Our Mission
The Genocide Education Project (GenEd) seeks to assist educators in teaching about human rights and genocide, particularly the Armenian Genocide, by developing and distributing instructional materials, providing access to teaching resources and organizing educational workshops.
The idea for GenEd sprung out of the absence of scholastic instruction about the Armenian Genocide, the systematic extermination of 1.5 million Armenians (half the Armenian population living on its historic homeland) by the Turkish government of the Ottoman Empire in 1915.
Although sometimes referred to as “the forgotten genocide,” the Armenian Genocide is considered by historians as the prototype for genocides which came after it, including the most widely taught genocide, the Holocaust, and others which took the lives of millions of innocent victims.
In order for future generations to be able to combat and prevent the problem of genocide, young people today must better understand its reasons, circumstances, outcomes, and ramifications.
The Genocide Education Project was established in order to broaden the general understanding of the history of the Armenian Genocide, in the context of the history of World War I, and as a predecessor of the pattern of genocides that followed.
Board of Directors and Staff
Roxanne Makasdjian, Co-founder and Executive Director, has a Master’s degree in Journalism from University of California, Berkeley and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from University of California, Los Angeles. She worked as a national television news producer for more than 20 years, and is currently Director of Broadcast Communications at UC Berkeley. Ms. Makasdjian oversees all of The Genocide Education Project’s programs, including the creation of lesson plans, communications, and planning of teacher training workshops and events. She has also been instrumental in developing working partnerships with national, state and local educational institutions.
Dr. Dikran Kaligian teaches history at Worcester State and previously taught at Clark University and Regis, Westfield State, and Wheaton colleges. He is past chairperson of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Eastern Region and Managing Editor of the Armenian Review. He received his Ph. D. in history from Boston College. His book, “Armenian Organization and Ideology under Ottoman Rule, 1908-1914” was published in 2009 by Transaction Publishing.
Dr. Gohar Momjian, GenEd Board Member, is Vice President of the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. She holds a B.A. in Psychology specializing in Business Administration from UCLA, an M.A. in International Education, Administration, and Policy Analysis from Stanford University, and an Ed.D. in Organizational Change and Leadership from USC. She has volunteered for several Armenian nonprofit organizations and educational institutions over the last 25 years, including the Armenian Relief Society, Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee of the Bay Area, and GenEd.
Kerri Flynn, GenEd Education Director, has been a high school social studies educator for 25 years. She teaches Modern U.S. History and has also created a Human Rights and Genocide course at her school, Washington High School, near St. Louis, Missouri. Flynn received the University of Chicago Outstanding Educator award in 2022 and serves as Executive Secretary for the Missouri Council for the Social Studies. She also teaches Sociology and Psychology at East Central College. She is one of GenEd’s first GenEd Teacher Fellowship Program participants. She has participated in numerous other in-depth professional development programs for teachers related to human rights, the Holocaust and other genocides, and WWII.
Seda Aghamianz serves as GenEd Administrator. She has a Master’s degree in International Relations from Boston University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Russian from U/Mass-Amherst. Ms. Aghamianz has held several positions within the Armenian community, including Executive Director of the Armenian Relief Society, Eastern United States, and Project Manager at the Ani and Narod Memorial Fund. She has served on several non-profit boards as a volunteer member and currently serves on the Boards of the Marshall Home Fund and Watertown for All Ages.
The Genocide Education Project Advisory Board
The Genocide Education Project is a nonpartisan,
nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), educational organization.
(Tax Identification Number: 59-3791802)