Araxie Vann

Born in Yerevan, Armenia, Araxie Vann immigrated to the United States with her family, settling in Lynn, Massachusetts.  She received a B.A. in Russian Language and Economics from Mount Holyoke College and an M.A. in Russian Language and Literature from Norwich University. Her original goal was to teach Russian.  However, in 1980  she moved to Washington DC to work at the Voice of America’s Armenian Service as an international radio broadcaster, covering  international news in the Armenian language.  After the fall of the Soviet Union she continued covering Armenia’s struggle to become independent  and its first democratic presidential election.  In 2004 , Araxie spearheaded the transition of Armenian broadcasts from radio to television.  She won several awards from VOA for her work in producing television programs for an affiliate TV station in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan.  Under her leadership, VOA Armenian reporters have generated original television stories about US government and non-government assistance for Armenia’s economic, political and social development, as well as about Armenian Americans and their role in U.S .politics.

After retiring from her career at VOA Araxie wants to return to her original goal of teaching the languages of her native country, Armenian and Russian.  She feels that the knowledge of foreign languages resolves many problems and breaks down the barriers between countries.  In particular, she wants to teach the Russian language, because she feels that superpower countries like the US and Russia have a lot more in common than they realize, and that knowledge of  Russian will lead to better understanding and build mutually beneficial conditions for world peace.