IAAB Staff

Nakissa Akhavan - Project Associate, Student Summit

Nakkisa Akhavan is a senior at UC Berkeley who will be graduating in May, 2008 with a B.A. in Political Science. In her studies, Ms. Akhavan has focused on Constitutional law in the United States, and she plans to go on to a Masters program and Law School after matriculating. She currently lives in the Bay Area, California and works for a test-preparation company, teaching courses and tutoring. Her interest in the Iranian diaspora has inspired her to take courses on the Iranian Revolution and Iranian film, among other related topics. She speaks, reads, and writes Persian fluently and plans to continue her education on Iranian-related issues. Ms. Akhavan has been involved with IAAB since June of 2006.

Mehrdad Bokhour - Project Associate, Student Summit

Mehrdad Bokhour is a 22 year-old, recent graduate from UC Berkeley. He matriculated in May 2007 with a BA degree in Political Science. Throughout his time at Berkeley he emphasized a specific interest in Middle Eastern studies and foreign policy. He recently joined a Washington D.C. based, non-governmental organization that works for the expansion of human rights throughout the world. Born in Tehran, Iran, Mr. Bokhour moved to the United States in 1996 when he was 10 years old, and spent his teenage years in Los Angeles, California. The large Iranian population there furthered his interest in the Iranian Diaspora. Having done extensive research on Iranian affairs and issues important to the Iranian diaspora, Mr. Bokhour plans to continue his studies by enrolling in a graduate program in International Affairs in Fall 2008.

Ali Ehteshami - Technical Resources Coordinator

Ali Ehteshami is a sophomore at New York University where he is majoring in Philosophy. Mr. Ehteshami was born in Tehran and moved to the United States in 2001 at the age of 13. Mr. Ehteshami is the founder of CivilizedNation.com, an educational news organization that focuses on successful examples of environmentally sustainable and socially responsible practices. Mr. Ehteshami is also the founder and deejay of CivilizedRadio.com, which houses the greatest collection of socially significant, thought-provoking and inspirational songs from around the world.

Kayvan Farchadi - Project Associate, Student Summit

Kayvan Farchadi is a junior at the College of William and Mary where he is working on a major in Middle Eastern Studies and a minor in Biology. He is an active volunteer in his local, college, and international communities and views volunteering as his foremost responsibility, as well as his greatest educator. In his home town of Fairfax, he works with the Iranian Community School and Reston Interfaith where he has fulfilled the role of Supervisor of the Back to School Charity Program for several years. At school, Mr. Farchadi is an active member of many organizations on campus. He pursues his love of public health by serving the at-risk and HIV/AIDS infected population of Williamsburg, Virginia as a part of the Williamsburg AIDS Network. Internationally, he has been involved in organizing a medical relief mission to Tanzania, as well as volunteering as an English teacher in Nablus, Palestine. Mr. Farchadi enjoys reading, dancing, Middle Eastern politics, and pursuing classical Iranian music by practicing his tombac and daf.

Sherry Hakimi - Public Relations Coordinator

Sherry was born and raised in the Boston, Massachusetts area and graduated from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, with honors in 2006, with dual degrees in Marketing and International Development. She has been involved with IAAB since 2006, when she came across Project Connection while working on an AIDS research and education project in Tehran. Sherry's interest in international development has also led her to Ghana and Brazil, where she has spent time teaching and learning. She currently works in Global Corporate Communications for Reebok International. She loves to travel and has lived in various places around the world, including Iran, Hawaii and Spain. She is an avid squash player and enjoys running and reading in her free time.

Mana Kharrazi - Project Manager, Camp Ayandeh 2008

Mana Kharrazi is a recent graduate from Emory University where she received a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Middle Eastern Studies, along with a minor in Persian. Ms. Kharrazi was born in Tehran to Kurdish and Lurish parents, then moved to Germany, and later to the United States. Ms. Kharrazi organized a lecture series at Emory in 2006 which brought together academics, artists, and NGO leaders to speak to the Atlanta community about Iranian history and culture. Ms. Kharrazi has been involved in IAAB's high school leadership camp for the last two years--first, as a counselor, and later as a project associate.

Arash Majdi - Project Associate, Camp Ayandeh 2008

Arash Majdi lived in Tehran for nine years before moving to Atlanta, Georgia where he currently resides. Mr. Majdi is in his senior year at Georgia Institute of Technology where he is pursuing a degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering with a concentration in Economic Decision Analysis. Mr. Majdi is the President of the Georgia Tech Iranian Student Association, and served as a Counselor at the first Iranian-American Leadership Camp in 2006.

 

Shayda Edwards Naficy - Publications Coordinator

Shayda Edwards Naficy works at the Washington, D.C. Office of the Indian Law Resource Center, a non-profit law and advocacy organization that assists indigenous peoples throughout the Americas in defending their rights. Ms. Naficy holds a Bachelors of Science in Geology from Rice University, and studied sustainable development in Ecuador and Costa Rica as a part of Minnesota University's Studies in International Development and the Institute for Central American Development Studies. Her field work in Ecuador and Costa Rica focused on the efficacy of community development associations, with an eye towards economic and personal empowerment. While In Ecuador, she designed and implemented an original curriculum designed to encourage active engagement and youth empowerment. Ms. Naficy continues to pursue her interest in development and governance, human rights and community empowerment. She was born to an American mother and Iranian father, and first became involved with IAAB as the Hospitality Coordinator for the 2006 Conference.

Lily Panah - Finance Coordinator

Lily Panah is a recent graduate of the Boston Latin School, in Boston, Massachusetts, and is now enrolled at the University of Maryland, College Park. While growing up in Boston, Ms. Panah was actively involved in the Persian community as a member of the Iranian Association of Boston. She was a contributing writer for the community newsletter, participated in and helped to organize various cultural events, and also danced with the student-run group Aftab Dance Group. In addition to dance, Ms. Panah has studied classical piano for several years, and has a passion for Persian music. As a freshman at the University of Maryland, she has already become involved with the on-campus Persian cultural group, The Iranian Students’ Foundation. Ms. Panah’s involvement with IAAB began in summer 2006, as a proud camper at the organization’s inaugural camp. Her first position within IAAB was as the High School Outreach Coordinator 2006-2007, and she was also a counselor at Camp Ayandeh 2007.

 

Azadeh Pourzand - Human Resources Coordinator

Azadeh Pourzand is a recent graduate of Oberlin College where she studied Comparative Literature and Latin American Studies. Throughout her undergraduate years she has done work related to human rights and women's rights in Iran and in Argentina. She is planning to pursue her studies in literature in the context of major political events, and to focus on the narratives of young women in contemporary Near East and South America in her writings.

 

Aida Sadr - Project Associate, Camp Ayandeh 2008

Aida Sadr is from the greater Boston area, is a graduate of Milton Academy, and a current Freshman at Columbia University, in New York City. Her involvement with IAAB has covered a range of experiences. At the tender age of 18, she attended IAAB's first summer camp as a camper, and joined the staff that same year. Last fall, she lived in Tehran, updating IAAB's Project Connection, deciphering classical Iranian poetry, and walking around the majestic icons of Persian culture such as Darius' Persepolis, and Northern Iran's pomegranate arboretums. After a brief three-month jaunt with manual labor at an organic farm in France last spring, she returned to the United States, and was greeted by the warm grin of Camp Ayandeh '07. This time she wore the hat of a counselor, and is exuberant about being a part of the camp team for this summer's camp.

Amina Serway - Project Associate, Camp Ayandeh 2008

Amina Serway is from the Northern Virginia area and is currently in her freshman year at Georgia Tech where she is studying Civil Engineering. Ms. Serway joins IAAB's staff this year after being a camper in the organization's first leadership camp in 2006.

Shabnam Sharbatoghlie - Project Manager, Student Summit

Shabnam Sharbatoghlie is a senior at Wellesley College where she is double majoring in International Relations and French. Ms. Sharbatoghlie has been actively involved as a community organizer and volunteer for Boston-area youth. She has also conducted research on youth leadership training programs through the REU Social Science Program. Ms. Sharbatoghlie is the past president and current vice president of the Wellesley Persian Students’ Association. She has spent time living and studying in Paris and Aix-en-Provence, France, and has spent many summers traveling extensively throughout Iran.

Sheena Shirakhon - Executive Director

Sheena Shirakhon is a Senior at Columbia University, majoring in Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Cultures. Ms. Shirakhon began her work with IAAB as a Project Connection volunteer in 2005. She spent the summers of 2005 and 2006 in Shiraz and Tehran, respectively, developing relationships with NGOs and universities to involve them in the resource guide that connects second generation Iranians and Iranian institutions. Throughout the Spring of 2007, Ms. Shirakhon worked with IAAB as the Project Manager for IAAB's Third International Conference on the Iranian Diaspora and spent the following summer working for the Center for Iranian Studies at Columbia University. Upon completing her studies at Columbia in December 2007, Sheena will join the Close Up Foundation in Washington D.C., a non-profit civic education organization. Ms. Shirakhon enjoys reading Persian and Arabic literature, performing improvisational theater, and traveling.

Mina Tehrani - Project Manager, Essay Contest

Mina Tehrani grew up in New York City but has spent her summers in Tehran since she was a child. She has pursued her interest of internationalism all her life, participating in a semester-long exchange program in Budapest in 2003 and receiving Bronx High School of Science’s award for Excellence in Mandarin and Spanish. Ms. Tehrani took a year in 2006-2007 to be an intern at a refugee resettlement organization in Chicago, and to study Persian literature and work with NGOs in Tehran. She is now a first-year at Macalester College, where she continues to be active in working with community organizations.