About

Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive – Howard Thurman

Raised in Los Angeles by way of Tehran, I’m a journalist who never turns down the chance to follow a good story.

I have spent time at the L.A. County Coroner’s office and cemeteries figuring out why an increasing number of bodies remain unclaimed in Los Angeles, reported on intercultural relations and violence between ethnic communities, covered numerous protests and had afternoon tea with infamous 80s ‘Con-Artist’ Mark Kostabi. I spent the last six months traveling through Armenia, Georgia and London, where I filed stories on the efforts of animal activists to curb dog shootings, the effects of second-hand smoking in one of the largest tobacco consuming countries in the world and human rights issues concerning the Kurdish community. I’ve also written numerous features that span the gamut from covert gay skating in conservative communities to seniors who are reprising the dance movement.

During the course of my reporting, I have visited an internationally unrecognized defacto republic still reeling from the effects of war,  attended a mass rural baptism hoping to inspire a religious revival after decades of Communism, ridden on the world’s longest aerial tramway and rescued street dogs from being shot.

My interest lies in subcultures, marginalized and under-reported communities, human rights, immigration, ethnicity and identity and how how ordinary people are affected by the  world, its leaders and their policies. I avidly use photography and video to compliment my story telling while utilizing my knowledge of social media, online platforms and analytics to progress the conversation even further.

My reporting appears in the Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, EurasiaNet, The Atlantic.com, Mental Floss, Flaunt,  New America Media, Bitch, Paste magazine, Global Voices  Ararat Magazine and Spot.us, a non-profit project for the “Center for Media Change,” funded by the Knight Foundation. I also author “Intersections,” a column for L.A. Times Community News that often touches upon the immigrant experience as well as unearthing the compelling aspects of a suburban Los Angeles community.

Previously, I worked full-time as an editor, collaborating with publications such as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, USA Today and Hearst and the freelancers who wrote for them.  During my tenure, I oversaw the assignment of feature pieces that I edited, fact-checked and packaged for online and print.

I am founder of  Ianyan Magazine, an independent online publication about the South Caucasus and occasionally the greater Middle East, where I’ve reported on child abuse, possible the coolest arcade ever,  domestic violence and Armenian, Azeri and Turkish relations. Notable interviews include euthanasia pioneer Jack Kevorkian and former First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs to Armenia, Jirair Libaridian on the legacy of slain Turkish-Armenian journalist, Hrant Dink.

A labor of love on a non-existent budget, Ianyan Magazine international contributors and a dedicated global reader base. It has received recognition from  Amnesty International, Huffington Post, Global Voices, Jezebel, FishbowlLA among others, belonging to only a handful of independent publications about Armenia and Armenian Diaspora unrelated to any political, religious or philanthropic organizations.

I am a graduate of  California State University, Northridge, where I received my B.A. in journalism.  Recently, I was invited back to present the Key Note Address at a journalism event in conjunction with the L.A. chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.