SOAR - New York City Chapter
The New York City Chapter became part of the SOAR family in April 2013 and encompasses the five boroughs of New York City. The history of Armenians in New York City dates back to 1834 when Khachadur Osganian arrived from the Ottoman Empire. Osganian, with a Protestant missionary education, came to New York to study at the newly established New York University. In 1841 the first immigrants from Armenia began arriving in New York. Over the course of the next few decades, thousands of others came settling mostly in New York (and Massachusetts). Unlike most other ethnic minorities who settled across the city and relocated fairly frequently, Armenians, and other Eastern Mediterranean people, settled in the southern tip of New York (known today as the Financial District). This area soon became known as the Syrian Quarter dominated by Syrian and Lebanese Christians, as well as Armenians. Today, New York City is home to approximately 40,000 Armenians.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Jacklyn Baltaian
President
Jacklyn was born in Istanbul, Turkey on August 24th, 1973. She graduated from Eseyan Armenian Girl High School. After graduation, she started working as a travel agent, and later on also worked at the front desk of a five-star hotel.
Jacklyn got married in 1997 and moved to the US the same year with her husband Garo and continued to work as a travel agent.
In 2001, Jacklyn welcomed her only son, Arnag. Throughout Arnag’s elementary and middle school years, she supported her husband’s shop in NYC by handling various tasks such as public relations, administrative support, and website management.
In 2002 Jacklyn studied online Wedding Planning and in 2010, she founded “A Health Cookie LLC”, which she ran for four years joining specialty fairs and festivals to sell her cookies. 2015 brought more endeavors as she studied Ayurveda (Western Medical Science) for eight months in NYC and obtained her Holistic Health Counselor Certification. She later went on to earn a certification in Holistic Nutrition Lab-Digestion Intensive in 2016.
Since 2006, Jacklyn has been involved with the St. Thomas Armenian Church Kirikian Armenian Saturday School. Initially, she started as a substitute teacher while her son attended the school. Later, she was given the responsibility of overseeing the Arts and Crafts and Special Programs for Toddler to 7th-grade students. Jacklyn introduced an engaging art program and many new special activities for the children. In 2018, she initiated a new art and movement program for the Pre-K and Toddler students and continues to lead this program to this day.
Jacklyn joined as one of the founding members of the St. Thomas Armenian Church Cultural Committee in 2013 and has remained an active member to this day. Her role mostly consists of managing the decoration, design, and themes for various events, flyer design ideas as well as handling the set-up and vendor search.
Throughout the years at the Church, Jacklyn has participated in various projects, including selling raffle tickets during the Picnic and Bazaar events. She has been working at St. Thomas Armenian Church since May 2017 in Sales and Marketing and as a Venue/Event Coordinator. Her responsibilities include managing the rental of their halls, which she has successfully executed by raising revenue. In 2019 Jacklyn was in charge of decor, design, and theme creation for Gomidas Vartabed’s 100th Anniversary Dinner at the Diocese, NYC. She loves what she does!
Jacklyn enjoys hiking, listening to calming music, dancing, traveling, cooking unique and healthy foods, entertaining, walking her dog “Kach”, and exercising. She has a great love for children and shares a special bond with them. She prioritizes healthy eating and lifestyle and loves engaging in creative activities such as arts and crafts.
Lilit Kevorkian
Treasurer
Lilit was adopted from Gyumri, Armenia when she was 4 years old. She got the opportunity to start the next chapter in her life in New York. Lilit recently graduated from Assumption University in Worcester, Massachusetts and is very involved in the American-Armenian community in the Northeast. Being Armenian has taught her so much about the value of her cultural heritage. She loves helping others and is very excited to be a part of the SOAR New York Chapter.
Anna Akopian
Social Media Director
Anna is a native New Yorker with deep ties to her Armenian heritage. As the first in her family born in the U.S., her parents made it a priority to keep her connected to her roots—enrolling her at Holy Martyrs Armenian School, speaking Armenian at home as her first language, and taking her to Armenia in the summers to visit family.
She works as a strategy consultant and enjoys leveraging her business expertise to support Armenian businesses and organizations. Passionate about children, Anna is excited to collaborate with SOAR to make a meaningful impact on the children in our communities.
Kristina Chevian
Kristina Chevian is a proud Armenian, and loves being involved in the community and being surrounded by her Armenian friends and family. She holds a role in the advertising industry and has a degree in Consumer Behavior from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. From a young age she had always wanted to be involved in working with and helping children as her mom was a Montessori school teacher. Kristina saw how fulfilling and necessary it is for young children to have adults that support them and want them to flourish.
Holly Malkasian Staudinger
Pic and Bio coming soon
William Malkasian Staudinger
William Staudinger is a Penn State University graduate with a degree in Finance and currently works in the finance industry in New York City. Raised attending Saturday and Sunday school at St. Gregory The Enlightener Armenian Church in White plains, he has a strong connection to his Armenian heritage and has visited Armenia three times. At Penn State, Will was involved in the Armenian club. In his free time, Will enjoys playing golf, traveling, and giving back to the community through volunteering with NYCares.