The ACYO Central Council

About Us » The ACYO Central Council

• Raffi Postaldjian

  Advisor

  

  My name is Raffi Postaldjian, and my home parish is St. Gregory Pasadena.  I have been an active member of the ACYO for the over 11 years and I've also served on the alter for the past 10 years. I'm currently serve as the chairman of the central council. This is my third year on Council; I was elected onto the ACYO-WD Central Council in 2008 and have served as the Treasurer and Vice-Chairman.  I’ve also served as Treasurer, advisor and Chairman on the chapter level.

• Liana Grigorians

  Advisor

  

  Hi everyone! My name is Liana Grigorians and I have been an active member of the ACYO for  about 10 years. I have served on the executive board for the St. Apkar Arizona chapter as secretary, Vice chairman, and event coordinator, and am now serving as a Junior Advisor. I was born in Valencia, CA but have been living in Arizona for the past 15 years. I am currently attending Northern Arizona University and getting my Bachelor's in Business Management. I am extremely excited to be starting my second term on Central Council and hope that I can make great contributions along the way.

• Carmen Kestekyan

  Publicity Director

  

  Hello, my name is Carmen Kestekyan. I am from Burlingame, California. I graduated from the University of San Francisco with a double major in international business and marketing along with a music minor. My involvement in the Armenian Church started the day I was born. Through my dad’s involvement in the church as a deacon, I decided to serve on the Holy Altar.  Eventually, I was ordained an acolyte. As I got older, I became a regular in my church choir. My home parish is St. John San Francisco. I have been involved with ACYO actively for the past 10 years. I have served as chairlady, vice chair, secretary, and liaison to Parish Council.  I was also an advisor for the junior ACYO at St. John.  This is my second year on Central Council and will be serving as publicity director.  One of my goals for the year is to revamp the ACYO website and make it easy to use!  I can’t wait for another amazing year with all of you!  Together we can make a difference in the lives of our youth today and future generations through the ACYO.   

• Vicken Kalamkarian

  Chairperson

  

  Greetings!

  I'm Vicken and I was born and raised in the great city of Fresno, California. My life within the church started at an early age when I began serving on the alter with my older brothers at our home parish, St. Paul, Fresno. This eventually led me to join the ACYO at the age of 12. Throughout my time spent at my local parish, I held the corresponding secretary, recording secretary, vice chairman, and chairman positions. Some of my fondest memories of serving the St. Paul ACYO were our Christmas Caroling trips we would take to the California Armenian Old Age Home, the annual charity fashion show that we put on, and the wonderful people that I had the opportunity to work with.

   In 2009 I was elected to the Central Council where I served as the Recording Secretary and now, after the 2010 Annual Assembly, I have been elected to serve as the Publicity Director.

  Central Council is an exciting opportunity and I can't wait to get the ball rolling!

   

• Nora Barin

  Vice-Chairperson

  

  Hello ACYO! My name is Nora Barin. I am from Cypress, CA and am 22 years old. I’m a 4^th year Public Health Science student at the University of California, Irvine, and will be graduating in the spring! My involvement with the Armenian Church began at an early age and ACYO has been a huge part of my life since I joined my local chapter St. Mary, Costa Mesa at the age of twelve. At St. Mary, I served as Secretary, Vice Chairman, and Chairman. I was elected on to Central Council in 2009, and was eager to work for the ACYO from the Diocesan level. I served as the Event Coordinator for two years, and I began my second term on council this year as the Vice Chairman. I am excited for the upcoming year and cannot wait to see ACYO become an even stronger and more dynamic organization.

• Mark Boranian

  Treasurer

  

  I am a 21 year old undergraduate college student currently attending Cal State University Northridge. I am studying for a Bachelor degree in Business Management in hopes to one day apply my knowledge to the real world. I am a very active person and enjoy playing sports and spending time with friends. My family and the Armenian community have always been important aspects of my life and I do as much as
  possible to continue that trend.

• Gegham Mughnetsyan

  Corresponding Secretary

  

  My name is Gegham; I will be your corresponding secretary for the upcoming year. I am 20 years old and am an active member of the St. Leon Cathedral ACYO in Burbank. For the past year I was the chairman of my chapter and have helped to further secure ACYO’s role within the Cathedral since our chapter is a very young and upcoming chapter. I have really enjoyed being part of my local chapter as well as getting to know and become friends with people from all over the Western Diocese. I am currently a transfer student in UC Berkeley majoring in Peace and Conflict Studies. I will be away from my chapter most of the time and I am glad that being on Central Council will allow me to still be a part of the organization that has grown so dear to me. I look forward to working with my fellow councilmembers and hope that my input can only be for the betterment of the organization.  

• Arpi Nakashian

  

  My name is Arpi Nakashian, born and raised in Jerusalem (yes, the Holy Land) and currently majoring in Communication Studies at California State University, Stanislaus.  I have been a member of the ACYO family since the first Sunday I moved to California—where I found hope, love and most importantly FAITH.  ACYO has guided me to the right direction and has helped me through some of the difficult times in my life.  This is my first year serving as Central Council member after having served as Vice Chair Lady and then Chair Lady at St. Vartan  ACYO Chapter. I am going to try my best to pass on to others what ACYO has offered me.  As the Event Coordinator, I am going to put as much effort as I can to fulfill my duties and together with my fellow Central Council members, make this year an unforgettable era in the history of the ACYO.  

  I’ve mentioned this before and  I will mention it again, “yete menk ch'nenk, ov bidi ene?”