Author: Ara Felekian

The American University of Armenia is pleased to announce the appointment of two new trustees of the AUA Corporation: Lena Sarkissian and Yervant Demirjian. Both appointees, who are also members of the 100 Pillars of AUA, bring a wealth of experience in the private and non-profit sector and will greatly contribute to advancing AUA’s mission.

Lena Sarkissian has over 20 years of experience as a Board of Director, in the non-profit sector. A resident of Toronto, Ontario, Sarkissian currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Armenian General Benevolent Union and works in Asset Management for Byron Hill Holdings. She received her graduate degree in speech and language pathology and an undergraduate degree in linguistics and French from the University of California, Los Angeles.

“AUA has played a pivotal role in the higher education ecosystem of Armenia by introducing a new set of standards and approaches to education. The exponential complexity of the globalized world and pace of change demand that institutions continuously realign to meet the needs of the community they serve. A challenge for AUA is that it now has to prepare students for many of the jobs of the future that have not yet been created. Thus, the continuous reassessment of its pedagogy and infrastructure is necessary – all to further ignite the passion and creativity of its students and staff. Coincidentally also, with its focus on cultivating global networks, AUA will be able to disseminate the creative capacity of its community. It can thus aim to become a generator and a contributor of ideas and products on the global scene.”

Yervant Demirjian is a private real estate investor in Los Angeles, California, a current trustee and vice treasurer for AGBU, and a trustee of the AGBU Vatche and Tamar Manoukian High School in Los Angeles. Demirjian has 25 years of experience in banking. He has also served as a director of the AGBU Manoogian Demirjian School. Demirjian received his MBA and undergraduate degrees from Pepperdine University.

“I always believed that quality education would help us improve the destiny of our little yet noble community. Accepting the invitation to serve on the board of the AUA was part and parcel of my enthusiasm in giving our youth the tools to enhance their prospects in life.”

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia, and affiliated with the University of California. AUA provides a global education in Armenia and the region, offering high-quality graduate and undergraduate studies, encouraging civic engagement, and promoting public service and democratic values. For more information about AUA and its donor opportunities, please visit the website.

First Ophthalmologist from AECP’s Next Generation Fellowship Program Arrives in U.S. for Training; Remaining Fellows to Arrive Within the Year

The Armenian EyeCare Project has begun 2020 with some great news to mark the extra-special year for the organization and significant number (20/20) in the eye care industry. The first ophthalmologist from the AECP’s Next Generation Fellowship Program, Dr. Vahan Papoyan, has arrived in the U.S. from Armenia and is currently completing his medical fellowship at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia.

Made possible by the AECP and donors to the program, Dr. Papoyan’s fellowship focuses on his specialized field of glaucoma and allows the Armenian physician to learn nuances and train alongside some of the best eye care specialists in his field. This advanced education and training will allow Dr. Papoyan to then return to Armenia to treat his patients with the highest level of care.

“As a physician, you try to do everything you can to offer the best possible care to your patients,” Dr. Papoyan said. “So when you have the opportunity to go to the most advanced country and one of the finest medical institutions to learn cutting-edge techniques in glaucoma and eye care, it’s an incredible feeling,” Dr. Papoyan said. “It has been the best experience of my life.”

AECP launched its first Fellowship Program in 1997 and over the next decade brought eight ophthalmologists to America for specialty training in retina, glaucoma, cornea, low vision, pediatric ophthalmology, and neuro ophthalmology. These original Fellows were sponsored with the help of the late Kirk Kerkorian, who felt medical training of local Armenian physicians would contribute greatly to the elimination of preventable blindness in Armenia, the mission of the AECP.

Following their fellowships, these physicians later returned to Armenia to establish and head Subspecialty Clinics in Yerevan in their fields of expertise, training hundreds of other medical personnel in Armenia on the most advanced techniques in eye care along the way. This includes the AECP’s NextGen Fellows, who have all observed and learned under the direction of the organization’s past Fellows for several years before their opportunity to continue their training with U.S. fellowships of their own.

Today, the AECP’s Next Generation Fellowship Program offers six of Armenia’s top-performing ophthalmologists – selected and mentored by the organization’s original Fellows – the opportunity to travel to the U.S. for three-to-six-month fellowships. During their fellowships, these ophthalmologists will receive advanced medical education and training at some of the best-known U.S. ophthalmic institutions in their respective specialties.

For Dr. Papoyan, this exchange of knowledge and information from a range of physicians – including first-generation AECP Fellow Dr. Lilit Voskanyan in Armenia to now several glaucoma specialists in the U.S. – has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“Different doctors have different techniques, so it’s interesting to observe them all and see what works for you and what you can adopt for yourself,” noted Dr. Papoyan. “Learning these techniques is so important, because I can then utilize them when I return to Armenia to treat my own patients and help my country.”

Dr. Papoyan also considers the chance to witness these surgeries from some of the most renowned ophthalmologists in the U.S. an unbelievable advantage. “Having the unique access to see these surgeries is exciting because you know how revered these doctors are in their field,” he says. “To be able to see their work is incredible.”

Through donor fundraising for the program, the EyeCare Project was able to bring Dr. Papoyan to the U.S. as the organization’s first NextGen Fellow. The nonprofit also plans to bring its remaining five NextGen Fellows to the U.S. for their specialty fellowships throughout 2020.

Dr. Tatevik Adamyan will train in her specialty of retina at Retinal Consultants of Nevada in Las Vegas, as well as Haik Humble Eye Center in Louisiana in March; Drs. Zara Dravajyan and Araks Davtyan will train in their specialty of cornea at the University of California, Los Angeles’ Jules Eye Institute by April; Dr. Narine Makyan is expected to train in her specialty of pediatric ophthalmology at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles by summer, and Dr. Artak Kirakosyan is expected to train in his specialty of oculoplastics at Harvard University’s Massachusetts Eye and Ear in Boston by fall.

“I am extremely happy for this opportunity, but I also feel a great responsibility to make those who have put so much confidence and investment in me proud,” remarked Dr. Papoyan. “I would like to thank everyone who has been involved in this Next Generation Fellowship Program from AECP Founder Dr. Roger Ohanesian, to Armenia’s Chief Ophthalmologist Dr. Alex Malayan, to AECP Fellow Dr. Lilit Voskanyan, who has been my mentor in Armenia. And of course, to all the donors of this program who have made my training possible. I would quite literally not be here in the U.S. learning all that I am learning if it were not for you.”

While the Armenian EyeCare Project is well underway of bringing its next generation of ophthalmologists over from Armenia for their U.S. fellowships, the organization is still in need of support in order to continue this program and allow the remaining Fellows to complete their training.

You can help support this critical medical education and training program by sponsoring a Fellow in full or in part; underwriting a Fellow’s expense while they are in the U.S.; or donating what you can to the AECP’s Medical Education and Training Fund. You can be the reason an ophthalmologist in Armenia gets the advanced training they need to provide quality eye care to residents in their country.

Learn more about the AECP’s Next Generation Fellowship Program by visiting the website. If you would like to get involved, please contact the AECP office at 949.933.4069 or email [email protected].

LOS ANGELES—A new radio show dedicated to shining light on Armenian issues, individuals, and organizations that are making an impact throughout the diaspora has debuted across airwaves and every major audio platform.

Manouk Akopyan, a journalist, writer and editor for over 13 years, has launched the one-hour radio show “Time Out With Manouk Akopyan” on KLOS-FM 95.5 HD3 and SoCal Armenian Radio. It will air every Monday from 8 to 9 p.m. PST, reaching more than 200,000 Armenians living in the Los Angeles area. “Time Out With Manouk Akopyan” is also available internationally on demand for Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Breaker, RadioPublic, Anchor, Overcast, and Pocket Casts.

“Time Out With Manouk Akopyan” is a global Armenian lifestyle radio show that discusses culture around the nexus of arts, entertainment, sports, film, music, food, business, and everything else in between. The program features interviews with prominent guests who lead extraordinary lives, careers, and serve as leading role models for the next generation.

“Hosting a radio show that spotlights the Armenian community is a dream come true,” said Akopyan. “I’m very proud of my Armenian heritage and culture, and most of our heroes are, too. I can’t wait to cover people in the diaspora who are making a difference, and create thoughtful dialogue that makes an impact. The conversations and interviews can be consumed not only Armenians, but everyone who finds the subjects and their stories as a source of inspiration.”

Akopyan is formerly the managing editor of the international lifestyle publication Yerevan Magazine. During his years-long tenure there, in addition to running the magazine, he interviewed the likes of Hall of Fame tennis player Andre Agassi, Food Network chef and restaurateur Geoffrey Zakarian and casino magnate Alex Yemenidjian for cover stories, among many others.

“Time Out With Manouk Akopyan” promises to bring the same caliber of guests that resonate among the global community.

Akopyan is a lifelong Los Angeles native and a California State University, Northridge journalism graduate. He’s worked as a writer and editor for NFL Media, and later in the same capacity for the Los Angeles Times and Tribune Publishing.

Akopyan still actively contributes with feature stories to the LA Times, primarily with coverage around boxing and UFC. He’s also a broadcast reporter for Lights Out Xtreme Fighting, an MMA league that airs on Fox Sports. He has over 2,000 written stories and video interviews with global newsmakers and cultural icons, including Mike Tyson, Shaquille O’Neal, Marc Cuban, and William Shatner. Akopyan’s distinctive writing and TV reporting have appeared across such outlets as USA Today, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Men’s Health, Philadelphia Inquirer, San Antonio Express-News, Glendale News Press, Armenian Weekly, and Asbarez.

“Time Out With Manouk Akopyan” will originally air across Lotus Communications Corporation networks in collaboration with Radio Iran 670 AM, which has been on American airwaves for over 20 years.

The show is taped in Studio City, California out of Lotus headquarters. Lotus owns and operates radio stations and television properties across the United States.

For more information, follow Manouk Akopyan on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn @ManoukAkopyan, email him tips and guest suggestions at [email protected] or visit www.ManoukAkopyan.com.