
and answer session.
Pepperdine University, an educational leader in the fields of
teaching and psychology and a proponent of providing its students
with valuable practical field experience, prepares individuals with
broad-based knowledge, adaptability, and strong leadership skills.
The Organizational Leadership concentration helps to create
educators who have value innovative thinking developed in direct
interaction with leaders in other fields, including business,
academia, and public service.
"We hold Pepperdine University’s Organizational Leadership doctoral
program in high regard, both for the very high quality of education
it offers as well as for the excellent skills, character, and
motivation of its students," said ANCA Executive Director Aram
Hamparian. "Armond’s time in Washington, DC provided him a
wonderful hands-on opportunity to apply the solid theoretical basis
he has developed at the University to the practical work of
educating elected officials about the human rights challenges
facing our nation and the world. He excelled in this task, as he
has at all the others he has taken on in his professional life."