Meet Our 2024 Ansari Fellows

Washington, D.C. — PAAIA is excited to announce our summer 2024 Ansari Fellows: Rooha Hagharmehdiabadi and Hasti Sadri.

Funded by the Ansari family, the Ansari Fellowship is a key initiative of the Civic Leadership Program designed to inspire and support young Iranian Americans in their pursuit of public service careers. This fellowship offers financial assistance and connects outstanding undergraduate and graduate students with a network of public policy professionals during their unpaid summer internships. 
 
Alongside our 8 CHIP Fellows this year, the addition of 2 Ansari Fellows, marks the largest year of fellowships for PAAIA, supporting 10 incredible Iranian American students.  

Rooha Hagharmehdiabadi with American Gateways 

Rooha Hagharmehdiabadi is a law student at the University of Texas School of Law, where she previously earned a B.A. with Highest Honors, majored in International Relations and Global Studies. On campus, she is the Co-Director of events for Law Students for Black Lives and the recipient of both the Iranian American Bar Association Scholarship and the Human Rights Scholarship. Previously, Hagharmehdiabadi served as a Social Innovation Intern with the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, where she assisted in launching and managing the UWMD Social Innovation Incubator Program. Most recently, she served as a Legal Support Specialist with the Refugee Services of Texas, assisting clients with basic immigration needs, such as sending inquiries to the National Visa Center and requesting documents from U.S Customs and Border Protection. This summer, Hagharmehdiabadi will be completing an Ansari Public Service Fellowship with American Gateways and engrossed in immigration casework. 

“I am thrilled to have the support of the Ansari Public Service Fellowship in the completion of my summer internship. As an aspiring immigration attorney, the experiences I gain this summer and the connections I make will be integral to my professional growth,” Hagharmehdiabadi shared. “The Ansari Fellowship’s facilitation of these great opportunities for Iranian American youth who are dedicated to public service is admirable. During my internship with American Gateways, I look forward to learning more about the intersections of criminal law and immigration as well as accompanying attorneys to detention centers and courts to witness the breadth of their work.”  

Hasti Sadri with the Brookings Institute 

Hasti Sadri is a rising senior and an Honors Scholar at UNC-Chapel Hill, majoring in Political Science and Peace, War, and Defense, with a minor in Conflict Management. She is passionate about immigration, international affairs, and national security policy. Most recently, Sadri completed an internship with the European Research Council (ERC), examining transnational ecological issues to identify avenues for policy change and litigation reform. She has also interned for two North Carolina nonprofits centered around migrant farmworker advocacy and community organizing. On campus, Sadri has served as the social justice advocate for the UNC-Chapel Hill community government, works with the Refugee Support Center, and is the Outreach Director for the Student Equitable Medicine Initiative (SEMI). Sadri will be interning with the Brookings Institution’s Governance Studies Communications team this summer. 

“I am excited to be part of the Fellowship Program as it allows me to further my work this summer,” said Sadri. “As an Iranian American, I value the importance of well-informed, nonpartisan research. Ensuring the outreach of research to the general public and experts equally is a crucial aspect of the policymaking process, and I hope to make a positive contribution in this regard this summer.”