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.
