Michelle Javian

Michelle Javian is Executive Director and Co-founder of Harboring Hearts, a non-profit that provides heart patients and their families with support through a home-like haven and a nurturing community of resources. Michelle started Harboring Hearts in honor of her father, who lost his battle to heart disease after a heart transplant in 2008. During the time she spent by her father's side in the hospital, Michelle saw firsthand the need that heart patients and their families have for the refuge and community support that Harboring Hearts provides. It was from this realization, and devotion to her father’s memory, that Michelle and Yuki Kotani co-founded Harboring Hearts in April 2009.

Michelle is active in several other charities, including her roles as a Board member of New York Presbyterian Hospital New Leaders, American Heart Association heart advocate and volunteer, and as a Founding Member of Friends of Best Buddies, Manhattan chapter.

She was awarded the 2009 Maurice Gurin Memorial Scholarship by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, was a semi-finalist in SELF Magazine’s 2009 “Women Doing Good” contest, and chosen as a Rosewood Hotel and Resorts “30 Under 30” winner in 2010.

Michelle holds a B.A. from Georgetown University in Healthcare Management, and is a contributing blogger for The Huffington Post under the “Impact” vertical.