Karine Vann Named Assistant Editor of the Armenian Weekly

WATERTOWN, Mass. (A.W.)—The Hairenik Association has announced that Karine Vann has joined the editorial team as assistant editor of the Armenian Weekly, starting this week.

Vann joins the editorial staff following three years of living and working in Armenia, where she managed storytelling content for local and international organizations, including ONEArmenia, PicsArt, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, and USAID. Prior to that, she completed her Master’s studies in musicology from the University of Oxford. Her dissertation traced the evolution of jazz music as a cultural export in Soviet and post-Soviet Armenia.

Vann says she hopes to bring coverage and awareness of cultural and environmental issues in Armenia during her tenure at the Weekly. She has reported on topics related to rural development, agriculture, food supply chains, and waste management for local publications, including Hetq, CivilNet, and Yerevan Magazine, as well as international ones, such as Smithsonian Magazine and New Food Economy. Her writings on music have appeared in the Oxonian Review and Armenia’s Journal for Social Sciences.

Vann is not the first in her family to accept a role with the Hairenik Association. Her mother, Araxie Vann (née Kazandjian), whose family immigrated to Greater Boston from Soviet Armenia in 1973, took her first job in the U.S. at the Hairenik Armenian-language newspaper.

“The Armenian Weekly is a historic institution and an invaluable platform for me personally and for Armenians across the globe. I am thrilled about the opportunity to grow with the paper, both as a journalist and as a member of this incredibly complex and dedicated community,” Vann said about her new role.

An outspoken opponent of throw-away consumer culture, Vann is responsible for the first grassroots campaign against single-use plastic bags in Armenia. Called Toprak Petq Chi (A Bag Is Not Needed), it has been the recipient of multiple grants and for which she was invited to speak at TEDxYSMU in 2016. She also maintains ties to the Armenia’s underground music scene, and played keyboard for local Armenian indie band 1243K.

To contact her for inquiries or pitches, please write to her at karine@armenianweekly.com. You can also follow her reporting on Twitter (@karinevann).