Mark Ohanian, IOCC Director of Programs, is responsible for the overall management of IOCC’s global emergency and development programs. This includes overseeing more than 400 staff on the ground in the Middle East, and in particular, the organization’s response to the Syrian crisis, one of the worst humanitarian and refugee crises in history. IOCC is one of the largest established networks to deliver life-saving humanitarian aid inside Syria, and one of the few international nongovernmental organizations working on the ground in 28 offices across the country. Since 2012, IOCC has provided aid to 2.5 million people who have been displaced by the civil war or living as refugees. In providing this aid, Mark and the IOCC team work in close partnership with the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East.
Mark brings 19 years of experience in relief and development to his position with IOCC. He has a wealth of working knowledge of the Middle East and Europe, and is fluent in seven languages. Before joining IOCC in 1998, Mark held management positions with United Methodist Committee on Relief in Armenia and the Republic of Georgia. A native of Lebanon and ethnic Armenian, Mark currently is based in IOCC’s international HQ offices, in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.