Michael Mahdesian

Michael Mahdesian has served on Democracy Council's Board of Directors for two decades, including as Chair. He brings deep expertise in humanitarian response, public administration, and civic leadership. Mahdesian is Chair of the Board of Servicon Systems, a leading facilities maintenance contractor in the American Southwest, and serves on the boards of Operation USA, the Los Angeles Business Council, and the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. Former Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn appointed him to the Los Angeles City Planning Commission, where he served from 2001 to 2005.

In 1993, President Bill Clinton appointed Mahdesian as Deputy Assistant Administrator for USAID's Bureau of Humanitarian Response. Over seven years, he oversaw global humanitarian assistance and post-conflict transitions, coordinating U.S. responses to crises in Haiti, Rwanda, Bosnia, Kosovo, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Iraq, and Northern Ireland following the Good Friday Agreement. He also led the first U.S. assessment team into the Democratic Republic of Congo after the fall of Mobutu and coordinated USAID's Bosnia Task Force.

In recognition of his humanitarian and civic contributions, Mahdesian received the Vahan Cardashian Award from the ANCA Western Region in 2023, and the California State Assembly adopted a resolution commending his lifetime of service. Earlier in his career, Mahdesian worked in progressive politics as a policy director and press secretary for Tom Hayden's successful California State Assembly campaign, trained VISTA volunteers for the Campaign for Economic Democracy, and helped establish the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) as a national advocacy organization. Following Armenia's devastating 1989 earthquake, he organized major U.S. airlift and relief operations that drew national attention. A graduate of the University of Southern California, he holds a master's degree in urban planning from UCLA.