September 2016 Newsletter
Issue I
undefined
IAWF Hosts Women's Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. 

The Iranian American Women Foundation is excited for its 12th Women's Leadership Conference! The Conference will be hosted on November 13, 2016 at Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center in Washington DC. It will feature a diverse array of engaging speakers, empowering stories, and will provide opportunities to connect with fellow members of the IAWF community. We will hear from accomplished women working in the White House and State Department, including  Sahar Nowrouzzadeh,   Ferial Govashiri,   Pantea Faed , and Delaram Cavey . Find additional information and tickets  here.   We look forward to seeing you there!

 



Fatemeh Ziai
New York
 
Fatemeh Ziai is Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. She has worked at the United Nations since 1996, serving in field missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Afghanistan, and as Chief of Staff and Director of Political Affairs of the UN' s special political mission in Lebanon. She has also held several leadership positions in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, including as Chief of the Policy/ Best Practices Section. She also worked on the UN's internal reform, as Director in the Office of Human Resources Management. From 1998-2003, she served as Special Assistant to the Chef de Cabinet in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General. From November 2001 - July 2002, she was Special Assistant to the Secretary General's Special Representative for Afghanistan, and a member of the UN team at the Bonn Peace Talks.  Visit Fatemeh's IAWF profile here.
Violet Parvarandeh
Northern California

Born and raised in Iran, she immigrated to the US in 1984. She attended DeAnza College and transferred to SJSU, where she majored in Computer Science. She started working for Maxim Integrated Products in 1989 and changed her career from the high-tech sector to be employed full time by her daughter and son. Over the past 15 years, she has become an active philanthropist in the areas of education and grant programs for under-served families and charities. She is also an active member of the Democratic Party and serves as the President's Partner defending the rights for woman and children. She is a Member of the Board of Directors of US Immigration Investment Center and will chair the Micro Loan Committee to guide the company's mission to revitalize communities, provide housing for homeless veterans, access to education and healthcare.  V isit Violet's IAWF profile  here.
Haleh Khatami 
Southern California

Haleh Khatami is an advocate of children, who strongly believes that education is the key to rising above socio-economic crisis. For almost two decades, she has been actively and voluntarily pursing her passion toward providing the gift of education for underprivileged children across the world. As the president and co-founder of Children's Hope International Literacy and Development (C.H.I.L.D.), she successfully leads the cause through her strategic planning, especially in areas of marketing, public relations and fundraising. Haleh is an entrepreneur with a Bachelor's degree in MIS from California State University of Long Beach, and has many years of experience in fields of finance and real estate. Her company, SSS Real Estate, acquires and manages real estate in Orange County.  Visit Haleh's IAWF profile  here.
Join CHILD Gala on Saturday, October 1st at the Rose Center. The focus of CHILD Gala is on "Adopt a Family" program where the families and children in need receive social, medical and career services as well as financial assistance. CHILD is the first volunteer based organization in our community to establish such a program. Since 2012, CHILD has been able to assist nearly 100 families in many aspects of their lives and in pursuit of self-sufficiency. Please purchase your tickets here.




Congratulating
 Bita Ardalan, IAWF Member & Sponsor

Bita has recently been featured one of the 500 Most Influential People in Los Angeles. Bita Ardalan is an Executive Vice President at Union Bank, N.A. She heads the Commercial Banking Group for the Western Markets, which include California, Oregon, and Washington. She is responsible for the sales and marketing and credit ma nagement of the bank's commercial lending activities. The group provides financial expertise to commercial clients including but not limited to debt financing, depository and cash management, global trade, foreign currency exposure, interest rate and commodity management, syndications, private placements, high grade & high yield financing, securitizations, structured finance, leasing, mezzanine financing, ratings advisory, and private banking services across a broad range of industries. Previously, Ms. Ardalan founded and oversaw the bank's National Specialized Lending Group, including commercial finance, environmental services, non-profits, healthcare, aerospace and defense, public finance, and funds finance which supports the needs of sponsored investment funds, including bridge capital and subscription facilities. Ms. Ardalan earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management from Williams College. She has completed numerous Executive Education Programs in corporate finance, leadership, strategic planning and finance at the Kellogg School for Management at Northwestern University. Ms. Ardalan is a frequent speaker and author on senior financing related topics. She currently serves on the Iranian-American Women's advisory board, on ACG L.A's M&A Conference Committee, and as an Ambassador for the Looking Beyond Foundation. Ms. Ardalan is also a member of the World President's Organization (WPO) Santa Monica Chapter, the Jonathan Town & Beach Club, and is involved with Junior Achievement.

Circle of 1,000 Featured Member: Tata Monfared

IAWF welcomes Tata Monfared who is the new member of Circle of 1000. Tata Monfared, Founder & Executive Director of Senses Cultural, a non-profit organization based in Sacramento, has dedicated herself to her passion of sharing her rich Iranian culture across the world for more than 20 years. Her vision is to create a more peaceful, diverse, and healthy environment. Tata stands as a leader in the progression of cultural understanding of the Middle East in the world's leading institutions in Northern California and abroad for the SOAS University in London, the University of California Davis, San Francisco State University, and others. She has run a number of creative projects, such as the ongoing international exhibition, "Enduring Power," which shows the strength and creativity of Iranian women photographers. It raises funds for Senses Culturals scholarship, created to help Iranian & Middle Eastern professionals receive intensive training at the MIND Institute, a pioneering institution in studying neurodevelopmental disorders. V
isit Tata's IAWF profile  here.
Copyright © 2016. All Rights Reserved.