Birthright Armenia - Board of Directors

Advisory Committee Yerevan, Armenia Staff Board of Directors

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Board of Directors

Edele Hovnanian, Founder, has been making trips to the homeland once or twice a year since the late 70s, personally experiencing many of the youth oriented educational, cultural and volunteer service programs in Armenia. Her participation in such programs lead her to assume strong leadership positions within two organizations, serving currently as President of the Land and Culture Organization (LCO-USA) and Board member of its international umbrella organization, Union de Organization Terre et Culture (UIOTC) in France since 1993, as well as serving as a member of the Board of Directors with the Armenian Assembly of America since 1991, with the position of Treasurer from 1992-2002.

She is currently the Senior Vice President of Operations for Hovsons, Inc. a diversified real estate development corporation in Tinton Falls, NJ, and President of Hovnanian Senior Housing Services, Inc. and Hovnanian Property Management, Inc., where she manages and oversees the operations of the health care and commercial divisions.

Hovnanian holds an M.B.A. from Columbia University, and joint B.S. degrees in Finance and Civil Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. However, it was her study abroad program at the University of Yerevan from 1982-1983 that proved to be the educational experience that was the most life changing for her. Hovnanian resides in New Jersey.

Linda Yepoyan, Executive Director, has 25 years of diverse project management experience, the last 17 having been within the non-profit sector. Since living in Armenia from 1989-1992, she has maintained many homeland ties and relationships that take her back regularly. Among her many accomplishments, the 1993 creation of the NGO Training and Resource Center in Armenia remains high on her list of initiatives that contributed to Armenia's development and strengthened the lives of many people globally.

Yepoyan is a graduate of The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She resides in Wynnewood, PA with her husband, artist Armen Yepoyan, and their three children, Soseh, Sevag and Serop.

Christine Serdjenian, Alumni , participated in the Birthright Armenia program in the Fall of 2008. A former middle school English as a Second Language teacher in Harlem, Serdjenian is now employed by the Harlem Children's Zone (New York), where she works as a College Advisor. She is also the East Coast Chairperson (U.S.A.) for the Birthright Armenia Alumni Association.

Serdjenian holds a B.A. in Sociology from Brown University and a MST in ESL Education from Pace University. She resides in Queens, NY.