ANCA-WR to Honor Shevan Basmadjian with the Steve Artinian Visionary Activist Award at 2026 Annual Gala Banquet

ANCA-WR will present the Steve Artinian Visionary Activist Award—named in memory of lifelong community activist and former ANCA-WR Board Member Steve Artinian—to Dallas-based advocate Shevan Basmadjian, whose grassroots leadership has advanced Armenian Genocide education and civic engagement across Texas, from testimony at the State Capitol to statewide teacher-training programs reaching thousands of students.

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA-WR) announced that Shevan Basmadjian will be honored with the organization’s 2026 “Steve Artinian Visionary Activist” Award at its Annual Gala Banquet, on Sunday, October 11, 2026, at the Taglyan Complex in Los Angeles. The ANCA-WR “Steve Artinian Visionary Activist” Award was established in memory of the late Steve Artinian, a former ANCA-WR Board Member and lifelong community activist, and is presented to a most-deserving individual whose vision and grassroots leadership have left a lasting mark on the Armenian Cause.

“Shevan Basmadjian has built something rare in Texas – a grassroots movement that speaks with one voice on behalf of the Armenian Cause,” stated Oshin Harootoonian, Chairman of the ANCA-WR Board of Directors. “Her tireless work in education, from the halls of the Texas Capitol to classrooms across the state, embodies exactly the vision Steve Artinian dedicated his life to advancing.”

Basmadjian’s advocacy carries forward a legacy passed down by her mother, Annie Graham (Gostanian), a granddaughter of Armenian Genocide survivors who instilled in her a lifelong sense of responsibility to the Cause. In 2017, Basmadjian testified as part of ANCA Texas at the Texas State Capitol in support of the resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide, which passed unanimously. More recently, she organized Armenians across Texas to testify at a Texas State Board of Education hearing on curriculum revisions, and inclusion of the Armenian Genocide.

“Complacency is not an option in the pursuit of justice. We owe our existence to our brave and resilient Armenian Genocide survivors,” said Basmadjian. “We must learn from the past to prevent future genocide and protect our homeland, and I firmly believe that our strength is in our unified advocacy.”

On behalf of St. Sarkis Armenian Church in Dallas, Basmadjian has led two Texas Historical Commission Education Grants administered through the Texas Holocaust, Genocide and Antisemitism Advisory Commission. The first, awarded in 2023, funded ‘Seeing the Humanity in Each of Us: The Lessons of the Armenian Genocide,’ a statewide teacher workshop developed in partnership with the Genocide Education Project. The resulting instruction reached more than 5,000 students. The second, in June 2026, supported a four-day “Texas Summer Institute on Genocide Education,” co-led by Beth Hudson, ANCA-WR’s 2019 Armenian Genocide Education Award recipient, which expanded the curriculum to include Cambodian genocide.

Alongside fellow ANCA Texas leaders Ani Frankian Vernor and Phil Kanayan, Basmadjian has built relationships with city, state, and federal officials on behalf of the Armenian Cause. She also represents the Armenian community with Human Rights Dallas and the Dallas Police Department’s Community Outreach Program, and recruits Southern Methodist University Human Rights students each semester to volunteer and learn about the Armenian Genocide.

Basmadjian’s recognition as ANCA-WR’s “Steve Artinian Visionary Activist” honoree underscores the organization’s commitment to honoring grassroots leaders carrying the Armenian Cause forward in every corner of the country. By celebrating her work, the ANCA-WR reaffirms the vital role that community organizing and genocide education play in securing a safer, more just future for Armenians in the Homeland and the Diaspora alike.