Board of Trustees President

Dr. Sevan Benlian

Dr. Sevan Benlian was first elected to the Glendale Community College Board of Trustees in 2020 and serves area 5. Dr. Benlian is a LEED-accredited professional and a licensed general contractor in the state of California. As a project executive at Katerra, he is responsible for multiple large housing developments across the state, overseeing the design and construction of over one thousand housing units.

Dr. Benlian attended GCC before earning both a Bachelor of Architecture and a Master of Architecture/Real Estate Development at Woodbury University. After completing his studies at Woodbury, he obtained a Master of Construction Management degree from the University of Southern California (USC) with a graduate certificate in Real Estate Development.

Dr. Benlian also has a Ph.D. from USC’s Price School of Public Policy. His doctoral dissertation focused on motivating the adoption of the novel construction material cross-laminated timber (CLT) as a sustainable alternative to concrete and steel in the context of mid- and high-rise building construction.

A proud Glendale resident for more than 20 years, Dr. Benlian is committed to giving back to his community and has always remained engaged and politically active. In addition to serving as a GCC Trustee, he is a member of the Glendale Design Review Board and served as the chair of the commission in 2019.

Dr. Benlian’s present term is April 2024 – June 2028.