Our Board of Directors

Suzanne E. Moranian, President

Suzanne E. Moranian is an award-winning historian, writer, and teacher. A graduate of Wellesley College, she received her Ph.D. in History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has conducted a two-year project on the immigration of Armenian women to the United States as a Visiting Scholar at the Wellesley College Centers for Women. Suzanne is also a noted genocide scholar who has published and lectured widely on the role of the United States during the Armenian Genocide. A long-time member of the AIWA Board, she currently serves as president.

Carolyn Atinizian, Vice President/New England Affiliate Liaison

Carolyn Atinizian is an attorney in Cambridge, MA, where she concentrates primarily in the areas of Real Estate and Business Law. A graduate of Boston University (BA) and Suffolk Law School (Juris Doctorate), she participates in several professional associations and devotes her time to community organizations and pro bono legal work. She currently serves as president of AIWA’s New England Affiliate.

Barbara Merguerian, Vice President/Archives

Barbara J. Merguerian is a writer, historian, and former editor of the Journal of Armenian Studies and the Armenian Mirror-Spectator. She has taught at several institutions and publishes studies on the role of American missionaries in modern Armenian history. She is an AIWA founder, Archives director, and past president.

Judy Norsigian, Vice President/Development

Judy Norsigian is a nationally known speaker and writer on a wide range of women’s health concerns. She is a co-founder of the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective (now doing business as Our Bodies Ourselves) and co-author of all editions of the groundbreaking publication Our Bodies, Ourselves, which has been translated into several languages, including Armenian.

Joy Renjilian-Burgy, Vice President/Scholarships

Joy Renjilian-Burgy is associate professor of Spanish and co-director of Latin American studies at Wellesley College, where she teaches literature and film as well as language and culture. An author of literary and linguistic books, DVDs, and cultural videos in Spanish, she is a past president and a current vice president of AIWA.

Michele Fashjian, Treasurer

Michele Fashjian is a businesswoman who established and successfully ran her own business for several years. A former teacher, she has been active in several organizations and has spearheaded successful fund-raising events for several organizations. She currently serves as AIWA’s treasurer.

Alisa Stepanian, Clerk

Alisa Stepanian has a Masters in Public Health from Boston University and is especially interested in the marginalization of women and girls. She also serves on the AIWA NE Affiliate Executive Committee as clerk/treasurer. She was a panelist on domestic violence at the AIWA Buenos Aires conference. In addition, she is a Board member of the Cambridge-Yerevan Sister City Association (CYSCA), also as clerk.

Lily Ring Balian, Los Angeles Affiliate Liaison

Lily Ring Balian has managed public affairs and political campaigns both in the public and private sector. She was the Director of Citizens Operations for the campaign of President Ronald Reagan and appointment by him to the National Advisory Council for Adult Education (1980-1987). Her public service has also included chair of the California Commission on the Status of Women, chair of the National Advisory Council for Adult Education in Washington, and many others. She is past president and treasurer of the AIWA Los Angeles Affiliate and co-chaired the Geneva and Buenos Aires conferences.

Eva Medzorian, Armenia Liaison

Eva Medzorian has had a life-long interest in the arts. An independent documentary film-maker, she produced several CDs of her renditions of Armenian songs. An active volunteer, she chaired the AGBU New England District Committee and is a past president and a current board member of the Cambridge-Yerevan Sister City Association. A founder and the first president of AIWA, she co-chaired the Buenos Aires Conference.

Olga Proudian, Special Projects

Olga Proudian was born in Bucharest, Romania, and raised in central Europe and the Middle East, giving her cosmopolitan cultural perspectives. In the United States she has been active in both Armenian and non-Armenian community organizations, including at present Club Richelieu. A founder and past-president of AIWA, she has spearheaded several special projects.

Joan A. Quinn, United Nations Liaison

Joan Agajanian Quinn is a free-lance journalist and supporter of the arts in all its forms. A graduate of the University of Southern California, she is the creator and host of the nationally aired cable TV show, “The Joan Quinn Profiles.” Formerly a member of the California Arts Council, she has served for several years on the AIWA and the Los Angeles Affiliate boards and is an AIWA representative at the United Nations.

Christine Garabedian, At Large

Christine Garabedian is chief business development officer at PGSI Properties in New Hampshire. A graduate of Babson College, where she studied Business Management, she began her career in commercial real estate at Jones Lang LaSalle in Boston. She is active in several Armenian organizations as well as the Boston College Alumni Association.