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  Kat Haydarzadeh Sanam Zahir Mahasti Afshar Nina Beizai Morad Ghorban

 

News & Press Releases News and Press Releases

Farshad Rastegar: Lending a Helping Hand to Thousands Across the World

By Mahasti Afshar

March 10, 2010, Los Angeles, CA – In the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes that struck Haiti and Chile recently, much of the world’s attention has been focused on how relief and support can be provided to the victims of these natural disasters. Central to this mission are international aid agencies whose primary purpose is to provide crucial supplies and services when no-one else can. Enter Iranian American Farshad Rastegar, founder of the international aid organization, Relief International. Established nearly 20 years ago, RI is a non-profit agency that provides emergency relief, rehabilitation, development assistance, and program services to vulnerable communities in over 20 countries worldwide.
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Farshad Rastegar to learn more about him, Relief International, and the role Iranian Americans have played in the organization.

Click here for full interview transcript

 

PAAIA’s New York City Chapter Gathers to Support the Reelection of Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney

By Morad Ghorban and Siavash Dejgosha

March 11, 2010, New York, NY - On March 5th 2010, PAAIA members and friends gathered to support the reelection of New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-14th). The event was sponsored by the Iranian American Political Action Committee (IAPAC), the connected PAC of PAAIA, and held at the home of Mr. Akbar Lari.

Click here to read more

 

Respecting Diversity

By Sharon Baradaran, Ph.D.

March 9, 2010, Irvine, CA - Angella Nazarian, Author of Life as a Visitor, recently paid homage to the Samuel Jordon Center for Persian Studies in a blog posted on Huffington Post. Housed on the campus of UC Irvine in California, the innovative center seeks to foster an understanding of Persian culture by studying Iran’s rich ethnic, religious and linguistic diversity.  A speaker at the center herself, Nazarian writes of her interest in the center’s integration of cultural experiences of Iran’s minority groups such as Jews, Armenians and Bahá'ís.

I hope you enjoy reading the article.

 

Update: LinkedIn Reverses Iran Exclusion Policy

March 11, 2010, Washington, D.C. – We are happy to report that in response to PAAIA, the professional networking website LinkedIn has placed Iran back on their education drop-down menu from where it had been removed. Individuals who have received an academic degree in Iran are now able to include that information in their LinkedIn profile.

Click here to read more

 

It’s Your Turn Next, because community matters

Dear Community –

I was introduced to you in mid-January soon after I joined PAAIA. Since then, I have had the opportunity to work with PAAIA’s founding executive director, Babak Hoghooghi, as well as the board. Rubbing shoulders with such an extraordinary group of people who volunteer their personal time and resources in the service of their ideal, which is to advance the well-being of Iranian Americans, has been a rare privilege. I feel honored and amazed.

 

Today, it’s my pleasure to introduce Team PAAIA to you. In alphabetical order, they are: Nina Beizai/Public Affairs, Morad Ghorban/Legislative Director, Kat Haydarzadeh/Community Relations, Ramin Naderi/Legislative Assistant, and Sanam Zahir/News & Network. It just so happens that all four women are at PAAIA’s new headquarters in LA (address forthcoming) while the two gentlemen are in Washington, DC, where PAAIA was founded almost three years ago.

 

Soon it will be your turn to share your thoughts and voices with the PAAIA family, online and on the ground. We plan to interact with you—our members, Chapters and NexGens, as well as with the community at large—by developing a highly interactive website and social media presence. We will also help organize our membership around a variety of activities, from community service to celebrations to competitions. The idea is for PAAIA to provide the framework and the tools through which our members can get to know one another, network, play, and explore ideas. We want you to discover and engage in stimulating debates, have fun learning, and vote and act on shared goals that serve our community and the U.S. society at large.

 

Our ultimate goal is to help us Iranian Americans function like an extended family of friends. We want you to think of PAAIA both in times of need—you’re looking for a job or a good book to read, a place to stay, a cause to support, or a soccer coach—and also when you have something to share, an opening in your shop or office, a brilliant idea, tickets to the theatre, time for mentorship, funds to spare for an educational or environmental project. In short, along with other Iranian American organizations and individuals, we plan to do our part to strengthen our sense of identity, unity, and pride in our community’s achievements, enhance our image in society based on the values that we practice and the causes that we support, and enjoy the fruits of our influence in the country we call home.

 

On that note, I wish you all a wonderful spring cleaning time ahead of Nowruz, which will occur on March 20 at 10:32AM PST/1:32pm EST.

 

Warm Regards,
Mahasti Afshar

 

Urge the House Leadership to Present the Nowruz Resolution for a Vote  

March 9,2010, Washington, D.C. - With the passage of H.Res. 267 by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on January 29th of this year, we are one step closer to having Nowruz officially recognized by the House of Representatives. For that to happen, the House leadership needs to place it on the legislative calendar so it can be voted on. You can help make this happen!

Please take a moment to contact Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and let him know how much the Nowruz resolution means to you!

Click here to read more

 

IABA Hosts Panel Discussion on Iranian Transaction Regulations

March 3, 2010, Washington, D.C. – On Thursday, February 25th, the Iranian American Bar Association’s (IABA) Washington D.C. chapter held an informative panel discussion entitled “The Anatomy of a U.S. Sanctions Program: An Overview of the Iranian Transactions Regulations.” This event, which was hosted by Venable, LLP, allowed for a unique exchange of dialogue between the Iranian American community and U.S. government officials from the Treasury Department’s Office of Chief Counsel and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regarding current trade law and regulations between the United States and Iran.

Click here to read more

 

PAAIA Announces Second Installment of Adopt a Library

Donate “Rostam: Tales from the Shahnameh” for Nowruz

March 3, 2010, Washington D.C. - The Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA) today announced the second installment of its “Adopt a Library” program in honor of the upcoming Nowruz celebration. This series will feature two publications, the first being the award winning children's comic books "Rostam: Tales From The Shahnameh" by Hyperwerks. The three books feature stories from: Rostam & Sohrab, Kai-Kavous & Soodabeh, and The Great White Deev. 

Click here to read more and find out how

 

Attn. Students! Unique Zan Essay Competition

By PAAIA Editorial Staff

If you are a female Iranian American college or graduate student in the U.S. you wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity to participate in the essay competition by the Unique Zan Foundation titled:  “Unique Iranian Women in History: Drawing Inspiration from the Past.” Now in its third year, the competition is organized collaboratively between the Unique Zan Foundation and the Iranian American Scholarship Fund and seeks to highlight pioneering Iranian women whose achievements continue to inspire us today. Prizes will be awarded by a jury of academic experts based on exceptional writing skills and a compelling story.

For more information please click here and look under Scholarship Applications.

Click here for a PDF copy of the application.