ADLEA Advisory Committee
Meet the members of ADLEA's Advisory Committee,
whose experience and counsel help guide the organization's mission.
Gregory S. Krikorian
Business Executive • Community Leader • Education Advocate
Gregory S. Krikorian is a longtime Glendale business owner, community leader, and education advocate whose work spans business, education, civic engagement, and Armenian-American community service.
Krikorian serves on the Glendale Unified School District Board of Education, representing Trustee Area B. He previously served from 2001 to 2022, including five terms as Board President, and returned to the Board in 2026. Throughout his service, he has supported student achievement, fiscal responsibility, career and college pathways, and programs expanding opportunities for students and families.
A second-generation Armenian-American, Krikorian has been a strong advocate for Armenian language and cultural education, including dual-language programs, Armenian instruction, Armenian Genocide education, student leadership, and recognition of Armenian holidays and commemorations within Glendale Unified.
His family history is central to his commitment to service. His grandparents escaped the Kharpert region during the Armenian Genocide of 1915 and arrived in the United States as orphans. Krikorian is also co-founder of Hye Hopes, Inc., a nonprofit providing educational resources and support to displaced students from Artsakh living in Syunik.
Krikorian is President and CEO of Cal-Conn Enterprises, Inc., and leads Business Life Magazine, Senior Living Magazine, and BusinessLife.com. Since 1990, he has produced the annual Women Achievers Conference, recognizing accomplished women and connecting business and community leaders.
His extensive community service includes leadership with education, business, civic, youth, and nonprofit organizations throughout Southern California. His honors include the Silver Beaver Award, District Award of Merit, Glendale PTSA Council Honorary Service Award, and Soroptimist International Advancing the Status of Women Award.
Dr. Artineh Samkian
Professor of Clinical Education • USC Rossier School of Education
Dr. Artineh Samkian is a Professor of Clinical Education in the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California. Her expertise and interests are in applied research methodology, teaching and learning of adults (professional learning and andragogy), and foundations of education. Artineh's professional research experience has spanned multiple contexts including pre-K-12, higher education, and community research. Her professional focus and interest have been in utilizing rigorous methods and evidence to inform and improve educational practice in order to address inequities, especially by building other educational leaders' capacity to do the same in their respective contexts.
Prior to her professorship at USC, Artineh worked for the Los Angeles Unified School District's Research and Planning Department conducting program evaluations. Among other projects, she served as the project director of a study on the professional development provided to district leaders. The study was designed to provide formative feedback to key stakeholders in the district, thus informing the design and implementation of the professional development. She also supported the evaluation of the ELD Curriculum and worked with language specialists in the district to inform improvements in instruction for English Emergent students. More recently, Artineh worked as a research analyst at First 5 LA, an organization that funds health, safety, and early education programs for children prenatal to age five. She served as the project manager for an implementation evaluation of a place-based community initiative in 14 communities across Los Angeles County.
Artineh's interest in language learning stems from her own experiences navigating transnational spaces, learning English as a young child, and along the way, slowly and regrettably losing her proficiency in the Armenian language. Well versed in the research on Dual Language Immersion Programs, having advised multiple doctoral dissertations on the planning, implementing, and leadership support of such programs, Artineh is committed to the provision of support and resources to sustain such programs, and to ultimately prevent what happened to her and so many other immigrants to the U.S.
Artineh holds a B.A. in Anthropology from Occidental College, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Social Research Methodology from the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies.