TEDxLittle Armenia

Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check the event website for the latest lineup.

• Ani Adjemian

  Ani Adjemian is a Lecturer in Law at USC Gould School of Law, where she teaches Legal Writing and Advocacy with a strong focus on critical thinking, effective communication, and professional judgment. Her student-centered approach equips future legal professionals with the tools needed to analyze, argue, and advocate with clarity and purpose. Before joining USC Gould, Ani spent over sixteen years as a civil litigation and trial attorney in California, representing both public and private entities in complex cases spanning environmental law, product liability, employment law, and business disputes. Throughout her career, she has been guided by a commitment to integrity, precision, and credibility as the foundations of meaningful legal practice.

• Armen Derkevorkian

  Armen Derkevorkian is the Co-founder and President of Signal7, an AI platform providing intelligence and health monitoring for home services companies. Prior to Signal7, he was a Principal at the Boston Consulting Group, advising global technology companies on strategy and transformation. He began his career as an engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, developing technologies for space missions. Throughout his career, Armen has maintained an active performance career as a professional violinist, serving as a member of the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra in Switzerland, and performing regularly with leading orchestras across the U.S. and Europe. He holds a PhD in Civil Engineering, master's degrees in Electrical and Structural Engineering, and a graduate certificate in Violin Performance from the University of Southern California.

• Aroussiak Gabrielian

  Aroussiak Gabrielian, Ph.D., FAAR, is an award-winning designer, scholar, media artist, and professional futurist. She is Founding Design Principal of Foreground Design Agency and Director of the Landscape Futures Lab at the University of Southern California, where she leads transdisciplinary design-research on environmental futures for a planet in flux, combining futures methodologies with ecological systems thinking. Trained as an architect, landscape architect, and media artist, Gabrielian develops speculative installations and spatial prototypes that invite new forms of collaboration between people, technologies, and the more-than-human world. Previously a Lead Designer at Snøhetta, she contributed to major cultural projects including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art expansion and the Guadalajara Museum of Environmental Science. A sought-after consultant, she has advised on projects for Nike, Ford Motor Company, and Google Research.

• Ashot Arzumanyan

  Ashot Arzumanyan is a Partner at SmartGateVC, a Los Angeles and Armenia-based venture firm making first-check investments in science-driven, early-stage companies. He focuses on translating frontier research into commercially viable ventures, with an emphasis on physical AI, neurotechnology, and cybersecurity. Since 2018, Ashot has co-led the early investment rounds of 40+ deep-tech startups emerging from leading innovation ecosystems such as Harvard, MIT, EPFL, Meta, and Bosch. These companies have gone on to attract capital from global investors including NVIDIA, Dell, Cisco, and Bessemer.

• Karen Khachikyan

  Karen Khachikyan is the Founder and CEO of Expper Technologies, the company behind Robin the Robot – a socially assistive robot created with the belief that robots can be more than tools, they can be friends. Driven by a fascination with human–robot interaction, Karen set out to build technology that goes beyond functionality and into companionship. Robin the Robot was named a TIME Best Invention of 2021 and is currently used in more than 30 medical facilities worldwide. Karen holds a PhD in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, grounding his work at the intersection of advanced engineering, design, and human-centered innovation.

• Ludvig Ispiryan & Natalie Palmgren

  Ludvig Ispiryan is a dancer, choreographer, and instructor with nearly two decades of professional experience in classical ballet and contemporary movement. Trained for ten years in the Vaganova method at the National Ballet School of Armenia, Ludvig built a strong technical foundation before continuing his artistic journey in Israel, where he performed leading roles and served as a Principal Dancer with The Israel Ballet, as well as performing with the Armenia National Ballet. He is also the Artistic Director of the Grand Academy of Ballet and the Artistic Director of Grand Ballet of LA. His original pieces span classical, neoclassical, and modern styles, including works created for The Israel Ballet, national teams, and television productions, including X Factor, as well as a deeply personal solo inspired by themes of loss and remembrance.

• Marie Lou Papazian

  Marie Lou Papazian is the Founding CEO of the TUMO Center for Creative Technologies, a groundbreaking network of free after-school programs where teenagers gain hands-on experience at the intersection of technology and design. Under her leadership, TUMO has grown from Armenia into a global education movement recognized as one of the most innovative learning models of the 21st century. With a background in engineering and a Master’s in Computing in Education from Columbia University, Marie Lou has spent her career working at the crossroads of technology, education, and urban development. She has led major development projects in New York City and previously headed Education for Development Foundation, expanding access and opportunity for young people. Internationally recognized for her contributions to education, Marie Lou is a recipient of France’s Ordre des Palmes Académiques and Armenia’s Movses Khorenatsi Medal.

• Sev Ohanian

  Sev Ohanian is an Academy Award–nominated and Golden Globe–winning producer and screenwriter, and founder of Proximity Media alongside Ryan and Zinzi Coogler. Since launching the company in 2018, Proximity has produced a wide range of event-driven projects across film, television, documentaries, and podcasts. Their most recent film, Sinners, grossed over $369 million worldwide and received a record sixteen Academy Award nominations, winning four. Proximity’s debut feature, Judas and the Black Messiah, earned six Academy Award nominations and won two. Sev has produced major projects including Creed III, Space Jam: A New Legacy, Marvel’s Ironheart and Eyes of Wakanda, the National Geographic docuseries Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time. Sev is also known for co-writing Run, Missing, and Searching, and for producing those films alongside his wife, Natalie Qasabian. Searching was made for $880K and grossed over $75M globally.