Singers from Washington, DC-based opera company, IN Series, and members of the Solidarity Chamber Orchestra of Tehran collaborated over video and other digital media to perform a rendition of German-British composer George Frideric Handel's "Serse," an operatic series based on the story of Xerxes I of Persia. You can read more and watch the performance here.
IAWF Hosts First Virtual
Life Academy for Mentees
IAWF's Life Academy program aims to provide students & young professionals with the tools, information, and networks they need to guide decision-making in their careers. We invite past, current, and potential mentees to join us to hear from incredible speakers and to participate in enlightening workshops. Mentees who join us for all 3 sessions will have the chance to win scholarships, gift cards, and one-on-one meetings with movers and shakers in our community! NOTE: In order to participate, you must have submitted an application to IAWF’s Mentorship to Internship program by Friday, August 14. You can learn more and register here. You can also donate to our scholarship fund here.
IAWF Presents: Hear Me Out
Join IAWF on Sunday, August 23rd at 10:30 PM PST for an exciting panel discussion about Iranian American representation in public office. Dr. Parmis Khatibi will moderate a conversation featuring documentary filmmaker, Marjan Safinia, Florida Representative Anna Eskamani, Phoenix City Council candidate Yassamin Ansari, & West Hollywood City Council candidate Sepi Shyne. We encourage you to watch the Marjan's documentary And She Could Be Next, which will be available to stream on PBS until the end of August. You can join this conversation on Zoom, and you can RSVP on our Facebook event page here.
Shari Rezai Raises Funds for IAWF
IAWF would like to thank our dear friend and member, Shari Rezai, for creating a Facebook birthday fundraiser benefitting IAWF. Through this fundraiser, she managed to raise over $2,000 in a matter of days. We are so grateful to Shari for her thoughtfulness and passion for our mission. If you are interested in starting your own Facebook fundraiser, you can find more information here. Happy belated birthday Shari!
IAWF Intern Starts Group for Iranian American Students
IAWF's intern and mentee, Bahar Babagoli, has recently started a youth support group called ChaiTalk. The group aims to foster conversations and build community among Iranian American high school and college students. Learn more and follow her page here, and you can register here for their next meeting on Saturday, August 15 at 12 PM PST.
Thank You to Our Circle of 1000 Members
This month, we're highlighting two of our passionate Northern California chapter leaders, and members of our Circle of 1000! We are so grateful to count on their support and leadership. You can sign up for membershiphere.
Roshanak Mozafar-Agah is a civil engineer with a Master of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering and 25 years of experience in environment engineering consulting. In addition to her consulting work, she is specially interested in women’s and children’s causes. She joined IAWF in 2018, and is the current chair of the Northern California Chapter. Roshanak is married to her college sweetheart and they have a daughter together.
Shiva Kordestani was born and raised in an educated family in Iran. Her mom was a teacher and her dad was in the general Army. She graduated with a chemical engineering degree in Tehran. She worked in a pharmaceutical factory for two years, and taught chemistry for five years. She got married in 1997 and moved to the U.S. where she raised two children while teaching them Iranian culture and tradition. Since then, she has been assisting her husband with his construction and real estate company, and volunteering financially and physically in several foundations and charities to build schools in Iran and to help those in need. She is a board member of three non profit organizations and she is an active person in all humanitarian activities. As of 2017, she has been a member of IAWF.
LA Rising Leaders Host Discussion About Race in our Community
Thank you to all those who participated in our most recent virtual meeting, "A Conversation about Race in the Iranian American Community: Taking Steps to Make a Difference." We are grateful to Dr. Niaz Kasravi and Mona Tashroudian for their participation in this necessary conversation. If you missed the meeting, you can watch the full conversation on our YouTube page.
