New Member Spotlight   

Rami Joukhadar 

Rami  Afif Joukhadar was born in Mejdlaya-Zgharta in 1964. He immigrated to Los Angeles in 1983 and has resided there since. He went to Cal State Long Beach in order to get a degree in Civil Engineering before he took over a Parts Director position for Multi Franchise Dealerships in Downtown Los Angeles. He later moved on to Beverly Hills Mercedes-Benz where he held the Parts Director position for seven years.

He is currently the Parts Director at Fletcher Jones Motorcars in Newport Beach and was elected by his peers in 2003 to be the President of the Service and Parts Managers Club of Southern California, a title he still carries.

He has been active in the American Lebanese community and a member of our Lady of Mt Lebanon Cathedral.  

Rami married Doris Harb Joukhadar in 1996. They are blessed with two wonderful children, James and Joy. The family resides in Orange County and enjoys spending every summer in Lebanon where they spend the best quality time with their families and friends.

 HOL Artists' Spotlight   

Michael Rababy       

Documentary / street photographer, filmmaker Michael Rababy likes taking pictures of people.  He studied art history at the University of San Diego before spending time in Paris. Taking influence from Henri Toulouse-Lautrec and Henri Cartier-Bresson, his ethnographic documentary book, American Bachelor details the highs and lows of the single male.  His credits include The VICE Magazine Photo Book, Mercedes-Benz, Merkley and Partners, E!, the style network, LA Weekly, the VIllage Voice, and Citizen LA.  

His short film Still Lives, which tells a story through black and white still photographs set to piano music, premiered at the Palm Springs International Short film Festival, was an official selection of the Miami Short Film Festival and screened at the Short Film Corner at the Cannes Film Festival. 

Michael became involved with the House of Lebanon Artists' Group when he stumbled upon the HOL website while researching a documentary on Lebanon, attended a few meetings, photographed the annual event in Beverly Hills, and helped to promote the Beyond Borders show.

"Both of my parents are Lebanese - all from Zahle, but they made a point to raise their children as Americans.  As I grew older, I started to become interested in my roots and interested in what makes Lebanese people unique.  I reached out HOL to connect with other Lebanese artists, as I know relatively few Lebanese people in Los Angeles."   

Michael continues, "I've been developing a documentary film project on Lebanon, Lebanese people, and their place in the world - focusing on the 'Hummus Wars' between Lebanon and Israel and using that as a metaphor for the continuing conflicts in the Middle East.  The film is also a celebration of Lebanese people and the culture, so I'm hoping to talk to and interview many interesting Lebanese people that I hope to continue to meet through HOL."