Armenian National Committee – Political Action Committee
1212 South Victory Boulevard
Burbank, California 91502
Telephone: (818) 260-0669
Web:
PRESS RELEASE
July 16, 2009
Contact: Kris Demirjian
Tel: (818) 260-0669
ANC PAC WELCOMES NEW BOARD MEMBERS, LOOKS TO FUTURE
BURBANK, CA — While the Armenian National Committee – Political
Action Committee (ANC-PAC) remains active in advance of the upcoming
mid-term elections, this past month it welcomed new members to its
Board of Directors. Joining returning ANC-PAC Chairman Armen Martin
and Board Member Raffi Hamparian is a team of veteran community
supporters and engaged citizens including Michael Mahdesian, Armond
Aghakhanian, Kris Demirjian, and Armen Tamzarian.
`We look forward to hitting the ground running with our new Board of
Directors,’ said Martin. `We are very proud to have recruited members
with decades of political experience across the Armenian political
spectrum. Our new members have experience in federal, state, and
local government and have held positions in the executive,
legislative, and judicial branches of government.’
Armen Martin continues in his capacity as Chairman of the ANC-PAC. He
is a corporate attorney with experience in venture capital, mergers
and acquisitions, and capital market transactions and is a Partner at
the law firm of Buchalter Nemer. Prior to law school, Martin was
selected as a California State Senate Fellow where he served as a
legislative aide for Senator Rob Hurtt (R-Garden Grove) in Sacramento.
While in college, Martin served as a legislative intern for
Congressman David Dreier (R-Claremont) in Washington DC.
Raffi Hamparian continues as a longtime member of the ANC-PAC Board of
Directors. He currently serves as the Government Relations Manager
for Federal Affairs for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan
Transportation Authority. Prior to this post he worked for several
members of the US House of Representatives. He served, for nearly
five years, as a senior legislative aide and foreign policy expert for
Congressman Steve Rothman (D-NJ). Prior to working on Capitol Hill he
secured an M.A. in International Relations from Rutgers, the State
University of New Jersey. A community activist since his childhood,
Hamparian’s interest in politics and public affairs began when he
joined the northern New Jersey Chapter of the Armenian Youth
Federation.
Michael Mahdesian served for seven years (1993-2000) as the Deputy for
USAID’s Bureau of Humanitarian Response during the Clinton
Administration. During this period, he was integrally involved in
shaping USAID’s response to Haiti, Rwanda, Bosnia, Kosovo, Indonesia,
and other crisis spots around the world. Mahdesian was formerly
Executive Director of the United Armenian Fund’s airlift to the
earthquake victims in Armenia. A longtime Democratic activist,
Mahdesian went on to Washington where he served as Special Assistant
to US Representative Tony Coelho and the Democratic Congressional
Campaign Committee (1983-85). He is currently Chairman of the Board
of Servicon Systems, Inc. a building service contractor with close to
1800 employees based in Los Angeles. He recently served as a Los
Angeles City Planning Commissioner. He is on the Board of Advisors
at UCLA’s School of Public Policy, is a member of the Pacific Council
on International Policy and is on the Board of the Los Angeles
Business Council.
Armond Aghakhanian has served on the staffs of former CA State
Assembly Speaker and current Los Angeles City Council Member Herb
Wesson, Jr. and former CA State Assembly Majority Leader Dario
Frommer. He most recently served as a consultant to former CA State
Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez. Aghakhanian is the former Chair of
City of Glendale Parks and Recreation Commission & the Armenian
American Chamber of Commerce. He was recently elected to serve on
Burbank’s Boys & Girls club board of directors.
Kris Demirjian is a trial attorney with the law firm of Sands &
Associates in Beverly Hills, CA. Previously, he was an Associate at
the law firm of Courteau & Associates where he specialized in
employment litigation. While in law school, he worked for the
Armenian National Committee – Western Region as a special projects
coordinator; Beverly Hills Law Associates as a law clerk; and Lehman
Brothers doing political research. Prior to law school, Demirjian
worked as legislative staff for the US House of Representatives
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and as a mailroom
assistant for US Senator Gordon Smith.
Armen Tamzarian is a Senior Attorney at the California Court of
Appeal. Tamzarian was previously a partner of the law firm of Case,
Knowlson, Jordan & Wright LLP, now known as Case, Knowlson & Jordan
LLP. He has previously served as a Judge Pro Tem of the Los Angeles
County Superior Court (LACSC) and a research attorney at LACSC. In
private practice, Tamzarian specialized in business and real estate
litigation in both state and federal court. He has been a longtime
Armenian American community activist in both Massachusetts and
California volunteering with the Armenian General Benevolent Union as
well as the Armenian National Committee of Glendale.
The ANC-PAC is a non-partisan federally registered political action
committee established to support campaign committees for Members of
Congress who share the values of the Armenian American community. The
ANC-PAC is at the forefront of efforts to ensure that the voice of the
Armenian American community is clearly heard in our nation’s capital.
The ANC-PAC continues a century old tradition of Armenian American
engagement on the public policy issues facing national political
leaders, both in the United States Congress and the White House.
####
www.ancpac.org