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Governor Maura Healey Headlines Armenian Assembly of America Celebration of Service Gala
- Armenian Assembly of America
- Jun 28
- 9 min read
Honoring Six Leaders for Decades of Distinguished Service
Governor Maura Healey of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts addresses guests at the Armenian Assembly Celebration of Service, Artists for Humanity EpiCenter, Boston
Boston, MA - The Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) concluded its Celebration of Service weekend on Saturday, June 6, 2026, with a sold-out gala at the Artists for Humanity EpiCenter in Boston, Massachusetts, headlined by Governor Maura Healey of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The evening honored Dr. Rouben Adalian, Bryan Ardouny, Anthony J. Barsamian, Mary Garabadian, Van Z. Krikorian, and Carolyn G. Mugar with the Assembly's Distinguished Service Award, in recognition of more than 25 years of service each to the Assembly and the Armenian American community.
The program was co-emceed by Dr. Henry Ben Morgenthau IV, great-grandson of Ambassador Henry Morgenthau, and Kristina Ayanian, Market Site Reporter for NASDAQ. The evening opened with an invocation by the Very Reverend Father Simeon Odabashian, Vicar of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, who conveyed the blessings of Diocesan Primate Bishop Mesrop Parsamyan, congratulated the Assembly on more than half a century of advocacy, and prayed for the United States on its 250th anniversary and for the 34-year-old Republic of Armenia. Celebration of Service Committee Co-Chairs, Board Member Herman Purutyan and intern alumna Laura Bilazarian Purutyan, welcomed guests and thanked the committee and Assembly staff.
Top: Kristina Ayanian and Dr. Henry Ben Morgenthau IV emcee the Celebration of Service. Bottom: The Very Reverend Father Simeon Odabashian, Vicar of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, delivers the invocation, joined by clergy of the greater Boston Armenian community
Governor of the Commonwealth Maura Healey, the first woman elected Governor in Massachusetts history, and who during her tenure formally wrote to then-President Joseph Biden urging an end to Azerbaijan's blockade of Artsakh, opened the evening with reflections on her deep ties to the Massachusetts Armenian community and paying tribute to the honorees.
"I'm so proud that I get to speak as governor of a state that is home to one of the largest and most vibrant Armenian communities in America... Armenians through and from Massachusetts have made a lasting impact, not only on this place, but on our country - in law, in business, in education, in medicine, in science, in politics, in the arts. This community has given so much to our state, enriching our cultural fabric, our economy, and our cities and towns," said Governor Healey.
Governor Healey also praised the Armenian Heritage Park on the Rose Kennedy Greenway and reaffirmed the Commonwealth's commitment to teaching the Armenian Genocide in Massachusetts schools. "Wherever I stand, I have always been proud to stand with the Armenian community... know that I stand with you, and Massachusetts stands with you. Your work has made Massachusetts a better place. Your work has made this country a better place," she said.
Assembly Board Co-Chair Talin Yacoubian then addressed guests, speaking to the Assembly’s more than five decades of principled, non-partisan advocacy. "When the governor of Massachusetts comes to an Armenian American gala, that is a reflection of what your community has accomplished through credibility, consistency, and principled advocacy," said Yacoubian.
"We are not here for any government. We are not here for any party. We are here for the Armenian people - in this diaspora and in Armenia... Our job is to make sure that whatever happens, the Armenian people have an advocate at the table - a credible one, one that will still be standing, still be trusted, and still be effective ten years from now, fifty years from now. History has a long memory, and we intend to be on the right side of it," she continued.
The Secret Trio - Ara Dinkjian on oud, Ismail Lumanovski on clarinet, and Tamer Pınarbaşı on kanun - then delivered a world music performance blending Middle Eastern, Balkan, jazz, and classical traditions.
(l-r): Board Member Valina Agbabian, French National Assembly Member Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet, Dr. Noubar Afeyan, Co-Chair Talin Yacoubian, Anna Afeyan, Governor Maura Healey, Anthony J. Barsamian, Carolyn G. Mugar, Bryan Ardouny, Co-Chair Oscar Tatosian, and Board Member Herman Purutyan
Opening the awards segment, Ayanian honored the Morgenthau family's century-long bond with the Armenian people. "Your family's legacy is the reason why so many of us are here today. Few non-Armenian families are as integrated into the Armenian story as the Morgenthaus," she said.
More than a century ago, Ambassador Henry Morgenthau, serving as U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in 1915, became one of the most powerful voices to alert the world to the Armenian Genocide, speaking up when so many others looked away. Ayanian shared the Ambassador's own words: "I am confident that the whole history of the human race contains no such horrible episode as this."
Dr. Morgenthau, whose mother escaped the Holocaust from Vienna in 1939, reflected on that inheritance. "The honor is truly mine. I feel fortunate and grateful to have been born into this legacy... When I look out into this room of vibrant and proud Armenian activists, and when I hear the stories of the newest generation of Armenian heroes, I know I can report to my great-grandfather that the spirit of the Armenian people is strong and resilient," said Dr. Morgenthau.
"While we never forget, and we never lose our sadness for the hardships of the past, we also celebrate and give thanks for the goodness life brings - and tonight is a time for celebration," he continued.
(top, l-r): Anthony J. Barsamian delivers acceptance remarks; Van Z. Krikorian accepts his award, joined by Henry Morgenthau V and Co-Chair Talin Yacoubian; Carolyn G. Mugar delivers acceptance remarks; (bottom, l-r): Dr. Rouben Adalian accepts his award from Van Krikorian; Bryan Ardouny receives his award from Anthony Barsamian; Mary Garabadian receives her award from Carolyn Mugar and Talin Yacoubian
Assembly Co-Chairs Oscar Tatosian and Talin Yacoubian presented the Distinguished Service Award to three Board honorees whose collective service spans more than 150 years of devotion to the Assembly:
The first was Immediate Past Co-Chair Anthony J. Barsamian, a business and estate planning attorney and Managing Partner of Hutchings, Barsamian, Mandelcorn & Zeytoonian, LLP, and the first Armenian American elected President of the Massachusetts Council of Churches, whose decades of service have been a cornerstone of the Assembly. Accepting the award, Barsamian shared a saying close to his heart: "Grief shared is divided. Joy shared is multiplied... This is my home. You are all my friends, family, cousins, sisters, brothers."
Next came Chair Emeritus Van Z. Krikorian, whose connection to the Assembly began in 1977. In the decades since, he authored Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, represented Armenia at its first session of the UN General Assembly, and serves as founding board member and Chair of the Armenian National Institute; in 2017, he was awarded Armenia's Order and Medal of Honor. "An extraordinary mind and a huge heart," said Tatosian in presenting the award. "Van has, over the years, led the effort for Armenian Genocide recognition and genocide prevention."
The third Board honoree, President Emerita Carolyn G. Mugar, has been involved with the Assembly since 1974. She co-founded the Armenia Tree Project in 1994 - which has now planted more than ten million trees across Armenia - served as Executive Director of Farm Aid from its founding in 1985 through January 2025, and is a founding board member of the Armenian National Institute. "This really is a team... we've been through thick and thin, and we've fought with each other, and we've laughed with each other, we've cried with each other - and it works," said Mugar. "So I recommend disagreeing with people, especially when you mean it."
(l-r): Co-Chair Talin Yacoubian, Dr. Rouben Adalian, Van Z. Krikorian, Mary Garabadian, Carolyn G. Mugar, Anthony J. Barsamian, Bryan Ardouny, and Co-Chair Oscar Tatosian
The Board honorees then took their turn at the podium, each presenting the award to a member of the Assembly's staff.
Krikorian presented Dr. Rouben Adalian, Director of the Armenian National Institute, who joined the Assembly in 1987 and has devoted his life's work to the documentation, research, and affirmation of the Armenian Genocide - work that has made ANI's website the most widely consulted institutional resource on the Armenian Genocide, reaching more than 8 million visitors worldwide, and earned him Armenia's Presidential Medal of Gratitude in 2023. "Rouben spent years in the U.S. archives, collecting every single document the United States had from the Armenian Genocide, compiling them into a monumental 37,000-page publication. It changed the face of denial - in it were details, accounts, and records that nobody even thought existed," said Krikorian.
In his acceptance remarks, Dr. Adalian recounted traveling to Armenia with Dr. Ben Morgenthau and his father, Henry Morgenthau III. "I cherish that relationship to this day, because Henry III knew the Ambassador — and what could a historian delight in more than to learn from the very source itself?" said Adalian.
Barsamian presented Executive Director Bryan Ardouny, who has served the Assembly for 28 years and led it as Executive Director since 2005, including through the historic passage of the Armenian Genocide resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate in 2019. "We care about the Armenian people - that's what the Armenian Assembly is about. Every day, we try to make a difference for the betterment of the Armenian people... I dedicate this honor to my sons as the next generation, and to all those who will follow in our footsteps," said Ardouny.
And Mugar presented Archivist Mary Garabadian, who joined the Assembly in 1991 and, as the daughter of Armenian Genocide survivors, spent more than three decades preserving the organization's institutional memory as its most trusted and beloved presence. "Mary is the person who held it all together... I would say you are an unsung hero, but tonight, you are a sung hero," said Mugar.
Assembly Life Trustees Dr. Noubar Afeyan and Anna Afeyan deliver tribute remarks in honor of the six awardees
The awards ceremony concluded with tribute remarks by Assembly Life Trustees Anna Afeyan and Dr. Noubar Afeyan, founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering, co-founder and chairman of Moderna, and co-founder of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative.
Anna Afeyan, trustee and co-chair of the Afeyan Foundation, singled out Carolyn Mugar as "a shining example for all the women in the room" and issued a challenge to the community: "I want to end by encouraging all of us to allow the next generation enough room to lead, not only participate... They are well educated, full of ideas and energy, and they can take our organizations and our entire community to a different level of relevance and importance."
Dr. Afeyan reflected on the Assembly's founding purpose in the wake of genocide and dispersion. "It is our responsibility to reverse the disintegration of the Armenians that started over a century ago - by reintegrating. The power of the Armenian Assembly is that for over 50 years, it recognized we could survive away from our homeland as a diaspora community as long as we had each other... The key word in the name, to me, is Assembly," he said.
"Our community is reborn with every meeting on Capitol Hill, every internship funded, every celebration like this," Dr. Afeyan continued, closing with William Saroyan's famous 1935 words about two Armenians meeting anywhere in the world: "The Armenian Assembly has been building that place of coming together as Armenian Americans for more than 50 years."
Guests view video messages from Ambassador Edward Djerejian and Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
Video messages were shared by Ambassador Edward Djerejian, who served as U.S. Ambassador to Syria and Israel and as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, and by Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD). Ambassador Djerejian underscored that a core Assembly priority is "building the next generation of civic-minded leaders," adding: "We need more Armenian Americans to enter public service - elected, appointed, civil service, foreign service - because it counts. It makes a difference."
Senator Van Hollen saluted the honorees and the Assembly's decades of partnership, citing its leadership on Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act and the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act, and its role in securing U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide in 2021. "I demand the release of all Armenian political prisoners and prisoners of war in Azerbaijan... Thank you for your decades of service, your unwavering commitment to justice, and your dedication to building a better future for all. Onwards together," said Senator Van Hollen.
Terjenian-Thomas Internship Program alumna Tamar O'Brien Barsamian and three-time Advocacy Summit Scholar Susanna Kharatyan spotlight the Assembly's student programs
Following dinner, remarks by Terjenian-Thomas Internship Program alumna Tamar O'Brien Barsamian and intern alumna and three-time Advocacy Summit Scholar Susanna Kharatyan spotlighted the Assembly's student programs, which have trained more than 1,200 interns since 1977 and grown the Advocacy Summit Scholars program from a pilot class of 20 students in 2024 to 130 scholars in 2026.
The Secret Trio — Ismail Lumanovski (clarinet), Ara Dinkjian (oud), and Tamer Pınarbaşı (kanun) — deliver a world music performance
In closing remarks, Assembly Co-Chair Oscar Tatosian thanked the gala committee, sponsors, Board, and staff, and extended the Assembly’s deep gratitude to Pontish Yeramyan and Raffi and Nina Festekjian for their commitment to becoming Life Trustees of the Armenian Assembly.
"One of our highest priorities is to ensure that young Armenian Americans are equipped with the knowledge and confidence to take leadership... The future of our community depends on what we are building today - and on who we prepare to lead tomorrow," said Tatosian. He closed by recalling the words of Baroness Caroline Cox on a mission to Artsakh: "God kept you Armenians in this place for a reason... Our story is endurance and faith - especially when we are together."
The evening concluded with traditional Armenian music and dancing with the Mal Barsamian Ensemble - Mal Barsamian, Bruce Gigarjian, and Jason Naroian - joined by Ara Dinkjian.
Guests join in traditional Armenian music and dancing with the Mal Barsamian Ensemble, joined by Ara Dinkjian; Co-Chair Oscar Tatosian delivers closing remarks
Your gift in tribute to our honorees and its impact reaches far beyond a single evening. The generosity of our supporters allows us to highlight the work of our honorees, elevate awareness of our mission, and sustain the programs and initiatives that drive the Assembly's work year-round.
Assembly Members, supporters, and guests at the Celebration of Service
Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a strictly non-partisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.
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NR # 2026-26
