Held under the auspices of His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America and Mexico, on February 9, 2020, the Nerouj Committee of the Western Diocese organized its Third Annual New Connect, a panel discussion series featuring Armenian American professionals.

The highly successful event brought together more than 150 youth who aimed to benefit from the mission of Nerouj of empowering the young generation through education, support and mentorship.

The Honorable Judge Michael Amerian, Superior Court Judge of Los Angeles County was the moderator  in a panel discussion featuring panelists Araksya Karapetyan, (Emmy Winning Anchor on Fox 11’s Good Day LA); George Bandarian, (Founder and Managing Director of ValueScaler); Paul Turpanjian; (Producer of the Award-Winning Film Crows of the Desert); Armine Charkhchyan, (Senior Director of Operations at Drunk Elephant) and Araz Parseghian, (Planning Commissioner of the City of Los Angeles). The professionals shared their life experiences offering and possible avenues of advancement in the fields of business, finance, television, marketing, government and others.

In her remarks, Silvana Vartanian, Chair of Nerouj expressed her deep gratitude and appreciation to the Primate for his leadership, inspiration, vision and belief in the promise of today’s youth.

Archbishop Derderian commended the Nerouj Committee for their outstanding organizational efforts in bringing professionals and youth together in a church setting. His Eminence thanked the moderator and all panelists for sharing their stories of success with the youth.

The mission of Nerouj is to lead the Armenian youth in reconnection with the Church through education, inner support and strengthening of the Armenian identity. Nerouj aims to keep the Armenian heritage alive and give purpose through inner spirituality and morality.

For more information or to join Nerouj, log on to their website at www.nerouj.com