Sharon Nazarian Baradaran is the President of the Y&S Nazarian Family Foundation, with a branch in Israel named Ima Foundation. The primary goal of the foundation is to promote and support educational causes in various fields throughout the United States and Israel.
Dr. Baradaran currently teaches as an adjunct professor at the University of California Los Angeles in the Department of Political Science. She is also the founder of the UCLA Israel Studies Program and Chair of its Advisory Board. The program is housed in the International Institute at UCLA in order to provide a systematic and academic study of Israel.
Currently, Dr. Baradaran sits on the boards of American Friends of Hebrew University, American Society of the University of Haifa, the Iranian Jewish Women’s Organization, and serves on the Executive Committee as well as the Education Pillar of the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles.
Sharon's primary and secondary education was completed in the Beverly Hills public school system and she continued her undergraduate studies at the University of Southern California, double majoring in journalism and international relations. She went on to receive her Master's and Doctorate of Philosophy degrees also from the University of Southern California in the field of political science, specializing in the political economy and economic development in newly industrialized countries.
In 1990 she married Sharyar Baradaran, who is a prominent periodontist and venture capitalist in Beverly Hills. They are the proud parents of Sarah age 14, Layla age 10 and Adam age 5.
Sharon is the daughter of Soraya & Younes Nazarian and has three siblings, David, Shula and Sam. Sharon and her husband are one of the primary shareholders of Nazarian Enterprises, a venture capitalist group for green reusable energy, and SBE, a successful entertainment group that owns several high-end hotels, restaurants, and nightclubs.
