Aaron Sherinian
Aaron Sherinian was appointed as the new director of global communications for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in January 2024. Prior to this appointment, Sherinian spent two years as the senior vice president of global reach of Deseret Management Corporation. He has more than two decades of experience in public relations and communications in corporate, philanthropic, and diplomatic sectors both in the United States and internationally.
“The managing director of Church Communication is a trusted communication advisor to the Church’s senior leadership, including the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and works under their direction. The managing director also leads the department’s work in global, external-facing communication strategies for the church, including news releases issued on the Church Newsroom.”
In his new role, he will oversee departmental teams of media relations; government, community, and interfaith relations; international area relations; reputation management; channel management; and messaging.
The Church has had five managing directors of public affairs/church communication over the past 34 years, from Bruce Olsen (1989-2008) to Michael Otterson (2008-16), Richard Turley Jr. (2016-20), Michael Colemere (2020-22), and Eric Hawkins (2022-23) who is leaving due to health complications. This role is not to be confused with the Church spokesperson, a separate, more visible employee position.[1]
“Sherinian most recently managed global communications transformation at Philip Morris International, focused on civil society engagement and partnerships to enable a smoke-free future. Previously, he served as global communications director for the Aga Khan Development Network, headquartered in Paris, France and Geneva, Switzerland. In this role he coordinated the global communications efforts during the Jubilee of His Highness the Aga Khan and the global Ismaili Muslim faith community.
“Prior to that, he served as chief communications and marketing officer for the United Nations Foundation, during which time he helped build the Social Good Summit, #GivingTuesday and the Global Bureau Media Coalition. His career includes U.S. government service as a diplomat in the U.S. Department of State and leading public affairs efforts for the Millennium Challenge Corp.”[2]
Sherinian earned degrees at Brigham Young University in political science and Italian and at Johns Hopkins University in Advanced International Studies. He speaks Italian, Spanish, Armenian, and French.
As a young man, he served a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ in Milan, Italy. While living in Armenia, he also served in a mission presidency. Sherinian and his wife, Emily, have four children.
