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Our 6th Chapter - Chicago - became part of the SOAR family in February 2010. To date, all of our Chapters have been on the coasts. Chicago is our first foray into the Midwest, and we are very excited to be breaking this geographical barrier. Their contact information will be available soon - stay tuned!
 Anne Galovich
President
Anne Galovich graduated with a B.S.in Business Administration and a minor degree in Marketing from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale , Florida. She has resided in the Chicago area for 14 years. Currently she is co-owner of a Promotional Item Company and is Vice President of Sales. Anne is a member of Saints Joachim and Anne Armenian Apostolic Church in Palos Heights, Illinois where she teaches Sunday School. She sits on the Board of the Sissag Verjabedian Saturday Armenian School where her 2 children attend. Anne is married to David Sarkesian Galovich and they have 2 children, Elina Siranoush and Armen Tavit who were both adopted from the Nork Orphanage in Yerevan, Armenia . Anne has seen the orphanages first hand and knows the value of SOAR and is excited to be a part of the organization.
 Deana Bargamian
Vice President
Deana Bargamian was born in Baku, Azerbaijan where she received a degree in Elementary school teaching (1st-4th grade). Deana immigrated to United States in 1991 along with her parents and brother. She attended college in St. Louis, Missouri while working with children at the Carmelite kindergarten center and volunteering at the trauma room of the Barnes & Jewish Hospital. She met her husband Kevin Bargamian, DMD and made another move to Chicago, IL. They have 2 daughters Nicole-8 and Emily-7. She volunteers for their girl scout troops, and also teaches Sunday school at Saints Joachim and Anne Armenian Church. She works closely with her husband on managing the dental office and running a dental assistant school.
In the summer of 2007 Deana and Kevin took a trip to Armenia to do dentistry for the kids at the Siranush Camp near Yeghegnatzor. The camp was established by Archbishop Abraham to help the orphans of Armenia to get medical attention that is necessary during their camp time. She is very excited about repeating this trip in the summer of 2010. Deana loves her family and would like to help in anyway she can the less fortunate ones in that aspect of life. That is her main reasoning for joining SOAR.
 David Baboorian
Treasurer
David Baboorian graduated with a B.A. in Psychology and Psychical Education from Northeastern University and is currnetly enrolled in the Masters in Sports Business Administration program at the University of Oregon. He is the Son of Ashod and Bonnie Baboorian of Chicago and the grandson of the late Rev. Nerses and Zaroohi Baboorian of Kirkuk, Iraq and Long Island, NY.
An avid sports fan, David is involved with the Illinois High School Association as both a coach and an official for various sports. He currently is the owner of a Global Sports Sponsorship and merchandising business and is working closely with the Armenian National Ice Hockey Federation in charge of their team merchandising.
As A dedicated member of the Knights of Vartan for the past 10 years, he often travels to events held at all five of the local Chicago Armenian Churches. Through his work with the Chicago Knights of Vartan, he is involved with raising money for many Armenian charities . He has been married to Attorney Michelle Sledge-Baboorian for 5 years.
 Eric Diekhans
Secretary
Eric Diekhans is an award-winning television producer and screenwriter. He holds a MA in Film from Northwestern University and a BA in Comparative Literature from Indiana University. Eric is recipient of a Chicago/Midwest Emmy Award and an Illinois Arts Council Fellowship in Screenwriting. He currently serves as Senior Producer for the Greater Chicago Broadcast Ministries. In 2005, Eric and his wife Michelle adopted Hasmik from Armenia. He considers his month there experiencing the country's culture, food, and people one of the highpoints of his life. His whole family is enrolled in AGBU's Armenian School, and Eric's proud to say that he now knows the entire Armenian alphabet.
 Ardem Ghazarian-Hardy
An activist in the Chicago community, Ardem Ghazarian-Hardy been working with less fortunate children for many years. As a volunteer for Grant A Wish (GAW), she helped needy, handicapped and AIDS-stricken inner-city children receive more than 2,000 gifts through numerous holiday gift drives, eyeglass drives and PR efforts. She developed a communicative, easy-to-read newsletter for GAW, along with press relations work and other marketing vehicles. She has also done fundraisers for Special Olympics, Misiricordia, Y-Me, and donated her time for other causes. For the past 15 years, Ardem has been a part of the Armenian Relief Society, six years on its executive, which helps Armenians both in the U.S. and abroad. She is a longtime Armenian Youth Federation member, has taught children at Camp Haiastan and other groups, and is active in her Glenview church community. Alongside, she is a writer and marketer, but is a hobby artist and enjoys teaching drawing to her children's classrooms for the past 6 years. She was also a preschool teacher at Taniel Varoujan Armenian School for a few years as well.
Her dream is to one day teach expression through art to orphans in Armenia, which is one reason she is proud to join the Chicago SOAR chapter. "Since I was 13 and I landed in Armenia, I saw what it was like to live that 'third world' life. I met a few children in a village orphanage, and all they "owned" were their thoughts and dreams. They have very little. Through art expression, any child can "own" something, something good, feel self-gratification about it being their creation, and proudly display it." Ardem believes that ownership and creative expression in cultural arts is taken for granted in the U.S. "But when you don't have it, and it's handed to you, the empowering feeling is immeasurable," she says.
On an educational platform, Ardem earned a Master of Science degree in Marketing Communications from Roosevelt University, with an undergraduate degree from Northern Illinois University in Public Relations/Journalism and Applied Communications. She has served on numerous marketing and public relations organizational board of directors as well, and earned awards such as National Recreation & Parks Association's "Best Overall Communicator" statewide award for three years in a row. Ardem has also achieved Gold Medal for Excellence awards and is a marketing consultant to various events and corporate clients.
In her leisure time, Ardem enjoys time with her husband and three children, loves to read, write stories for magazines, play lots of tennis, paint, and play classical piano.
 Lucie Ishkhanian
Lucie Ishkhanian went to Oakton Community College in Des Plaines, IL and is a Certified Teacher's Assistant. She has lived in the Chicago area all her life. Lucie is a full-time mom and works for Avon from home. She is a member of the Armenian Evangelical Church in Mount Prospect, IL. Lucie is on the Board of the Sissag Varjabedian Armenian School in Chicago, where her daughter attends. She is married to Dr. Vicken Ishkhanian and they have two daughters. Lucie is proud to be a part of SOAR and everything it represents!
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