Sarkis Ghazarian Candidate Statement

My name is SARKIS GHAZARIAN and I am a candidate for the KPFK Local Station Board. I work at Glendale Community College as a counselor working with low-income, educationally disadvantaged and immigrant students. I have worked at GCC for 20 years. Prior to GCC, I worked for 5 years as an editor for an Armenian community newspaper and for 5 years as director of a community based social service agency helping Armenian immigrants and senior citizens. I have also worked with disabled individuals for the City of Los Angeles and the Exceptional Children's Foundation as a rehabilitation counselor. I have a masters degree in rehabilitation counseling from USC and a bachelors degree in sociology from UCLA. I have a license as a Marriage and Family Therapist.

I want to serve as a member of the KPFK LSB because I want to play a role in helping KPFK achieve its goal of being a radio station that provides an alternative and progressive news and information source for people of Southern California. I believe that the LSB has to provide the leadership to also make KPFK a transparent organization that is governed in a democratic and fair process to attempt to meet the growing needs of a very diverse community. We need to find ways to reach a younger generation of potential listeners who have many options from which to obtain news and information. I want to be part of a team that will help KPFK a radio station that helps people become informed about the world from a progressive perspective utilizing objective and comprehensive news sources and individuals. Also, I feel that it is vital that KPFK prepare a future general of trained radio program hosts, producers, general managers, program directors, reporters, news writers and fund raisers through its own training programs available to the community and interested college students.

My community involvement includes the following:

Pyunic, Armenian Association for the Disabled:
President of this non-profit organization to help provide programs and service to disabled children and young adults in Armenia. We raise funds and provide technical expertise to carry out these programs by our staff in Armenia.
California State University School of School Work Advisory Board:
Serve as community representative to provide input on educational programs for both the B.S. and M.S.W. programs.
Los Angeles City Commissioner:
2004-2006
The Department of Building & Safety's Disabled Accesses Appeals Commission.
Verdugo Hills Mental Health Center:
Member of the Board of Directors for this community based agency to provide mental health services and programs to children and adults. Agency is based in Glendale and serves clients in the Glendale, Burbank, Montrose, La Crescenta areas.