Artsakh and Me

Tatiana Der Avedissian is head of business development for Economist Impact's World Ocean Initiative and sits on The Economist Group's sustainability steering committee.

A communications specialist, outside of work she uses her expertise to advise and support other organisations with their strategic communication and business needs. She serves as trustee and co-president of Alkionides UK, and chair of the board of trustees of the Armenian Institute. She is co-president of the Harvard Kennedy School Women's Network and sits on the board of the UK-Cyprus Enterprise Council and The Armenia Project. Der Avedissian has taught ethics and politics for the Escuela de Gobierno Universidad Hemisferios in Ecuador as a guest professor.

Der Avedissian has a BA (Hons) in Politics from Kingston University and is completing her Executive Education in Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School

Dr. Anett Abrahamian Assilian is a Clinical Psychologist with practice locations in Montrose and Northridge conducting therapy in English and Armenian. Her practice focuses on working with children, adolescents and young adults as well as adults with chronic mental health issues, including depression and trauma. She also has extensive experience working with therapists in training as well as licensed clinicians. Dr. Assilian has a history of working with children with autism and assists families when they struggle with diagnostic uncertainty and linking them to services. Dr. Assilian enjoys supervising unlicensed clinicians and helping them develop their various interests, ranging from trauma to sports psychology. In addition to her practice, Dr. Assilian is currently co-founding a non-profit “All for One Therapy,” with a mission statement to address the needs of underserved populations.

Sipan Nazaryan is an associate therapist at Avedian Counseling Center, with locations in Sherman Oaks and Glendale, holding a master's in clinical psychology from Pepperdine University. Specializing in both child and adult therapy, he has extensive experience working with diverse clients on issues ranging from ADHD and behavioral challenges in children to couples counseling and anger management for adults. Sipan employs a mix of Psychodynamic therapy and evidence-based techniques, offering a culturally sensitive, down-to-earth approach in both English and Armenian.

Dr. Valentina Ogaryan is a licensed clinical psychologist as well as the Training Director at the UCLA Simms/Mann Center for Integrative Oncology. In addition to providing clinical care to patients and families impacted by a cancer diagnosis, Dr. Ogaryan teaches, trains and supervises advanced a multidisciplinary intern cohort. Dr. Ogaryan has received extensive training in building resilience in healthcare providers and is passionate about the role of self care in health care professionals. Dr. Ogaryan is involved in various mental health initiatives supporting Armenia and is passionate about providing culturally congruent care in medical settings.

Dr. Lara Shirikjian is a psychiatrist in Los Angeles, with a focus in clinical research. In addition to her private practice, she supervises residents at Harbor UCLA. She is currently working with the Armenian Mental Health Initiative, a division of Armenian Public Health, to provide support to providers in both Artsakh and Armenia.

Born and bred in Southern California, Dr. Shabazian received her B.A. in History and Psychology from UCLA, her MA from Harvard University, and then returned to UCLA to obtain an MA/PhD in Urban Schooling. She has trained internationally and is committed to serving as a global educator helping elevate the lives of vulnerable children worldwide. After serving as faculty in the Applied Developmental Psychology Department at UCLA and as the Executive Director of the UCLA Infant Development Department, Dr. Shabazian accepted a dual appointment at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) serving as both a tenured Professor at LMU's School of Education and as the Director of the LMU's Children's Center. She has authored several texts and peer-reviewed articles and regularly presents at conferences both nationally and internationally.