Assembly's Western Region Director Mihran Toumajan to Assume New Role

Assembly Western Region Director Mihran Toumajan with La Canada High School students and members of the school’s Armenian Club

Washington, D.C. - The Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) bids farewell and extends its gratitude to Assembly Western Region Director Mihran Toumajan, who will leave his current position after seven years of dedicated service to Armenian American advocacy and community priorities. At the onset of 2023, Toumajan will be starting a new job in the field of government affairs. Working with the Assembly's congressional relations team in Washington, Toumajan was instrumental in mobilizing grassroots support for Armenian Genocide resolutions (H.Res.296 and S.Res.150), which were adopted overwhelmingly in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate in 2019. During the 2020 War on Artsakh, he tirelessly advanced key Assembly initiatives and raised awareness on the horrors unfolding and the fundamental right of the people of Artsakh to live freely and securely in their ancestral homeland. Toumajan also represented the Assembly within various Armenian American coalitions in southern California, including Armenia Fund, Inc. and its Board of Directors, the Armenian Genocide Committee (AGC), the Pan-Armenian Council of the Western USA (PAC-WUSA), and the United Armenian Council of Los Angeles (UACLA), as well as at bicameral hearings of the California State Legislature in Sacramento. Additionally, Mihran testified regularly on the merits of key legislation ranging from AB 1320 (the Divestment from Turkish Bonds Act) to AB 1801 (State holidays: Genocide Remembrance Day) to ACR 105 (a resolution on California's sister state relationship with Armenia’s Syunik Province), among other initiatives. In addition, Toumajan helped to encourage sizable contingents of Armenian Americans based in the Western United States to participate in the Assembly's National Advocacy Conferences in our nation's capital in 2018 and 2019, and during the Assembly's virtual Advocacy Conference in the Spring of 2021. Toumajan helped to re-energize the Assembly's Southern and Northern California Regional Councils, in addition to assisting in the establishment of regional committees in Los Angeles and Orange counties and in California's Inland Empire. During Toumajan’s tenure, key activists from Arizona, Utah, and the State of Washington joined the Assembly as State Chairs, further enhancing the Assembly’s outreach and advocacy efforts. A Terjenian-Thomas Internship Program alumnus, Toumajan promoted the Assembly's Washington, D.C. and Yerevan flagship, 8-week, Summer internship programs with passion and purpose. In that vein, he visited several college campuses throughout the State of California and motivated Armenian students to apply for either of the Assembly's internship opportunities using his own example as one of over 1,200 alumni. "Mihran has played a significant role in expanding the Assembly's activities and programming across the Western United States, and in encouraging our Members and grassroots activists to effectively advocate for the betterment of the Armenian people in Artsakh, Armenia, and across the diaspora in furtherance of the Assembly's mission," stated Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny. "Over the years, I have enjoyed collaborating with Mihran on working visits to Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah, and more. On behalf of the Armenian Assembly of America, we appreciate Mihran's longtime involvement in the Assembly, which dates back to his days as an intern, and we are sure he will remain a part of the Assembly family."

Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.  ###

NR# 2022-66