NEW YORK — After eight distinguished years of dedicated service as secretary of the Board of Directors of Armenia Fund USA, Khoren Bandazian, an experienced corporate and real-estate attorney, assumed the position of chairman of the board. Bandazian succeeds Raffi Festekjian of Boston, who served as chairman since 2006. Festekjian was instrumental in bringing a contemporary vision to Armenia Fund and reaching out to a new generation of board members and supporters.
Bandazian brings executive experience gained in his professional life as well as the many other Armenian organizations and causes with which he has associated himself since he was a young adult. He has served on various committees organized by the Armenian Diocese and the Armenian Prelacy, such as the 1,700th Anniversary of Christianity in Armenia Committee. He has also served on the board of Sts. Vartanantz Armenian Apostolic Church of Ridgefield, NJ. In 2007, Bandazian chaired Armenia Fund USA’s 15th anniversary gala at the United Nations, which raised over $2,000,000 in support of the organization’s efforts.
“Over the years, many eyes have been on Khoren as one of our community’s most promising up-and- coming leaders of the next generation. Now, in the prime of his life, he has accepted to take on this added and serious responsibility using his multi-faceted skill set. We couldn’t be more proud,” said Kevork Toroyan, who served as chairman of Armenia Fund USA from 2002 to 2006.
Bandazian is one of the longest-serving Armenia Fund USA board members.
“Mr. Bandazian’s chairmanship is of great importance to the US Eastern Region affiliate of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund. Our Fund is proactive,” stated Ara Vardanyan, executive director of Hayastan All-Armenian Fund. “We get involved and do what we can for both our motherland and the organization. When the time comes, some of us step up and assume leadership roles while educating the next generation on why and how they can serve. I am pleased to see that Mr. Bandazian, a long- time member of Armenia Fund USA, has stepped into one such role. I am confident that under his guidance, Armenia Fund USA will continue to flourish, attracting active members and expanding our support base. We wish him all the best.”
“Armenia Fund is not a static organization. Although our mission remains the same, we are constantly mindful that the Republic of Armenia is a very different place than when our organization was formed in the early years of its national independence,” said Irina Lazarian, executive director of Armenia Fund USA since 2004 and also with the organization for more than 10 years. “As the Armenian homeland evolves, our approaches to lingering socio-economic challenges, such as rural poverty in Armenia and Karabagh, must be adaptive and flexible. Khoren has demonstrated many times over that along with his analytical and thoughtful approach to understanding the problems, he can be just as creative and open to the best ideas to help solve them.”
