Chairperson

Arina was born and raised in Houston, TX. She attended the local Armenian Saturday school as a child and later taught the school’s preschool class. She participated in AGBU’s New York Internship Program in the summer of 2004 with an internship with AXA Financial.

In 2005, Arina graduated summa cum laude from the University of Houston with a BBA in Finance. She began her career as an underwriter for JPMorgan’s Houston Middle Market Group then moved to Chicago in August 2007 to take an associate position under Chase Capital Corporation.

Vice Chairperson

Linda Sultanian was born in Istanbul, Turkey and moved to the Chicagoland area with her family when she was 2 months old. Linda spent many summers as a teenager going to Hye Camp and ACYOA Sportsweekends where she met some of her best friends. She graduated from the University of Illinois in 2003 with a degree in Community Health and is currently working as an Administrative Assistant at a Continuing Care Retirement Community in the North Chicago suburbs. Linda enjoys meeting new people and hopes to make a difference in the Armenian community in Chicago.

Secretary

Susan Cholakian graduated from the University of Michigan in 2005 with a degree in American Culture. While at U of M, she served as Social Chair of the Armenian Students' Association and choreographed the Armenian dance program for the university's Encompass Multicultural Dance Show. Susan also served on the committee for the ASCA' s annual charity ball, The Hye Hop, which raised money for children in Armenia. She continued her work for the children in Armenia when she traveled to Armenia for the Armenian Service Project and worked at Camp Siranoosh. Susan is Meeting Planner for Discovery Chicago, a medical education company, part of Publicis Groupe.

Treasurer

Allison was born in Southfield, Michigan and has always enjoyed being an active member of the Armenian community. She attended church camp for many years, planned Armenian Club events as an undergrad at the University of Michigan, and traveled to Armenia for an ABGU service trip with her sister and friends.

After working in Chicago for three years and then returning to Ann Arbor for her MBA, Allison is now back in the windy city as a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group. She enjoys serving on the community board for a local charter school and looks forward to helping grow AGBU YP Chicago!

Publicist

Avo’s AGBU ties date back to the early 1900’s to his maternal grandfather Harutiun Zakarian who was one of the early members of the newly formed AGBU organization. His older siblings were active members of the AGBU organization in Lebanon in addition to attending the AGBU High Schools. Following in the footsteps of his older siblings, Avo participated in the AGBU scouts as a member of Antranik Antelias. In his current capacity, Avo serves as the publicist for the Young Professionals of Chicago.

Committee Member, Senior Advisor

Born and raised in Chicago, Harry Onnig Madanyan has spent his entire life in Chicago. Growing up in Chicago his first exposure to the Armenian community was at church where he eventually became a deacon. During his undergraduate years he spent two summers in Washington DC with the Armenian Assembly where he was first an intern and then the intern coordinator. Since then he has made two trips to Armenia, once with the Armenian Service Program working with orphans and more recently with the Armenian Young Professionals group.

Committee Member

Georganna was born in Southfield, Michigan and attended AGBU Alex and Marie Manoogian School and St. John's Sunday School. Her community involvement has taken her to as far places as a volunteer at Camp Siranoush, an orphanage in Armenia. She was the founder of The Armenian Students Association at Michigan State University where she also served as its President. Georganna has interned with the Armenian Assembly's Summer Internship program in 2001 in Washington D.C. and worked under the foreign relations department on Armenian related issues. She currently resides in Chicago and helps run an Apartment Leasing and Real Estate Company, Chicago Apartment Seekers. Georganna has always loved being a part of the Armenian community, and looks forward to helping grow YP Chicago!

Committee Member

Lina was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She has been involved in the Armenian community from a young age, having attended a local Armenian school from pre-school through 6th grade. Lina has attended AYF summer camp as a camper and liked it so much that she attended a few years later as a counselor. She has also actively participated in a local Armenian dance company in LA for over seven years.

Lina graduated from the University of Southern California in 2006 with a degree in accounting and has worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP ever since. She has been a lead senior on various corporate audits, such as Disney, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and ValueClick, and has helped train the incoming class of new associates. After obtaining her CPA license a few years later, Lina decided to transfer to the PwC-Chicago office in November 2010 to try something new. Her love for the city and openness to meet new people helped her transition to a new environment. With the help of her contacts and network in LA, Lina feels that she can bring new insight and ideas to the committee and she looks forward to further promoting the Armenian culture in Chicago.