I was born in Paris, France, and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 6. I attended Chamlian Armenian School in my formative years and later Clark Magnet High School, a technology-focused school in La Crescenta, CA.

I received my B.A. degree with honors in Political Science, International Relations and Public Policy from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). I have also recently finished a post-graduate MSc degree in Politics and Communication at the London School of Economics. I am currently working towards a second MSc in Democracy and Democratisation at University College London.

I've been involved in various political and social causes and movements for many years. As a high school student, I worked to establish the Armenian Club. I was also active in the Armenian Youth Federation and the Armenian National Committee of America, working on issues related to Armenian Genocide recognition and other problems facing the Armenian communities of Southern California. In college I was a founding member of the national student organization, Students for a Democratic Society. After college I worked as a field organizer for the Obama Campaign in Florida.

In 2010 I participated in the Birthright Armenia program where I interned at the Civilitas Foundation and the Institute for Democracy and Human Rights. I later drew on my experiences in Armenia during my dissertation at the LSE, which focused on Internet-mediated social movement formation as a vehicle for democratization in Armenia.