Michelle Javian is the Founder of Harboring Hearts. She started the organization 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 witnessed firsthand the need for refuge and community support for heart patients and their families. It was from this realization, and devotion to her father’s memory, that Michelle and Yuki Kotani co-founded Harboring Hearts in April of 2009.

Michelle is also active in several other charities, including being a Board member of New Leaders at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, heart advocate and volunteer at American Heart Association, and a Founding Member of Friends of Best Buddies, at 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.