Category Archives: Advisory Council

Shahpour Shiralian Fresno, CA Mr. Shahpour Shiralian was born in Tehran, Iran. He graduated from Tehran Technology Institute in 1977. After graduation he served in the Imperial Army for 22 months until the Islamic Revolution took place and many professional soldiers were purged. After a short time, he could no longer bear the atrocities of

Saeed Ghaseminejad, Ph.D. New York, NY Dr. Saeed Ghasseminejad is a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and its Center on Economics and Financial Power. Born and raised in Iran, he co-founded the Liberal Students and Graduates Organization at the University of Tehran. His student activism led to his arrest by

Rostam Zafari Atlanta, GA Rostam is the Chief Investment Officer for Sage Hill Investors, a single family office. At Sage Hill Investors, he is responsible for overseeing investments across public and private equities, real estate, and venture capital. Rostam has led over 150 investments across purpose-driven companies and fund managers across the United States, Canada,

Pardis Sabeti, M.D., D.Phil. Cambridge, MA Dr. Pardis Sabeti is a Professor at the Center for Systems Biology and Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University and the Department of Immunology and Infectious Disease at the Harvard School of Public Health. She is an Institute Member of the Broad Institute of MIT and

Nazenin Ansari London, UK Nazenin Ansari is the Publisher and Managing Editor of two independent media outlets and its presence on the international scene, Kayhan London and Kayhan Life. Kayhan-London was launched as a weekly in London in the early 1980s; although its history goes back to the early 1940s in Iran. It is considered

Mohammad R. Jahan-Parvar, Ph.D. Washington, DC Mohammad R. Jahan-Parvar is a Washington, D.C.-based economist with extensive academic and government experience. He received his BA in economics from Beheshti (National) University (Tehran, Iran), MS in economics from Illinois State University, MS in statistics and PhD in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has

Mehriar Kaviani Houston, TX Mr. Kaviani was born in Siahkal, Iran but now calls Texas home. Despite his aspiration for law, literature, and political science and having acceptances to law programs in Iran, Mr. Kaviani left Iran in 1975 to study engineering in the United States of America. After receiving his degree in engineering, his

Maryam Ovissi Washington, DC Maryam Ovissi is a certified Trauma-Informed Yoga Therapist and Yoga Teacher. Her personal mission as an educator is to provide an opportunity for her students to have access to tools that allow healing, empowerment, and self-realization. Maryam founded Beloved Yoga: A Sanctuary for All, located in Reston, VA, to share the

Marjan Greenblatt New York, NY Marjan Keypour Greenblatt is the founder and director of the Alliance for Rights of All Minorities (ARAM), an international network of activists that promotes human rights in Iran. She is also a non-resident scholar with the Middle East Institute’s Iran Program. As a former refugee who escaped discrimination in the Middle

Hamid Noorani, Ph.D. Chicago, IL Powerful Methods Inc. E: Hamid@PowerfulMethods.com  Project Brighter Future Coordinator – Proposed a Draft Constitution for Iran.  Education  Ph.D. in Organization & Management  Capella University, Minneapolis, MN, 2014  Dissertation Title: Identifying the distinguishing features of routine and non-routine operational situations: A case study  Book Authored:  Systems-Thinking, Kindle Digital Publishing – 2016