BUSD Board of Education
Dr. Armond Aghakhanian has over twenty years of experience in education, business, and public service, focusing on serving and strengthening our communities.
Currently, he is the Director of the East Los Angeles College (ELAC) Foundation and the co-founder of ELAC's Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation and Incubator, the only institution of its kind in East LA created to accelerate the startup and growth phase for enterprises owned by minorities, women, veterans, the formerly incarcerated, and members of the LGBT community. In addition, he is the founder of the Transforming Lives Campaign (TLC), which aims to provide support for students and their families who face significant challenges such as hunger, homelessness, clothing and transportation, and the digital divide. Furthermore, he currently teaches at both Glendale Community College and East Los Angeles Community College. Building upon his two decades of teaching and education, which has included teaching at Woodbury University, Marymount California University, the Salvation Army College, and several other educational institutions.
For the past eight years, Dr. Armond has proudly served our schools as a member of the Burbank Unified School District (BUSD) Board of Education. As an immigrant, Dr. Aghakhanian has developed a deep commitment to equity and diversity, finding great value in being a part of a district committed to serving students of diverse backgrounds. As Burbank's School Board member, Armond has been focusing on issues of mental health, technical education, higher education, equity, diversity, and Inclusion. He is the co-founder of the BUSD Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and the Sustainability Committee. Before his election to the BUSD, Armond served as the President of the Armenian American Chamber of Commerce and served on the Burbank School Facilities Oversight Committee; Parks, Recreation & Community Services Board; Community Development Goals and Civic Pride Committees; Boys & Girls Club of Burbank and Greater East Valley Board of Directors, the YMCA and several other non-profits. He is currently the appointee of CA State Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon on the Board of California Prison Industry Authority (CALPIA). CALPIA is a self-supporting authority that reduces recidivism through innovative job training programs.
Armond served the people of California as a Senior Consultant for the CA State Assembly Speaker's Office of Member Services and as a Senior Representative for the former CA State Assembly Majority Leader, Dario Frommer. Dr. Armond Aghakhanian is the 2010 recipient of President Barack Obama's Volunteer Service Award Presented to him by the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation, the 2003 Character & Ethics Project Award, the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry Volunteer of the Year Award, the LA Coalition to End Hunger & Homelessness Volunteer Award, and the YMCA Service Award, as well as many other honors and accolades.
Dr. Aghakhanian received his bachelor's degree in political science from California State University Northridge, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Woodbury University, and a Doctorate from Pepperdine University.
Armond lives in Burbank with his wife, Dr. Gayane Gasamanyan, a local pharmacist, and their son Arameh, a fifth grader at Joaquin Miller Elementary School.