Ani Haroian to be honored with Vahan Cardashian Award at ANCA Eastern Region Gala

November 4, 2026

WARWICK, R.I.  – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Eastern Region is proud to be honoring trailblazing Armenian-American advocate and civic leader Ani Haroian with the 2026 Vahan Cardashian Award at the 20th ANCA Eastern Region Gala, to be held on Friday, December 5, 2026 in Warwick, Rhode Island. For tickets, sponsorships, and hotel information, visit givergy.us/ancaergala. 

The Vahan Cardashian Award – the ANCA Eastern Region’s highest honor – is named in memory of the early 20th century Armenian advocate who built the foundation for modern Armenian-American civic engagement and political advocacy. The Award is presented to those whose lifetime of service and dedication has advanced the Armenian Cause and have left a lasting impact on their community for generations to come. 

“We are happy to be presenting the Vahan Cardashian award to one of Rhode Island’s strongest voices in Armenian-American advocacy,” said ANCA Eastern Region Chair Ara Chalian. “Ms. Haroian has been a longtime champion of Hai Tahd work in the United States, and we are proud to recognize her decades of work with the Eastern Region’s highest honor.”

Ani Haroian is the granddaughter of Armenian Genocide survivors from the village of Gurden in Yozgat. She came up through the AYF-YOARF Junior and Senior organizations, first in the Lowell “Ararat” chapter and later in the Providence “Varantian” chapter, where she held many leadership roles, including chapter chairwoman. Her commitment to Hai Tahd, the Armenian Cause, took root as a member of the AYF-YOARF.

Haroian has been a member of the Providence ARF “Kristapor” Gomidehoutioun for nearly five decades and is a former chairwoman of the Gomideh. A trailblazer within the organization, she broke a glass ceiling when she became the first woman to serve on the ARF Eastern Region Central Committee. In doing so, she served as a true inspiration to many Ungerouhis, who have since followed in her footsteps.

As chair of the Armenian National Committee of Rhode Island, Haroian built the ANC of RI into one of the most effective ANC chapters in the country through relationships across the state’s political leadership. She led the effort behind the resolution passed by the Rhode Island House of Representatives on May 17, 2012, calling on the U.S. President and Congress to recognize the independence of the Artsakh Republic — the first such measure adopted by any government body worldwide. The resolution encouraged Artsakh’s continued development as a free and independent nation and commended its constructive engagement with the international community toward a lasting regional settlement.

Beyond the Armenian community, Ms. Haroian served as a senior staff member to Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse, now a U.S. Senator, and to Attorney General Patrick Lynch. In the Executive Office of the City of Providence, she was Director of Community Relations under Mayor David Cicilline, who went on to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, and held the same post under Mayor Angel Taveras before becoming his Deputy Chief of Staff. She later held the position of Neighborhood Liaison for Crime Watch under Mayor Jorge Elorza, and most recently as Director of Community Engagement in the Office of Attorney General Peter Neronha.

Today, the ANC of RI stands on the foundation Ani Haroian built. The relationships she formed across Rhode Island’s political leadership, and the precedent she set when the State House became the first in the nation to speak for Artsakh, continue to open doors for the activists who have followed her. Equally lasting is the example she has set. From her early years in the AYF through nearly five decades of membership in the ARF, she has shown generations of Armenian-Americans that devotion to Hai Tahd and service to one’s wider community are one and the same commitment. Her legacy lives on in every Armenian in Rhode Island who chooses to step forward and lead.

This December, Ani Haroian will be honored alongside Stephen Elmasian, both joining a long and growing list of distinguished past Vahan Cardashian award recipients. The gala serves as the premier annual fundraising event for the ANCA Eastern Region Endowment Fund, a 501(c)(3) charitable and educational organization dedicated to advancing advocacy, education and civic engagement throughout the Eastern United States. Proceeds from the gala support outreach initiatives, educational programming, leadership development and advocacy efforts carried out in collaboration with a network of local ANCs and activists across the region, empowering Armenian Americans to engage effectively in the civic process and advance policies that promote justice, accountability and a secure future for the Armenian nation.