Management

Haleh Emrani  - Chief Executive Officer

Haleh Emrani is a retired Computer Consultant with extensive experience in UNIX-based solutions, Network Connectivity, Security, and Data Management.

She is the manager and web coordinator of www.sasanika.com _ Sasanika: Late Antique Near East Project, and the webmaster of www.IranAncientHistory.com _ Bulletin of Iranian Ancient History, an academic online journal. She is a member of the American Historical Association, International Society for Iranian Studies and Middle East Studies Association.

Haleh Emrani holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, a Master of Arts in History, and is a C. Phil, currently working towards her PhD in Near Eastern History at University of California, Los Angeles.

Hassan Izad  - Chief Financial Officer

Hassan Izad is President and CEO of Torrance Flite Park (TFP) a construction and development company engaged in construction and management of Airplane hangars for Civil Aviation. He is also Managing Director of GBS Construction, LLC.

Previously, Hassan has had a diverse entrepreneurial background, including work with the University of Southern California School of Engineering Computer Center, consulting with Industrial Management Institute of Iran, an instructor for Operations Research in a management training program, Arthur D. Little, founder and president of Isolayer Co. and founder and president of Cuvolt Co. in Iran. He has also served on many boards including those of Sterling Bank, Westech Corporation, and Phoenix Electronics.

He is a graduate of the University of Southern California with a Master's degree in Operations Research and Systems Engineering

Dr. Nahid Pirnazar - Secretary

Dr. Nahid Pirnazar has been a Lecturer of Iranian Studies at UCLA since 1997, currently teaching Persian language and literature as well as the History of Iranian Jews and Judeo-Persian Literature.

She is also the founder and president of The House of Judeo-Persian Manuscripts, an academic organization that collects, preserves, transliterates and publishes Judeo-Persian documents and manuscripts. Nahid also serves as an executive Board Member and Director of Academics, Research & Publications in the Habib Levy Cultural & Educational Foundation.

Nahid received her Ph.D. and Masters in Iranian Studies from UCLA and has a Masters in English as a Second Language from Tehran University.

Dr. Fariba Taghavi - Chair of the Council

Dr. Fariba Taghavi is lecturer in Iranian and Middle Eastern History and Politics at Long Beach State and Occidental College. She received her MS in International Relations, focusing on the Middle East from Jackson School of International Studies at University of Washington. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science and History of the Islamic World from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is a member of Political Science Association and Middle East Studies Association of North America.

In her capacity as a researcher and educator she has been involved in number of projects at various universities, working on gender, political philosophy and modernity in Iran. Dr. Taghavi is also the President and CEO of Mithra Lights, Inc., which is a certified women-owned business enterprises (MWBE), headquartered in Anaheim, California. Mithra Lights is a signage and lighting repair and maintenance company servicing regional and national clients since 1999.

David W. Newman - Legal Counsel (Pro Bono)

David Wheeler Newman chairs the Tax Department at the Los Angeles law firm of Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP where his practice focuses on the representation of charitable organizations in matters pertaining to governance, tax exemption and charitable gift planning, as well as individuals and families in their estate planning and tax planning pertaining to their investment activities. His institutional clients include The UCLA Foundation, The Salvation Army, hospital foundations, California Institute of Technology and The Nature Conservancy.

David's professional affiliations include the National Committee on Planned Giving, where he was a member of that organization's board of directors and the American Council on Gift Annuities, where he currently serves on the board and as chair of its State Regulations Committee. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.

David has served the community in leadership positions with several organizations. He is the President Emeritus of New Roads School in Santa Monica, a member of the Professional Advisors Council of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the Men's Garden Club of Los Angeles. He graduated with honors in Economics from Claremont McKenna College, and received his JD from UCLA School of Law and his LL.M in Tax Law from New York University School of Law.

Offcial Photographer

Banafsheh P.Abadi

Academic Committee

Janet Afary

University of California Santa Barbara

Amin Banani

University of California Los Angeles

Richard N. Frye

Harvard University

Ali Gheissari

University of San Diego

Arash Khazeni

Claremont McKenna College

Afshin Matin-Asgari

California State University Los Angeles

Ali Mousavi

Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Jasamin Rostam-Kolayi

California State University Fullerton

Matthew W. Stolper

University of Chicago

Hossein Ziai

University of California Los Angeles