SOAR - Northern California Chapter

P.O. Box 642073
San Jose, CA 95164
northernca@soar-us.org

The Northern CA chapter, our 4th chapter, became part of the SOAR family in July 2009. We are excited to bring them into the fold because of the significant Armenian population in this area. If you have any questions about how you can assist our efforts in Northern CA, please contact the Chapter President by email.

Board of Directors:

Alison Ekizian
President

Alison Ekizian is a passionate philanthropist and adventure-lover. Her studies in Anthropology fueled her interest and passion for working with people from diverse backgrounds and experiences to make real differences in communities. A native Californian, Alison has resided for more than 10 years in the Bay Area. She is a member of St. John Armenian Apostolic Church and spent several years on the Board for the AGBU YPs of Northern California and the Armenian Assembly of Northern California. Alison’s love of cycling takes her on a bike journey each year from San Francisco to Los Angeles - 545 miles - to raise funds and awareness for AIDS research on behalf of the SF AIDS Foundation. Alison is currently the Director of Change Management for Gap Inc. and was recently sent on behalf of the Gap Foundation to Guatemala to build homes with Habitat for Humanity. Through her travels, Alison has seen firsthand the tremendous impact of good ideas and dedicated people. As a result, she believes in the value of SOAR and is excited to be a part of the organization.

Tony Cappellini
Secretary

Tony is a software engineer who has been working in the computer industry for over 23 years. After serving 4 years in the United States Navy, he relocated to California in 1983 to put his military training to use. Three months later he started work as an Electronics specialist in the defense industry. He lived in Southern California for 12 years before relocating to the Bay Area. While working full-time, Tony completed a Bachelor's Degree program from the University Of Phoenix in Business Information Systems. Tony met his wife Marina Dadayan during a visit to Southern California and has now been married just over 10 years. In 2004 they went to Yerevan to meet Marina's family and were welcomed at many family gatherings. Tony and Marina have had several visitors from Armenia over the years. Marina's mother Gretta lives with them and has just celebrated her 80th birthday. Tony is looking forward to working with SOAR to help the orphanages make the lives of children better. Tony, Marina and Gretta now reside in San Jose.

Kristina Garabedian
Treasurer

I was born and raised in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley, Fresno, California. When I was 13, I decided to form my own non-profit orgnaization called ShoeBox Sharing which helps children in Armenia, India, Romania and the local Fresno area. I have traveled to Armenia 8 times spending anywhere from 2 to 5 weeks playing with children and handing out supplies. Pacific Lutheran University is where I earned my undergraduate degrees in Business, Global Studies and Chinese Studies. I plan on attending law school in the fall to obatin my JD. I currently work at Hope Lutheran Church in Fresno as the Director for Children's Ministry. With my spare time I serve on other committees and volunteer with orgnaizations that are working to develop youth leaders in our community. I love traveling to countries I haven't been to before and learning about other cultures. I look forward to my next adventure whereever it might be. The picture is of me and an archbishop that I work with in Armenia.


Marina Dadayan, MBA, MSA, CPA

Marina earned her MBA degree from the American University of Armenia and Master of Science in Accountancy from San Jose State University. She worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers as an auditor and currently works for Stanford Hospital and Clinics as a Financial Reporting Analyst. She frequently travels to Armenia to visit her family and friends. Marina is proud to be a part of SOAR and is committed to make a difference in the lives of Armenian orphans. Marina currently lives in San Jose, CA with her husband, Anthony Cappellini, her mother and two cats. She enjoys spending her free time with her family and friends, hiking, reading, traveling, and attending art galleries.




Dan Riley

Dan is a Principal partner at Riley Design Associates, LLC a strategic design and marketing firm in San Ramon, California. With more than 24 years of design experience, Dan has created brand identities and campaigns for many national and international companies. His main focus is client relationships and strategic creative for such Fortune 500 companies as Adobe Systems, Cisco WebEx and Sun Microsystems. He graduated with honors from San Jose State University and Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California with degrees in industrial design, graphic design, and business. Dan is an active community volunteer and started the non-profit CaringClothes.org in 2007. Caring Clothes helps orphans and institutional children and young adults in Armenia with clothes and shoes. SOAR is a natural extension of his volunteer work. Dan resides in Northern California, he has two daughters, and is active in St. John Armenian Apostolic Church in San Francisco.



Keith David Watenpaugh

Keith is an Associate Professor of Modern Islam, Human Rights and Peace at UC Davis. He is a historian of the Modern Middle East and has written extensively about the history of Armenian relief, orphans and child welfare in the period after World War I. He has lived in Syria, Armenia, Egypt and Turkey. At UC Davis he teaches courses on Human Rights and Genocide and directs the undergraduate Human Rights program. Alongside his wife Heghnar Zeitlian Watenpaugh and their twins Arda Zabel and Aram David, he lives, gardens and bicycles in Davis, California. An avid fly-fisherman, Prof. Watenpaugh is also a member of the local Sunrise Rotary Club.

Volunteers

Anita Carapiet

Anita Carapiet, a middle school teacher, has been teaching in the Sacramento School District for 12 years. She teaches basic computer classes, yearbook, and video production. She was born in London, England, but has spent the majority of her life in the Northern California area. In 2002 she ventured to Armenia and adopted 5 month old Emma. Emma in now 8 years old and a beautiful young lady who loves the outdoors like her mama.