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BIOGRAPHY My life has been defined by the love of family, a passion for education, and a belief that we all have an obligation to get involved in the political process in order to move our communities in the right direction. My childhood was not a typical one. I was born in Iran, the youngest of five children. I was three years old when my family moved to Germany. Sadly, just a few months after we settled in, my father passed away. My mom made the difficult decision to remain in Germany, raising her five children as a single mother. After a decade in Germany, when I was thirteen years old, she decided to move the family back to Iran. I was enrolled in the German High School in Tehran where, for the next six years, I received a first class education and developed a love for languages, literature, politics and philosophy. Two years before my graduation, my mother passed away after a long illness, and when I graduated, I decided to pursue my higher education in the United States. I earned my Bachelors degrees in Political Science and German Literature after three years at the University of California, San Diego, where I also began Graduate School in German Literature. After my first year of graduate school, I transferred to UC Irvine where I was given the opportunity to teach German as a Teaching Assistant. Shortly before completing my Master’s degree, I married my husband Firouz (Fred). We first lived in San Francisco, where I started a career in the Banking industry, and then Los Angeles. In 1994 we decided to move to Irvine where we could be closer to the rest of my family and two years later, we settled in at our current home in Woodbridge. Both of our children (Alex and Layla) have attended local Irvine schools. Alex graduated from Woodbridge High, and Layla is currently attending High School. Ever since they started school I have been an active volunteer at their schools, and have served as a member of school site councils, worked in classrooms and helped to plan events. My active civic life began in 2005 when I was given the opportunity to work as Mayor Beth Krom's Executive Assistant. In that capacity, I served as her community liaison, working directly with our local educational, cultural and non-profit institutions. In 2007, recognizing that I had an interest in expanding my public service capacity, Mayor Krom appointed me to serve on the Irvine Community Services Commission, where I have also been honored to serve as Chair since 2008. Through my work with Mayor Krom and my experience on the Community Services Commission, I have gained valuable insight into local government and what it takes to build, support and sustain community resources in a diverse and growing city. My decision to run for City Council reflects my interest in ensuring a bright future for our community. Over the coming months, I look forward to engaging people from throughout the City of Irvine, discussing the important issues on people¹s minds and sharing my ideas as well. I am a thinker and a doer, and I look forward to the opportunity to represent the citizens of Irvine, by always listening to their concerns and viewpoints, and by working together to make this city an even better place to live. |
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