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Contact: Linda Yepoyan
[email protected]
www.birthrightarmenia.org
BIRTHRIGHT ARMENIA AUMNI LEADERSHIP AWARDS ANNOUNCED
Since Birthright Armenia's very first group of sponsored volunteers in 2004,
we've undergone changes and improvements, shifts and expansions, but our
philosophy on alums has remained the same-namely the belief that our alumni
base is our greatest asset. We've had the good fortune to watch our alums grow
as leaders from the time they were volunteers, following their careers and
supporting them along their professional paths. With a strong alumni network of
1,500 from 48 different countries, we find it only fitting to announce our new
Birthright Armenia Alumni Leadership Award program that recognizes the
standouts in terms of their level of engagement and achievements. And in so
doing, we'd like to recognize three individuals who have been singled out as
best exemplifying the leadership qualities in the categories outlined below:
* Professional Achievement Award
* Mentorship Award
* Young Philanthropist Award
* Civic Participation Award
* Artistic/Cultural Achievement Award
* Spirit of Birthright Armenia/Depi Hayk Award
Congratulations go out to our 2018 award nominees Lilly Djaniants, Jamie Kolar
and Nelli Martirosyan, each of whom can designate a $1,000 contribution to the
501(c)(3) or registered non-profit organization of their choice. Below are
short summaries of their impactful achievements to date.
The Professional Achievement Award goes to Lilly Djaniants, 37, (2009).
Lilly was born in Baku and fled Azerbaijan with her family in 1988, settling in
Gyumri three days before the devastating Spitak earthquake. Following that
disaster her family resettled in a refugee shelter outside of Etchmiadzin until
moving to the United States in 1992. After completing her architecture
education in the US and working in New York on redevelopment of the World Trade
Center site post-9/11, Lilly joined Birthright Armenia for three months in 2009
as a volunteer at TUMO Center for Creative Technologies, eventually leading her
to the opportunity to become the construction manager during the building of
TUMO. She made her first ever visit to Artsakh as a Birthright volunteer, and
there got inspired to continue investing professionally in Armenia, realizing
the potential she had to contribute to economic and urban development. In 2013
as a Luys Fellow, she earned her MA in Architecture and Urban Design from
Columbia University, where she received the Kinne Fellowship for her research
on how urban development can begin to initiate both economic and political
stability in the post-conflict territory of Artsakh. In 2013 she joined Tim
Flynn Architects and the IDeA foundation in Yerevan, working on the urban
renewal master plan of Dilijan and managing the development of Eco-Village in
Artsakh. She has also advised Gyumri Project Hope on its urban renewal
initiatives. Lilly's designated non-profit organization for her $1000 award is
Tufenkian Foundation.
The Mentorship Award goes to Jamie Kolar, 34, (2013).
Jamie was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. She received her BA in Psychology
from UCLA in 2005 and is a firefighter/paramedic for the Los Angeles County
Fire Department and a clinical instructor at the UCLA David Geffen Medical
School Paramedic Program. As a Birthright volunteer from May - August 2013 she
served at the Gyumri Station of Ambulance Service, Ministry of Emergency
Situations, and World Vision Gyumri Area Development Program (ADP). She also
spent one month teaching first aid, trauma assessments and victim removal with
the Yerevan Fire Department and Rescue Team. Although originally committed to
only six weeks of service, Jamie ended up staying in Armenia for a year to
train and mentor.
Through Jamie's service she saw Armenia's needs up close, and envisioned a role
for herself in continuing to pass on her skills and knowledge to residents all
over the country to fill the observed gaps. She founded a non-profit
organization called Aid to Armenia (ATA) in June 2013 to continue and expand
upon her work with the emergency medical services in Armenia. In 2015 for the
100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Jamie designed and implemented the
"100 Villages" project throughout Armenia, serving as a first aid teacher to
countless Armenians on how to deal with trauma, emergency care, bleeding
control, splinting for broken bones, and basic first aid, providing life-saving
strategies and skills. In addition to the distribution of over 1,800 first aid
kits to the villages and families with the greatest need, she is dedicated to
continuing aid training village by village, home to home. Her designated
organization for the $1000 award money is Armenian Engineers and Scientists of
America (AESA), which will earmark the funds for ATA's summer project work in
Armenia.
The Give Back Service Award goes to Nelli Martirosyan, 36, (2007).
Nelli was born in Armenia, leaving as a teenager with her family for a new life
in Los Angeles, CA. She volunteered at the Ministry of Education and Science
while a Birthright Armenia volunteer in the summer of 2007, and ever since,
she's continued on her lifelong path of serving Armenia, specifically in the
field of education. She received her BA from Berkeley and MA from Columbia, and
has a PhD dissertation in the works from UCLA. In 2008 Nelli spent two months
in Karabakh carrying out a "Next Step" Alumni Grant project focused on youth
development in Tsmakahogh village in Martakert that empowered, inspired and
assisted the village youth to be engaged in meaningful acts of service in their
local community. In 2014 Nelli and her husband Stepan co-founded a non-profit
organization called Hayrenaser Organization, whose mission is to contribute to
the preservation and development of Armenia's independent statehood by
identifying and addressing critical challenges. Hayrenaser's first project was
to completely rebuild and enlarge the school of Lernahovit village in Kashatagh
region of Artsakh. The following summer the organization completely
reconstructed the school of Vurgavan village, also in the Kashatagh region; and
built a new community administration center along with a health clinic. This
project transmitted a new hope to the villagers for a better future in their
town, many of whom up until then were thinking about leaving. Today their
children are able to study in a modern and comfortable school where their
health is not endangered. Hayrenaser's latest project is the rebuilding of
Herik village school in the Moshatagh region, completed and reopened in 2016.
It is located 45 kilometers north east of Kashatagh's central region of
Berdzor. To date Hayrenaser has raised over $350,000 for the renovation of all
three schools and another $50,000 that directly supports the family members of
our fallen heroes. Nelli's designated non-profit for the $1000 award money is
Hyrenaser.
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JPEG Photo caption: From left to right, Birthright Armenia alumni leadership
award winners Lilly Djaniants, Jamie Kolar, and Nelli Martirosyan.
