IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION Date: Contact: Linda Yepoyan info@birthrightarmenia.org 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. # # # JPEG Photo caption: From left to right, Birthright Armenia alumni leadership award winners Lilly Djaniants, Jamie Kolar, and Nelli Martirosyan.