CEO, Villa International

Rebacca Arayan and Dr. Taiko Nakazawa.

Rebecca Arayan is the Executive Director of Villa International in Atlanta. Villa International is a 33-room residence founded in 1967 as a “home away from home” for international guests in Atlanta. Villa offers short-term housing for those looking for a friendly and affordable place to stay. Prior to this position she worked in the nonprofit sector as the executive director of the Georgia Radio Reading Service and as a development and grant writing consultant for local nonprofits and as the Director of Development for the Day1 radio program. She has a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Georgia State University and undergraduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Rebecca and her family live on-site at Villa. Her husband, Caren Arayan, is in supply train management and works at the Parts House in Stone Mountain. He is originally from Armenia (where Rebecca was stationed in the Peace Corps), and they have two teenaged children together.

Taiko Nakazawa is currently a student at Emory University at the Rollins School of Public Health. Dr. Nakazawa prided herself on providing whole-person healthcare to her oncology patients while also participating in extensive involvement in clinical trials at one of the top cancer centers in Japan. Her continued studies in Public Health at Emory will assist her in leveraging her medical experience for the betterment of health equity to the general public. She is specifically focusing on enhancing cancer treatment systems in low- and middle-income countries.