SOAR - Seattle Chapter
Seattle became part of the SOAR family in February 2011, representing SOAR’s first foray into the Pacific Northwest. SOAR-Seattle brings together a group of young and experienced volunteers with a special place in their hearts for orphaned children. The Armenian community in Seattle is relatively small, but galvanized by the Armenian Church and the Armenian Cultural Association of Washington (ACAW). Located in Redmond, the Holy Resurrection Armenian Apostolic Church of Seattle was established in November 1981, with Rev. Fr. Yeghia Isayan named the permanent priest in June 2003. The ACAW is a non-profit organization whose objective is to preserve and perpetuate the Armenian culture and heritage in all aspects of life through the enhancement of its language, art, music, literature, dance and theater in the greater Seattle area.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Emma Melkumian
President
Emma Melkumian is a Computer Science student at Bellevue College, set to graduate in June 2025, with a strong passion for technology, innovation, and leadership. Born into a family with deep roots in Armenian culture, Emma has always been driven by a desire to create meaningful impact through both her technical and leadership skills. Her experience as an Assistant Manager at Nordstrom honed her ability to optimize processes, mentor teams, and improve customer experiences, while her personal projects, such as an AI-powered email summarization tool and an immersive audio visualizer, showcase her creativity and technical expertise.
Emma is also deeply committed to giving back to her community. As a co-founder of Friends of Artsakh, she worked to raise awareness about humanitarian crises, using her technical skills to amplify outreach efforts. Inspired by her Armenian heritage and a desire to support those in need, Emma is passionate about using technology to drive social impact. She is excited to join SOAR and contribute to its mission of supporting orphaned children, aligning with her values of creativity, collaboration, and innovation. Emma looks forward to applying her skills and fresh perspective to empower teams and create positive change through her work with SOAR.
Monica Adjemian
Pic and Bio coming soon
Karl Afrikian
Karl recently moved to Seattle from Boston and has experience in international development, project management, and finance. He earned a Master of Art in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Global Affairs at Tufts University, where he conducted research into Armenian Diaspora business development and regional geopolitics.
Karl served for nearly two years with the U.S. Peace Corps in Ukraine, where he worked with the Armenian community in his city on developmental and cultural projects. While earning his bachelor’s degree, he also became the first undergraduate student to participate in a study abroad program at the American University of Armenia in Yerevan. He additionally interned a summer at PINK Armenia.
Outside of professional and volunteer activities, Karl enjoys skiing, hiking, and being near the water. He is excited to join SOAR and contribute to the building of a stronger Armenia.
Mahshid Birjandian
Mahshid is a recent Iranian immigrant to the US and is a consultant with a public utilities consulting firm in Tacoma. In her early 20s, she moved to Armenia and studied Russian language and literature (Russian Philology) at Yerevan State University of Armenia as well as Dance Choreography and Ballet Instruction at Yerevan Choreographic College. During her time in Armenia, she was actively involved with helping children with special needs and families with low incomes through the Baha’i Community. Her primary focus was tutoring and assisting students with their math, art, and English lessons. She loves dance and music and spent much of her spare time in Armenia attending programs at the Yerevan Opera Theatre. Since graduating from college, she has remained focused on dance and language education. She now lives in Tacoma with her husband and their two dogs.
Nanneh Chehras
Nanneh Chehras is an Economist and Data Scientist at Amazon. She grew up in Los Angeles where she completed her BA from UCLA in Economics with a minor in Mathematics, followed by an MA and PhD in Economics at UC Irvine. She has a history of Armenian non-profit activism in Los Angeles, where she volunteered with ANCA-Burbank and has a lifelong love for dance. Nanneh participated in several Armenian dance groups and was most recently a member of a contemporary dance company while in graduate school. Nanneh moved to Seattle after graduate school to pursue a career in Tech and joined SOAR-Seattle in 2019. She is thankful for the opportunities allotted to her in life and is excited to give back and promote the well-being of Armenia’s orphaned children.
Angelina Petrosyan
Angelina Petrosyan graduated from Seattle University School of Law in 2015 and has been practicing law since 2016. Angelina has 10 years of experience working in the legal field. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Communication from University of Washington. While in Law School, Angelina developed a strong interest in helping people through the difficulties and stresses of the criminal process. She also participated in the Youth Advocacy Clinic, successfully assisted in a clemency matter, which resulted in a release of a man who spent 20 years in prison, and completed an externship at the Society of Counsel Representing Accused Persons (SCRAP).
Angelina is very passionate about helping Armenian families and children in need and is extremely excited to be a part of SOAR. She was born in the Former Soviet Union where she resided until her family immigrated to Washington in 1991. Angelina is fluent in Russian. She enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, traveling, and wine tasting.
Amélie Touroyan
Amélie Touroyan is a full-time MBA candidate at the Foster School of Business, University of Washington. She joins SOAR from a career in business development where she has built revenue-boosting programs during critical growth periods for technology-first businesses. Most of all, Amélie enjoys working across Sales, Marketing, Product, and Talent teams to move strategic projects across the finish line. Previously, she brought consumer insights and design thinking to the world’s airlines across APAC, North America, and Europe.
Amélie’s beginnings are in program development for large-scale support of local non-profit organizations. She is very proud to support the Society for Orphaned Armenian Relief Seattle as a board member.