Our Vision

How we care for children, protect their welfare, and prepare them for the future are the most important issues parents face during their lifetime.

While Armenia is a top priority for most of the members of Diaspora, ACWF aims to address the much neglected issues of our community in Los Angeles.

Armenian Child Wellness Foundation (ACWF) is a newly found non-profit organization dedicated to improve the lives of children of the Armenian Diaspora.

Our vision is to foster physical and emotional health of children and their families.

Our Mission

Physical Nurture: ACWF promotes natural childbirth, prolonged breastfeeding, co-sleeping and healthy diet and discourages infant male circumcision and early umbilical cord clamping.

Emotional Health: ACWF provides education on normal child development and parenting, as well as common childhood behavioral and developmental disorders.

What we do

ACWF disseminates information through:

• Publications
• Presentations
• TV programs
• Seminars
• Individual counseling
• Group counseling

About us:

Astrik Vardanyan, is a Medical Anthropologist, CEO and the co-founder of ACWF. A mother of three boys born in the US hospitals, Vardanyan started examining circumcision issue intrigued by hospital staff’s pressure to circumcise her sons, along with the fact that many Armenian American parents give in to those pressures or personally chose circumcision for their infant sons. She researched the circumcision issue extensively from medical, social and human rights perspective and produced her master’s thesis on the subject. Vardanyan is a strong advocate of genital integrity for both sexes. She is inclined to attachment parenting style and prorogates natural birth, prolonged breastfeeding and co-sleeping with the child. She puts action or advocacy Anthropology at work to employ her research to outreach general public through academic presentations, seminars, group and individual counseling.

Arthur H. Pogosyan, M.D., Co-founder, Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist. Teamed up with his wife Astrik Vardanyan, Pogosyan champions for the rights and dignity of every child. Dr. Pogosyan is board certified in Psychiatry and Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. He completed his Child & Adolescent Training at UCLA/NPI. He has extensive experience in treating children with history of trauma and abuse, as well as other childhood disorders. Dr. Pogosyan teaches Child Development as an Assistant Clinical Professor since 2000 at UCLA/VA Sepulveda Program.

He gives talks to professionals and public on topics of Normal Development, Patenting and Childhood Mental Disorders. In 2006 he received a Fulbright Senior Specialist Grant and worked in Armenia for 6 weeks. He received another Fulbright lecturer grant and will be working in Armenia for one year starting September of 2009. He was the co-host of the “Ponderings” show with Dr. Charles Pilavian on Horizon TV station. Dr. Pogosyan is a consultant at San Gabriel Valley Regional Center, at Eastlake Youth Services, and at Abundant Life & Adolescent Growth Center. Dr. Pogosyan has a Private Practice in Glendale.

Advisory Committee:

Dr. Vigen Zargarian
Anahit Tutunjian
Zara Zeitountsian
Israel Stepanian
Avetik Karapetian