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The Los Angeles chapter became part of the SOAR family in October 2007. With a significant amount of non-profit experience, the LA Board of Directors is represented in the business management, finance, legal, medical, pharmacological, and political science fields. If you would like to reach any officer on the LA board, please feel free to contact them by email.
 Peter Abajian
President
pabajian@soar-us.org
Peter Abajian received his Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from the University of Michigan, Ann Harbor and took graduate courses in Business and marketing at George Washington University in Washington, DC. He worked from 1988-1991 at the Armenian Assembly's headquarters in Washington, DC serving as Director of the Assembly's Summer Intern Program. His first exposure to the Armenian Assembly came in 1986 when he served as an Intern in Washington with Senator Carl Levin (D-M) through the Assembly's Program. From 1991-1995, Mr. Abajian worked with the San Fernando Valley Association for the Retarded-New Horizons, as the Marketing Director. Mr. Abajian was responsible for raising funds to support the programs including residential group homes, sheltered work shop, work training and activity center program. In late 2002 Mr. Abajian was promoted to Deputy Executive director responsible for oversight of the Western Office and National development. Serving in this capacity until 2006, Mr. Abajian spearheaded efforts to raise new financial support, organized several successful national events, and served as one of the organization's chief spokespeople.
Mr. Abajian served as the Director of the Armenian Assembly of America's Western Office located in Beverly Hills, California. In this capacity, he worked with both the Armenian community and the Congress to promote a stronger US/Armenia relationship, while simultaneously working to expand the Armenian Assembly's membership and financial support in the West. Currently, Mr. Abajian serves as the Executive Director of Paros Foundation , which raises awareness of Armenian rich culture and promotes it world wide. He lives in Southern California with his wife Houry and two identical twin daughters.
 Kohar Mardiros Pelter, RN, M.N.
Vice President
kpelter@soar-us.org
Kohar earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the American University of Beirut and Masters in Nursing from University California, Los Angeles. She has held educator and administrator positions at AUMC, UCLA and Kaiser Permanente hospitals. She has also served as a consultant for UCLA, Huntington Memorial Hospital, AMGEN and other institutions for improvement of organizational effectiveness and outcomes management. She is actively involved with local and international Armenian organizations in children and family sponsorship, volunteering and charity work. SOAR mirrors her passion and dedication to help Armenian orphans and orphanages. She hopes to bring her years of clinical and administrative experiences to make a difference in the lives of Armenian orphans and supporting this great humanitarian effort. Lives in Southern California with her husband Mitch and daughter Megan.
 Kevin Avetikyan
Treasurer
kavetikyan@soar-us.org
Kevin Avetikyan is a financial professional who owned a successful tax and financial business for five years before joining a major insurance and financial company. Kevin was born in Yerevan, Armenia and moved to the U.S. when he was 10 years
old. For over 10 years he has been very active in the Armenian community. Kevin strongly believes that the efforts of the SOAR have the far reaching prospect of bettering the lives of the Armenian children in the orphanages and beyond. He is devoted to dedicating his time and expertise to this end.
 Nora Boghossian
Secretary
nboghossian@soar-us.org
Nora Boghossian is the litigation paralegal with Rutter Hobbs & Davidoff Incorporated. Ms. Boghossian earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from California State University of Northridge in 1999. She earned her Paralegal Certificate from the University of La Verne in 1993 and attends continuing education programs. She has served as a board member in the Los Angeles Paralegal Association (LAPA). She is a member of LAPA as well as the Armenian Bar Association. She has also volunteered for the Armenia Tree Project. She resides in Beverly Hills, CA.
 Houry Abajian, Pharm.D.
Houry Abajian is graduate of USC school of Pharmacy and is currently employed at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Woodland Hills as Clinical Pharmacist. Houry has been active in various Armenian organizations including St. James Armenian Church in Los Angeles where she has been on the board of St. James Armenian Church School for the past 4 years. She also has been on the Board of Etchmiadzin Children's Fund (ECF) since 2004 and is one of the founding members of the organization which is a Western Diocese organization that supports orphans in Armenia. Houry and her family lived in Armenia for 1 year in 2006-2007 where she worked closely with Etchmiadzin Children's Fund Armenia Office in Yerevan. Houry currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband and children.
 Manushak Amzoyan M.D.
Manushak Amzoyan, MD earned her Bachelors degree from Occidental College in Los Angeles (Magna Cum Laude) and her doctorate from the USC Keck School of Medicine in 1998. She then trained in General Surgery at LAC+USC medical center and in Plastic Surgery at Saint Louis University. She completed her training with Hand and Microsurgery Fellowship at USC. Manushak has been involved in the Armenian outreach by establishing the first ever HIV and AIDS counseling and prevention program in Armenia in 1998 through Peer Education Project of Los Angeles. Manushak is excited about the SOAR's vision and philosophy and believes that a lot can be achieved in improving the lives of Armenian orphans through dedication and persistence.
 Ani N. Shabazian, Ph.D.
Ani Shabazian earned her B.A. from UCLA where she majored in Psychology and History and minored in Applied Developmental Psychology and Armenian Studies. She went on to pursue a Master's degree in Human Developmental Psychology from Harvard University. Ani then returned to UCLA to complete an MA/Ph.D. program in Urban Schooling from UCLA's Department of Education. Currently Ani has a dual academic appointment at UCLA, serving as the Executive Director of the Infant Development Program and teaching child development courses in the Department of Psychology at UCLA. She is the recipient of the UCLA Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award. Recently, Ani had the privilege of being trained at the world renowned Pikler Institute, a Hungarian orphanage noted for its innovative and successful approach to rearing children raised in group homes. She feels truly privileged to be working with an organization such as SOAR that upholds the principles she holds dear about early childhood development.
 Lena Simitian Soghomonian Pharm.D.
Lena Simitian Soghomonian earned a Bachelor of Pharmacy from St. John's University in New York in 1986. She further pursued her education and received a Doctorate of Pharmacy from the University of Southern California in 1989. She is a Certified Diabetes educator and is also a certified psychopharmacist. She currently works at Kaiser Permanente as a pharmacist care manager focusing in helping patients manage chronic disease states especially Diabetes and Dyslipidemia. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband Harout and their son Alec.
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