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Rita Balian is the founder and co-president of the Armenian American Wellness Center in Yerevan, Armenia. She also serves as the president and chief executive officer of the Armenian American Cultural Association, Inc. (AACA), a non-profit humanitarian organization founded in 1995 that is the principal sponsor of the Wellness Center. Mrs. Balian has worked for many years as a volunteer in humanitarian and philanthropic endeavors dedicated to improving the lives of the Armenian people and fostering cooperation and understanding between the citizens of the United States and Armenia. She has received many awards in recognition of her work; most notably the “Spirit of Life Cancer Advocacy Award” in September 2003 from the International Spirit of Life Foundation and the Washington Cancer Institute, the “Outstanding Citizen Achievement Award” from the United States Agency for International Development in January 2003, and the St. Nersess Shnorhali Medal, the Armenian Church’s highest medal of honor, bestowed upon her through a Pontifical Encyclical by His Holiness, the Catholicos Karekin II, in October 2001. She has received three honorary doctoral degrees for her humanitarian and educational activities in Armenia: from the Yerevan State University of Armenia in 1995, the Yerevan State Medical University in 2000 and the Gavar State University in 2001. In April 1996, Mrs. Balian and her husband, Vartkess Balian, became honorary citizens of the Republic of Armenia through a special presidential decree presented to them at the Armenian Embassy in Washington, DC. Mrs. Balian received her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and child education from the American University of Beirut. Since 2000, Maria Princi has served as the AACA Board Secretary. A fundraising consultant to the American Red Cross and a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Brokerage in DC and VA, Ms. Princi was formerly with the American Red Cross National Headquarters, International Services Department serving as Program Director for the Former Soviet Union from 1990-2000. Under Maria’s guidance, the involvement of the American Red Cross expanded from initial activities in Armenia following the 1988 earthquake to include the countries of Georgia and Azerbaijan, making the American Red Cross the first American organization operational in all three Caucasus republics of the former Soviet Union. In October 1994, Maria left her position in Washington to spend a year as a delegate for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) implementing a program in the Northeast border regions of Armenia, along the frontline of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Upon returning to Washington in 1995, Maria focused on the fundraising necessary to support American Red Cross activities in the former Soviet Union. She secured over $150 million in funding for programs in emergency relief, medical rehabilitation, earthquake reconstruction, refugee assistance, public health training, and institutional development from government, corporate, foundation and individual major donors. Maria has a Bachelor’s degree in History from Loyola University,
New Orleans Louisiana and a Master’s degree in International
Relations and Trade from George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. Ms. Balian received her Bachelor of Science degree from the French
Sisters Academy in Beirut, Lebanon. |
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