Iranian American Women Make Great Strides in Technology

May 2, 2013, Washington, D.C. – After several Iranian Americans made Forbes’ 2012 “30 Under 30” list for their accomplishments in technology, three Iranian American women were recently recognized by Business Insider as being among “The 30 Most Important Women Under 30 In Tech.”  The magazine compiled the list through research as well as nominations from the public for the most important women 30 years old or younger in technology.

Soraya Darabi, 29, was recognized as a “two-time entrepreneur.” Darabi is currently working on her latest start-up, Zady, which has already raised $1.35 million, with the round led by NEA.  Prior to starting Zady, Darabi founded Foodspotting, a geo-local guide for finding quality restaurants, which was acquired by OpenTable earlier this year for $10 million.

Parisa Tabriz, 29, was recognized for her work at Google after also being recognized by Forbes last year. Known as the “Security Princess,” Tabriz is in charge of Google’s information security engineering team, which focuses on improving security in the company’sarray of products. She leads the team of hired hackers who hack into the company’s products and then teach developers how to secure them.

Lastly, Roxanne Varza was recognized for her work running some of Microsoft’s startup-related initiatives in Europe, particularly its BizSpark and Spark programs. Before joining Microsoft, Varza worked as the editor of TechCrunch France. She is also currently Vice President of Business Development and Partnerships for Girls in Tech Global, and she started and currently leads the French and British chapters of the organization.

PAAIA congratulates these individuals on their great work thus far and on representing the Iranian American community’s continued contributions to American society through dedication, passion, and hard work.