Join us for a dinner program for a panel discussion on genocide, starting with acknowledging the Armenian genocide and leading into an academic discussion on how to prevent genocide in the future.
UCI University Club, Grand Ballroom
October 30th 2025 at 5:30PM
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
Dr. Bedross der Matossian is a Professor of Modern Middle East History in the Department of History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Born and raised in Jerusalem, he is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he began his graduate studies in the Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies. He completed his Ph.D. in Middle East History in the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies at Columbia University in 2008. From 2008 to 2010, he was a Lecturer of Middle East History in the Faculty of History at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). For the Spring quarter of 2014, he was appointed as the Dumanian Visiting Professor at the University of Chicago. His areas of interest include ethnic politics in the Middle East, inter-ethnic violence in the Ottoman Empire, Palestinian history, and the history of the Armenian Genocide.
Currently, he is the vice-chair of the Department of History. He was the President of the Society for Armenian Studies (2018-2022). He serves on the Board of Directors of multiple international educational institutions and on the editorial board of multiple journals, the most prominent of which is the flagship journal of the field: International Journal of Middle East Studies (IJMES). He is also the series editor of Armenians in the Modern and Early Modern World published by I.B.Tauris, an imprint of Bloomsbury Press.
Rachel Miner is the founder and CEO of Bellwether International, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to disrupting the cycle of genocide and building genocide-resistant societies. With a passion for understanding the intersection of economics, politics, and human rights, Rachel has dedicated her career to addressing one of the most critical global issues of our time.
Rachel holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Brigham Young University, a master’s in public administration from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a second master’s in economic and political development from Columbia University. Her academic journey is marked by her deep commitment to understanding the root causes of genocide and finding solutions to prevent such atrocities. In 2021, she was honored as a U.S. Truman Scholar, a testament to her exceptional leadership potential and dedication to public service.
Rachel’s groundbreaking research explores the economics of genocide prevention, with her work being published in respected journals such as the Journal of Economics, Management, and Religion. She is a frequent contributor to major outlets including Deseret News, BBC Woman’s Hour, SiriusXM, and Newsweek. Her research spans diverse topics such as religious freedom, the role of media and technology, artificial intelligence, and using complex systems to model genocide.
A sought-after speaker and thought leader, Rachel has presented her work at prestigious forums such as the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, the Global Women’s Summit, the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, and the International Religious Freedom Summit, among others. Through her work, Rachel continues to lead efforts to protect vulnerable communities and shape a more just, resilient world.
Major General Mark MacCarley, USA, Ret., was commissioned in the USAR in 1983 and retired in 2015 as the Deputy Chief of Staff for the Army's Training and Doctrine Command. He spent approximately one-half of his career on Active Duty, mainly in Active Component Units and balance of his career in USAR Troop Commands. Prior to his assignment to TRADOC, he served as the Deputy Commander (Support), 1st Army, and concurrently as the Commander, 1st Army Reserve Support Command. Previous assignments included Deputy Commander for both the Active Component’s 1st and 8th Theater Sustainment Commands and Chief of Staff for the Army Reserve’s 377th Theater Sustainment Command during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. In 2007 he was the Deputy Defense Coordinating Officer for FEMA Region 9, responsible for coordinating the military response to natural and man-made disasters. He holds a B.A. in International Relations from California State University Northridge, an M.S.S. from the U.S. Army War College, an M.B.A from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst), and a J.D. from Loyola University School of Law, Los Angeles. He currently serves as managing partner at MacCarley & Rosen, PLC, focusing on international business transactions, government relations, and national security issues.
Dr. Carla Garapedian is a filmmaker based in London and Los Angeles. She has made documentaries about human rights atrocities in various places, including Chechnya, North Korea, Iran and Afghanistan which have been featured on BBC, Channel 4 (UK) and Frontline World. Her award-winning documentary, Screamers, was theatrically released in the United States and examined the recurring problem of genocide in the 20th century. Carla is one of the few Americans to anchor the news for BBC World. She has promoted documentaries here in the United States on PBS. Working with the Armenian Film Foundation, she digitized a rare collection of Armenian Genocide survivor interviews filed by the late J. Michael Hagopian, which is now part of the Visual History Archive at the USC Shoah Foundation. In 2009, she founded Pomegranate Foundation, whose Rwanda Library includes survivor interviews from Rwandan Tutsi genocide. Carla earned her undergraduate and PhD degrees from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is a member of the British Academy of Film and Television as well as the Royal Institute of International Affairs. She is currently in pre-production for Nemesis 1921, a crime drama about the shooting of Talaat Pasha in Berlin, and the subsequent criminal trial of his alleged assassin, Soghomon Tehlirian.
