Paul Vertan

Board Member

Paul Sookiasian is the dedicated grandson of a Rosie, who died of COVID. He is originally from Philadelphia and currently works as a journalist in Armenia at the CivilNet news agency, where he reports on the day's news, conducts interview segments, and produces podcasts. 

He holds a degree in history from Villanova University and has spent decades researching local and Armenian history, including the story of his grandmother. He also led a project to mark the grave of the only Armenian naval officer of the US Civil War and edited a book, "Outcasted Armenians" by Dr. Talin Suciyan on the life of Armenians in the mid-19th-century Ottoman Empire. He is a contributor to AGBU Magazine, a national Armenian magazine, and has two historic articles planned for publication in academic journals in the coming year. 

When his grandmother was dying of COVID, he worked with “Thanks!” to get coverage in the Philadelphia Inquirer, and he has read some writing by Anne Montague and expects to give last edits to other magazines and news articles she and co-authors plan to write.