Gohar Khojayan of the Armenian Women for Health and Healthy Environment (AWHHE), a seasoned environmental health advocate with over thirty years of work for strong policies on chemicals and waste, has been elected as IPEN Co-Chair, the key leadership position in the global network. Gohar will share chairing responsibilities with Co-Chair Yuyun Ismawati of the Indonesian NGO Nexus3, as Pamela Miller of Alaska Community Action on Toxics steps down after serving two terms as Co-chair.
IPEN, a network of over 600 public interest environmental health groups in more than 130 countries, works to eliminate threats to health and the environment from the world’s most harmful chemicals, aiming for a healthy, toxics-free future for all.
Starting as an English teacher for children in Yerevan, Armenia, and abroad, Gohar has worked in the public, development, and non-profit sectors throughout her career. In 2011, she joined AWHHE as Communication Specialist to participate in the national environmental movement, through which she became active in IPEN.
“AWHHE’s vision of ‘Healthy Environments for our Children, Healthy Generation for Armenia’ blends perfectly with IPEN’s mission,” Gohar said. “This resonates with my personal passion, my hope for the future. As IPEN’s Co-chair, I will put all my team-building, networking, and communication skills to bear to help preserve the beautiful organizational culture which the IPEN Network has managed to build over the years.”
“Gohar has the passion, skills, and energy to help lead IPEN in this critical time, and I am looking forward to working with her as IPEN’s Co-chairs”, said Ismawati. “Plastics and chemicals create global threats to our health and the healthy environments we deserve. With Gohar’s experience and commitment, I am confident she will bring new energy to IPEN’s network and help forge pathways to a healthier future for all.”
