Leadership

 

Sona Hedeshian – President

Sona Hedeshian was born in Beirut, Lebanon, and moved to USA in 1986.  Sona has a B.A. in Sociology / Early Childhood Education and a Master’s degree in Social Work from University of Denver. Sona worked as a social worker and community organizer for the Armenian Relief Society in Beirut and as a child protective caseworker for Social Services in Denver. She is also a Graduate of Real Estate Institute and a realtor since 2005. When Sona and her family moved to Colorado in 1991, she became an active member of the Armenians of Colorado, Inc. and over a period of 25 years served on the AOC board for several terms.  In her spare time, Sona loves to enjoy the Colorado outdoors.

Byuzand Yeremyan – Vice President

Byuzand Yeremyan was born in 1983 in Yerevan Armenia. He graduated from Samvel Gevorgyan high school and attended The Armenian Institute of Civil Engineering before moving to United State . Byuzand is happily married to his high school sweetheart Anahit. They have two kids together, daughter Ani who shares a love of history just like her father and son Alex who loves cars. Currently Byuzand is employed by US bank as a Vice President of the Bank. Byuzand’s passion always have been ArmenIan history, ArmenIan culture and of course food.

 

Narek Poghosyan – Treasurer

Narek Poghosyan was born in Yerevan, Armenia in 1982. He graduated and received his GED from P.I. Tchaykovski music school in 1999. Narek graduated Yerevan State Conservatory at Komitas in 2004 majoring in bassoon teaching and performance. Narek’s passion for music led him to start his career as an artist, playing bassoon in Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet from 2005 to 2010. Narek had the honor of serving in Armenian military from 2004 to 2006. Narek is happily   married to —- and has 2 lovely daughters, names go here . Narek and his family moved to Colorado in 2010, and have been actively involved in the Armenian community ever since. Narek is currently a banking officer at US Bank.

Shoghig Vayedjian – Director

Shoghig Vayedjian was born in Beirut, Lebanon and moved to the States in 1998. She has graduated from MEU with an associates degree in Computer Science. She has been an assistant manager for the Apple dealership and an accountant consultant for a chain athletic store in Beirut. Currently she is a housewife, married to her high school sweetheart, Koko Vayedjian and has two wonderful teenage boys, Anton and Leon. Her hobbies are reading, movies, music and cooking. She has always enjoyed volunteering at her kids’ school and at Armenian functions. Through her involvement with AOC, she hopes to instill Armenian cultural values in her kids.

Vicken Kokozian – Director

Vicken Kokozian was born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1967 and emigrated to the USA with his family. He lived in Torrance, CA until he moved his wife and daughter to Denver in December 2014 as his job brought them all here. Vicken has a BS in Business Operations and has been working in ever increasing roles in Information Technology for over 20 years.  In his spare time, Vicken volunteers for a Search and Rescue organization, Emergency Communications (ARES) and a couple of other organizations. Moving to Denver was a challenge, but very fruitful for Vicken and his family. He has made new friends in the Armenian community in Denver and looks forward to the regrowth and strengthening of ties with all Colorado Armenians.

Laura Garabedian – Secretary 

Laura comes to AOC from the suburbs of Washington, DC. After graduating from college at George Washington University, she worked as a Lab Manager for the University in the Speech and Hearing Sciences Department. In 2014, she relocated to Boulder, where she sought out an organization that would help her connect to other Armenians across Colorado. After moving to Denver in late 2015, Laura found a meaningful community in AOC, and has since been elected secretary of our organization. In her free time she enjoys many of the things Colorado has to offer. She loves to spend her weekends hiking in the mountains, camping, kayaking, running in our city’s beautiful parks and honing her metalsmithing skills. If she’s not roaming around Denver on her bike in search of the next great neighborhood event, you’ll probably find her in the park with a book.

Armene Yapoujian Piper

Armene’ is a Colorado native, born and raised in Boulder. Her Father, Artine Yapoujian, was one of the founders of Armenians of Colorado. She currently lives in Longmont with her husband Tim and their five children, Connor, Cayla, Micah, Lorelai, and Ogden. Armene’ is the owner of Left Hand Laser Studio and takes great pride in using her business as a platform to raise awareness and donations to help the less fortunate in Armenia, as well as humans rights, equality, and education here in the States. She enjoys spending time with her family, gardening, listening to live music, and traveling.

Karnig Arabian

Karnig Arabian was born in Beirut, Lebanon, where he grew up with his parents and two brothers. In 1986 Karnig immigrated to Canada where he lived until 1998. During this period he attended the University of Ottawa where he graduated with an Accounting and Finance degree. He subsequently got his CMA and CPA designations. In 1998 Karnig moved to the United States where he lived in Florida, New York and Chicago. In 2016 he moved to Boulder, CO with his wife Sarah and their three children Kaiyane, Raffi and Kami. Karnig now works as a software consultant specializing in Financial systems. He is an avid runner and cyclist and a lifelong lover of soccer, the beautiful game. When he is not working or coaching his son’s soccer team, Karnig is likely to be found running the trails around Boulder, cycling the mountain roads, hiking or skiing with his family.