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.
Raffi Momjian, board member, has a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from California State University, Hayward, Mr. Momjian has worked as a Project Manager for several national corporations.
Dr. Stephan H. Astourian is Director of the Armenian Studies Program at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also the William Saroyan Associate Adjunct Professor in the Department of History. Professor Astourian received a Ph.D. in history from the University of California, Los Angeles. He is a member of the Central Eurasian Studies Society, the Academic Board of the Zoryan Institute, and the Editorial Board of the Armenian Review.
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.
Seda Aghamianz serves as Administrator. She has a Master’s degree in International Relations from Boston University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Russian. 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 as the head of the Allocations Committee of the Marshall Home Fund.
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)