Board of Trustees

Mr. Ashot Yesayan is a lawyer by profession and has held high positions in the Government of the Republic of Armenia, as well as in the United Nations structures. During his work at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs as a Minister (1990-1995) and Deputy Minister (1996-1997, 2000-2005), he was involved in the state programs related to the problems of poverty reduction, human rights, as well as other humanitarian issues. Mr. Yesayan was engaged as a national expert in the National Human Development Report (NHDR) in the process of elaboration of the draft law on gender equality, as well as at the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) – in the process of elaboration of the draft law on gender based violence correspondingly. In 2006-2007 he was engaged at the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) as a national expert on child labor right, and in 2006-2009 Mr. Yesayan lectured at Yerevan State University. From 2008 up today Mr. Yesayan has been lecturing at the Armenian State Pedagogical University after Kh. Abovyan, also from 2014 he is the Assistant Prosecutor General of RA. Mr. Yesayan has been the President of the Board of Trustees of the “SOS Children’s Villages” Armenian Charitable Foundation since 1997. 

Mr. Sevak Avagyan is a physician by profession and is a graduate of the Yerevan State Medical University after M. Heratsi. Starting from 2000 he has been working as an Executive Director of the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry Charitable Trust, also he is a member of the Commission for RA President Prize in the field of medicine and medical science. Mr. Avagyan is the Executive Director of the Akhuryan Center of Maternal and Child Health. In past he occupied key positions in the field of medicine, worked as RA Deputy Minister of Health (1999-2000), as well as the Executive Director of St. Nerses the Great Hospital (2004-2001). Mr. Avagyan has been the Member of the Board of Trustees of the “SOS Children’s Villages” Armenian Charitable Foundation since 2012.

Mr. Zdenko Sedlar is the Regional Director of the SOS Chidren’s Villages International organization for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. He is a graduate of Zagreb University (Croatia) and is specialized in social pedagogy. Before joining SOS Children’s Villages International organization in 1992, Mr. Sedlar worked in different child protection bodies in Croatia. As the Regional Director, he is responsible for governance and leadership, strategy, planning and monitoring, crisis management, external representation and representation of SOS Children's Villages International in the national boards of directors and other issues. In 2009 Mr. Sedlar was awarded with the "Medal of Altinsarin” - The highest state reward of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Mr. Sedlar has been the Member of the Board of Trustees of the “SOS Children’s Villages” Armenian Charitable Foundation since 2005.

Ms. Ela Janczur is the Deputy Regional Director of the SOS Children’s Villages International organization for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Her professional education includes Romance-Germanic Philology and Marketing. Ms. Janczur is a graduate of Warsaw School of Economics. Before joining SOS Children’s Villages International organization in 2000, Ms. Janczur held a number of leadership positions in Poland. She also conducted trainings and held consultations in the field of education. In 2000-2010 Ms. Janczur worked as the National Director of SOS Children's Villages Poland and brought the organization to financial stability. In 2010-2012 she was the director of Russia's programs of the SOS Children's Villages International Organization. Ms. Janczur has been the Member of the Board of Trustees of the “SOS Children’s Villages” Armenian Charitable Foundation since 2013.