Time

Duration

Performance

Bio/Brief

1:00 pm

30 minutes reception

1.30

One Hour

Hon. Laura Casas- Frier- moderator

Attorney, President of Foothill-De Anza Community College District Board of Trustees.
She is recently elected President of the Board of Trustees to the Foothill - De Anza Community College District Board. 
She is a Juris Doctor from Santa Clara University School of Law, and has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, CSU Northridge.
She has been Senior Claims Representative in American International Group, a commercial liability carrier and her duties included managing serious injury and wrongful death claims and lawsuits.
Her current Community Services are :
•  Member, Community College League of California Advisory Council on Legislation and Finance
• Trustee Representative, Foothill-De Anza Community College District Finance Committee
•  Board Member, Mesa de la Comunidad, a non-profit community organization dedicated to youth in Mountain View
• Vice President of Parent Education, PTA 6th District Board, Santa Clara County Mentor and member of scholarship committee, Los Altos-Mountain View Community Scholars
• Member, Education Committee, League of Women Voters of Santa Clara County
• Member, Education Committee, League of Women Voters Los Altos/Mountain View
She has won several Awards and Recognitions:
•  La Raza Alumni Life Time Achievement Award, CSU Northridge
•  Certificate of Commendation, Santa Clara County Supervisor Liz Kniss
•  Certificate of Recognition, California Assembly Member Tony Cardenas
•  Recognition for Outstanding Dedication to Women, Women Advancing the Valley Through Education, Economics and Empowerment, Los Angeles
•  Certificate of Appreciation, U.S. Rep. Howard Berman
•  Certificate of Commendation, Los Angeles City Council Member Richard Alarcon
•  Outstanding Room Parent, PTA, Oak Elementary School, Los Angeles

Ms. Farideh Luie 

http://www.gfmer.ch/Art_for_Health/AH.htm

I was born in Iran and I have lived in the United States since 1980.  I have two children;  my daughter has a PhD in Psychology, and my son is a Radiologist.  I have two beautiful little grandsons.  I speak Farsi, English and limited Spanish.

I received my nursing and midwifery degrees in Iran and was an honor student while pursuing both degrees. While working in the Ministry of  Health in Iran, I served in various governmental  hospitals and clinics.  My last position in Iran was Administrator of the Nurse Midwifery School.

In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I obtained my Nurse Practitioner certificate in Women’s Health and also achieved my NCC certificate.  In addition,  I had advanced training in colposcopy and cervical cancer screening at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan.  After several years, I moved to San Jose, California.

Since my move to lovely California,  I have worked as a Nurse Practitioner at both the Planned Parenthood Organization  and at Kaiser Permanente. I have had the opportunity to meet and serve the health care needs of a wide range of women from teen to mid life and from all racial, ethnic and economic backgrounds.  While at Planned Parenthood, I created a clinic to serve teenagers’ needs and I am happy to say that I received numerous awards and much appreciation for my efforts. I have had the opportunity to train many  Nurse Practitioners students, and also, Kaiser Obstetric and Gynecology  residents. My mission has always been  to give high quality professional care delivered with compassion and the willingness to share my expertise with students as well as my colleagues.                  

The other passion in my life has always been music.  I am a vocalist and am interested in traditional Persian music and folk music and proud to say that I was trained by prominent music teachers.  I have performed in many cultural and academic organizations, and received several awards.  My most recent interest has been in learning to play the Santoor, an ancient Iranian instrument. 

I am the co-president of a non-profit, The Iranian Federated Women’s Club and Payvand Organization. I very much enjoy participating in this wonderful organization.

Hon. Pearl Cheng

Bio for Pearl Cheng
2/09

Pearl Cheng is a Board Trustee with the Foothill-DeAnza Community College District.  She was appointed to the Board in December 2008 to fill a vacancy when a board member was elected to the State Assembly.  The FHDA Community College District serves close to 45,000 students in the local area preparing them for work, certificate programs, and transfer to four-year institutions.

Upon appointment to the FHDA Board, Pearl left the Cupertino Union School District (CUSD) Board of Education where she served for eight years; President for two terms.  CUSD is the 3rd largest school district in Santa Clara County with over 17,000 students from parts of Sunnyvale, Los Altos, Santa Clara, San Jose, Saratoga, and all of Cupertino. 

Pearl joined the United Way Silicon Valley as a Program Director in 2006 in the education arena.  She is director of the Alternative Education Collaborative (AEC) working on behalf of youth at-risk of dropping out of school to ensure multiple pathways to success. The AEC works across institutional boundaries to build partnerships and advocacy throughout Santa Clara County including school districts, Juvenile Court, Dept. of Probation, Children and Family Services, cities, truancy departments, non-profits, faith based organizations, community colleges, foundations, and business. 

Pearl left a successful high-tech 19-year career with NASA to devote all her time to public service in 2000 when she joined the CUSD School Board.  At NASA she worked as an engineer, project manager, and just prior to leaving NASA served as Associate Director of the Information Sciences Directorate.  She was a Project Manager for Space Shuttle and Space Station experiment development in support of life sciences research.  She served nine years as a line manager for engineering and space project divisions.  While at NASA-Ames  Pearl  received a number of NASA group achievement awards and two Mentoring awards.  She worked on behalf of projects such as the building of one of the first on-site childcare centers at a workplace; job-sharing for employees; and diversity programs where she was a co-founder of the Multicultural Leadership Council.   She also completed the NASA-sponsored Senior Executive Service Career Development Program, an 18-month executive development training program with extensive management training courses and internships.

Pearl received her MS in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford and her BS in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Iowa. 

Pearl serves on various boards and advisory councils:  Santa Clara County School Boards Association (covering all 33 school districts)- member and past President;  Youth Services Director for the Cupertino Rotary Club; DeAnza Community College Commission; and served on the American Red Cross Board.  Pearl was selected in March 2004 as the “2004 Woman of the Year” by Assemblymember Sally Lieber of the 22nd Assembly District covering the cities of Cupertino, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, and parts of Santa Clara and San Jose. 

In education Pearl has been a strong advocate and leader for public education and opportunities for all children.  She has been a speaker at rallies in support of Prop. 98 and stabilizing education funding; helped to form the Education Coalition of Santa Clara County in 2005 with partner organizations of SEIU, CSEA, CTA, PTA, ACSA, School Boards Association, and the County Office of Education; is active with student exchange; served as a speaker at conferences sponsored by the California School Boards Association specifically on topics of leadership, collaboration, and dual-immersion language programs.

Pearl was selected in 2005 for a prestigious Alumni Leadership Medal by her undergraduate alma mater, the University of Iowa.  Only one alumnus is chosen each year, and she is the youngest to receive this honor.  Pearl is also the first to have received the student medal as well as the alumni leadership award.  In June 2007, Pearl was selected and initiated into the University of Iowa's College of Engineering Distinguished Alumni Academy.

Pearl has two children attending local public schools and a very supportive and community-minded husband.  In her free time Pearl enjoys reading, hiking, and having a good dinner and conversation with friends and family.

Ms. Ann Woo

Ann Woo’s Bio

Ms. Woo, dancer, playwright, and producer, has long been instrumental in introducing Chinese dance to the local communities in past 35 years. Ms. Woo served as Executive Director of the Chinese Folk Dance Association of San Francisco from 1979 to 1987. She co-founded the Asian Heritage Council in the South Bay in 1984. In 1991, Ms. Woo founded Chinese Performing Arts of America (CPAA) with a mission to present Chinese arts as a world treasure of exceptional beauty and richness. 
Ms. Woo has a BSEE degree from UC, Berkeley and a MSEE from San Jose State University. She worked as an electronic engineer for 30 years with nine patents in her field. Drawing upon her vast experiences both in hi-tech industry and performing art production, CPAA, under Ms. Woo’s management, has grown significantly in the past 18 years and served over 900,000 audience nation wide.
CPAA's principal artists are accomplished choreographers and composers; highly trained professional dancers, musicians, kung fu masters, acrobats, magicians, and Peking opera singers from China. Under Ms. Woo’s direction, CPAA is the only company in US with the artistic resources and expertise to produce professional and diverse Chinese programs on an ongoing basis. Since 1991, Ms. Woo has premiered full-scale productions at CPAA’s annual Chinese Performing Arts Festival. The memorable productions include Sorrow of the Great Wall in 1996; Dragon2000 in 2000; Masters & Masterpieces in 2002; Symphonic Chinese Ballet in 2003; Dances of China – A Journey of 5,000 Years in 2004; Middle Kingdom – Ancient China in 2005; Eternal Moon River in 2006; Shaolin Temple Monks in 2007; Dream of the Butterfly in 2008; and Spring Festival Silicon Valley in 2009.
Since 2004, Ms. Woo has led her company with its spectacular productions touring California, Hawaii, Nevada, Florida, Texas, Idaho, New York, Washington State, Massachusetts, Alaska, British of Columbia, Ontario, and Beijing.
In 2004, Ms. Woo established CPAA Arts Center as a subsidiary under CPAA. A 14,000 sq. ft. professionally built and managed facility, the center is the home of CPAA’s 30 resident artists who create their arts and teach 1,200 students at the center. Since 2005, Ms. Woo has organized the International Multi-Arts Festival (IntMAT) that is comprised of several art competitions: Dance Talent, Folk Instruments, Painting, Vocal, Piano, Photography, and Martial Arts. Ms. Woo serves as the event Chair supervising different committees that take charge of different competitions. The goal of IntMAT is to promote cultural exchanges through arts programs outreaching to out of state and abroad. Every year, over 1,000 art enthusiasts compete for the titles.
For her outstanding services to the community, Ms. Woo was awarded the “2002 Women’s Achievement Award in Art” by Women’s Fund in Silicon Valley. In 2003, Ms. Woo received the “2003 CREST Award” by the City of Cupertino and “Asian Hero 2003” award by Santa Clara county Supervisor Liz Kniss. She also received “Community Hero” award in 2004 by World Journal, and “Local Asian Hero” by KQED in 2006. In 2008, Ms. Woo received the Malonga Casquelourd Lifetime Achievement Award from World Arts West in San Francisco.

Ms. Sharlyn Sawyer

Sharlyn Sawyer - cultural arts specialist - community activist
Artistic Director, Ballet Afsaneh

A director, producer and dancer/choreographer for her own dance companies since the age of eighteen, Sharlyn Sawyer founded Ballet Afsaneh in 1986. The organization assumed nonprofit status in 1991. Ms. Sawyer has served as the executive director of the 501(c)3 since 1997; while simultaneously continuing her role as artistic director of Ballet Afsaneh and her ongoing work as a practicing artist. With over thirty years of experience as a producer and director for numerous presentations, she is also an accomplished videographer and graphic designer.

A prolific artist, Ms. Sawyer has choreographed dozens of new works and expanded traditional Central Asian art forms for contemporary theatrical venues. She is considered to be a pioneer of Central Asian performing arts in Northern California. Ballet Afsaneh is actually listed in the Wikipedia as the “most notable ensemble of Persian dance.” Her decades of field research and study with master teachers in the US and Central Asia encompass a wide spectrum of diverse dance genre. This knowledge base and creative passion have enabled her to make a significant contribution at a critical time in history, both directly and through the ongoing legacy of her many students.

Ms. Sawyer has received achievement awards from many Iranian-American and Afghan cultural organizations.

Dr. Mehravar Marzbani

Narrative of a profile – Dr. Mehravar Marzbani (A wife, a mother and a Grandmother)

Since her childhood, Mehravar had a passion for working and helping others in need. She is also known as “Nazee”.

From the very beginning she carried the beacon of leadership and always strived and achieved her stated objectives. Being a good student while in School, she was made the substitute teacher, to teach in her own class when the teacher was sick for several months. To accomplish this task, Mehravar had to go to the teacher’s house every evening and prepare for the next days of class. She taught all the subjects. Besides teaching and learning, she was an ardent sports enthusiast, basketball being her favorite. She participated in the school band, where she, having self taught the instrument, played piano and accordion. Overall, she was an accomplished student.

While studying Social Work, she managed to obtain her Bachelor and Masters Degree in Psychology at the University of Tehran. She also accomplished a Masters degree in Social Planning at the same university.

She got married right at the day of her last exam in Social Work. While studying, she managed to take care of her husband, house, her two children and her studies at the same time. Her husband gave her the full support for her studies and freedom in every aspects of life. He considered “education as an insurance policy that nobody could steal it”. Without him these achievements would not be possible.

Continuing her studies in Psychology, she met and worked under the guidance of some of her role models. These include, her teachers Dr. Farrokhroo Parsa, Dr. Mehri and Dr. Shapour Rasekh, Ms. Sattareh Farmanfarmaian, Dr. Mehrangiz Manoochehrian, Dr. Gholamhossein Sadighi, among many.

During and after her studying, she was well qualified to work and was sought after by some of the Govt. Institutions in Iran. She ended up by teaching Psychology and Social Psychology on a part time basis at the Statistical Centre of Iran, Tehran University and Women’s University (Madreseh Aali Dokhtaran). She gained the respect of her students and peers. She worked as a Social Planner for the “Plan and Budget Organization of Iran”. There, she helped develop and implement plans for the mentally ill, mentally delayed children, drug addicts, blind, deaf and prostitutes who were in need of special assistance and rehabilitation.

It was about this time in 1975 till 1981, that the family moved to Italy and France due to her husband’s assignment. Being what is inherent in her, where she acquainted herself with the Montessori teaching methods in Italy, and when in France, she enrolled for a Ph.D. degree at the Sorbonne University in Paris however, it was left unfinished due to the family’s migration to Australia in 1981.

In Australia she conducted research on the Iranian settlement in Australia. To gather proper information she worked closely with the Immigration Department and the Australian Bureau of Statistics. She looked into their settlement problems, schooling problems for Iranian children and language difficulties for the elderly Iranians. Taking these factors into consideration, she founded a Saturday Persian School (Kaveh Pars) for the Iranian children and English classes for the seniors. She was also instrumental in setting up the “Persian Cultural and Education Organization”.

The Zoroastrians in Sydney had no specific place they could call their own place for gatherings. She obtained funds from two philanthropists among her relatives, Rostam and Morvarid Giv in the USA and played a major role in realizing the dreams of having a “Darb-e-Mehr” in Sydney.

At the Sydney University she was a guest lecturer on Ancient Persian Culture and Zarathushtra’s teachings. She was responsible for funding and setting up three semesters for Prof. K. Irani, to teach Ancient Persian Culture and Zoroastrianism.

Along with a few colleagues interested in Iranian culture, she organized in 1994 a program for the Mehregan festival. This was a team effort and was planned at an international level. Over 26 Scholars and Authors were invited from all over the world to participate in this ten days event to speak and present their topics at the forums set up at the University of Sydney. The highlight of this festival was the erection and unveiling of the Bas Relief of Cyrus the Great, king of Persia.  The statue was erected at the Sydney Bicentennial/Olympic Park. This program was a huge success, and was repeated in 1998. This time it was extended to a seven day event and was met with equal success. As a result, the Iranian community was gaining visibility and acceptability in the Australian society, which itself is a multicultural society.

At the Sydney University, she enrolled for her Ph.D. degree which she had not completed in Paris. She had to start the whole process again, and with determination went after it and obtained her Ph.D on Inner Happiness/Peace and International Peace. She found that the answer to her long term search was in fact hidden in the Gathas, Hymns of Zarathushtra in about 1700 BCE. She titled her thesis “The Gathas Revisited: A re-appraisal of Zarathushtra’s Vision”. This thesis is the academic work on the Gathas of Zarathushtra to this day.

According to her the key to achieving inner happiness and International peace is awareness of Universal Order/Cosmic Ethics, in other words Asha. She has devoted most of her life to spread this awareness in order to achieve Inner Happiness and International Peace.

Today, she is regarded as a leading figure and a renowned member of the Iranian Community in Australia. She is the founder and coordinator of a youth group called Sydjavanan and has a major role in organizing all the Iranian festivals and gatherings in Sydney.

She claims that she has been inspired by her mother who was the main cause to make her familiar with Zarathushtra, along with Siddhartha (Buddha), Mahatma Gandi, Nelson Mandela, Prof. K. Irani, Prof. Jalaleddin Ashtiani and Prof. Garry Trompf who are amongst the rare people who think universally and that we are all part of the whole existence.

She believes that the essence of her accomplishments is the nourishment of her family, Bahman who possesses Vohumana; Ramin who is with Armaiti; Nirvana who has reached nirvana; Asha, Autrina, Atessa who are the creation of Nirvana; Niki and Indira/Mina who are the creation of Ramin; along with Khashayar and Leslie as a part of the family.

2:30

15 minutes

Break

2:45

15  min

Presenting Music by:
Ustad Farida Mahwash: Legendary vocalist from Afghanistan

Mahwash (born Farida Mahwash, in 1947, Kabul, Afghanistan) commonly referred to as Ustad Mahwash is a popular Afghan singer. She is the first and the only woman to have been conferred the honorary title of "Ustad" (meaning Master or Maestra in Persian). She currently lives in exile in California, U.S.; however, she occasionally does tour other countries for performances

Farida Mahwash was born to a conservative family in Afghanistan. Her mother was teacher of Quran and therefore religion influenced her upbringing. Her interest in music, because of this factor, was suppressed for years as the Afghan society of that time looked upon female singers and musicians with contempt. Upon completion of her studies, Farida accepted a position in the Kabul Radio Station. She was discovered here by the director of the radio station who was impressed by her voice and therefore encouraged Farida to pursue singing as a career.

Farida took music and singing lessons under the scholarship of Ustad Mohammad Hashem Cheshti. He was an established maestro and put the protégé to rigorous training. Most of the lessons were based on classical Indian music that serve to train most Afghan singers up until today. In 1977, Farida was conferred the title of Maestra by Ustad Sarahang, a controversial honor that had up until this point been reserved only for men. After this time, she also released her first album which was well received by the intrigued public who were eager to discover the new music master themselves.

After the political turmoil of late 70s and early 80s that extended into the 90s, Farida was forced to leave Afghanistan in 1991. She moved to Pakistan where she took refuge from the two warring sides of the time, each of whom warned her to sing for their cause or else face assassination. Worn and exhausted, she applied for asylum abroad. Her plight was recognized by UNHCR who granted her political asylum in the United States.

Since her move to the U.S., she has recorded several notable albums. She also led the music group Kaboul Ensemble in 2003 in the World Music Awards by BBC.

Awards

• Janis Joplin Award
• Golden Voice Award
• World Music 2003 Award, by BBC, Winner in the Asia Category, within the Kaboul Ensemble

3:00

45  min

Panel: Laura Casas Frier

Panel

Ms.Homa Faravashi - Author, Poet, Teacher

Education: Tehran University, M.A. in Educational Psychology: Her thesis was on Persian grammar and the role of mozaaf and mozafon elayh  مضاف و مضافٌ علیه , under the supervision of Dr. Qharib

Tehran University , B.A in Persian Literature: Her thesis was written on the role of women in Divaan-e Nezaami, under Dr. Zabihollah Safa's supervision.

Academic Background: Azad University , Tehran, Iran         
Lecturer in Persian literature to undergraduate students working toward their Bachelor of Arts degree. The course work comprised of teaching the works of various Persian poets/philosophers such as Rumi, Saadi and khayam.                
Bu Ali Senior High School, Tehran, Iran
Arabic and Persian instructor to 12th grade students. The course work comprised of Grammar, Reading comprehension, and Interpretation.

1985-1991: Mitra High School, Tehran, Iran
Philosophy, History, Arabic Instructor. Modern Philosophy course work covered post Hegel theories spanning 19th through 20th centuries. History courses covered the Iranian historical occurrences during the last 300 years. The course work comprised of Grammar, Reading comprehension, and Interpretation.

1967-1985: Various middle School and High Schools, Tehran, Iran - Persian and Arabic literature instructor

Publication:
Pileh
Panjereha
Dar aabi bavarha
Yadeh yareh mehraban (on the life of her husband, the famous Iranian scholar, Dr. Bahram Faravashi)

Ms. Azin Arefi  - Author, Teacher

Azin Arefi holds degrees in literature and writing from UC Berkeley and UC Davis. Her award-winning short stories have been published in several publications, including the anthology, Let me Tell You Where I’ve Been: New Writings by the Women of the Iranian Diaspora and the Momoya Annual Review, based in London.  Most of her stories navigate the Persian culture. She also teaches literature and creative writing at De Anza College and San Jose City college.

Ms. Dori Fadavi  -  Author

Excerpt from her first book "Angel of Love" which is in production. She graduated as an interpreter in Persian, English, and French from Farah University in Tehran.  She worked for a Newspaper in Washington DC (Iran Times International Newspaper) for seven years. Recently I graduated in Graphic Design.

Ms. Fariba Nejat - Community Organizer, Teacher, Fine Art Artist

Fariba Nejat was born in Tehran, Iran. She emigrated to the U.S. in 1983 where she has become a naturalized citizen. She is living in Bay Area in the city of Cupertino with her husband, Mehrdod Nejat. She has a son, Nima and a daughter, Roxanna.

She has a B.S. in Physics from Iran and an M.S. in Leadership Organization from USA.  She continued her education in Computational Physics, Computer Sciences.

She has 25 years of leadership experience and employs her knowledge in executing projects that benefit her community. She has worked with organizations in a global level and encourages California’s diverse communities to be more involved. And she involves herself with her community and takes charge of public and media relations, advertising, fundraising, and event planning in several Higher Educational Institutions.

She is the founder and president of several California nonprofit organizations such as Iranian Federation Women’s Club (IFWC), Payvand and is commissioner for Foothill & De Anza colleges, which offer educational programs and services to California communities.

She has taken painting lessons under the tutelage of acclaimed Persian artists and she has produced an increasing number of artistic paintings and sculptures admirably recognized in the community. “Faces in the crowd” is a manifestation of her work and her love for Art and people.

In her own words: “Faces in the crowd is a collection of original paintings (portraits) which is an exploration of my journey as a visual artist to express my gratitude and respect to some of the community leaders and activist from different walks of life who have continuously had an impact on my life.

These individuals have, in their various capacities---artists, politicians, social workers, and community activist, have been role models for me. They have helped me personally, as well as the communities in which they live and work. My purest language is art, and through my art I hope that I capture the
essence of your personality and your humanity. It is my way of thanking
you.”

The combination of an artist and a community leader has involved her with many artistic projects for the community and her passion for art has led her to many fellow artists with whom she has created a special bond that can only enrich the community.

She not only is a visionary, she puts her life and soul into realizing and executing these visions. One of her greatest achievements in this regard is the idea of a painting of then President-Elect Obama along with a message of peace by one of the greatest Iranian poets, Sa’di to be brought to life by the community.

To accomplish this, she brought together, all of the community, man or woman, young and old of different backgrounds and created the painting that now is in Washington D.C. in record time. 

And her zeal for humanity has kept her happily preoccupied with civic and community activism, social justice, which has resulted her to be the “one of the six women who changed the faces of Silicon Valley” by San Jose Mercury News.

She started Payvand in 1995 and IFWC in 1996 to present. On the professional level, Fariba Nejat has worked for several high-tech companies as software Engineer.

She has received numerous awards from the County of Santa Clara, City of Cupertino and the local colleges for her life-long contributions toward the welfare of our community.

Ms. Payandeh Shahandeh  - Jewelry Artist - Paris/ France

Payandeh Shahandeh was born in Shiraz, Iran.  She graduated from college of Fine Arts of Tehran University in 1961 and the Academy of Fine Arts of Venice, Italy in 1969, with specialization in modern ceramic, and glasswork sculpture.  From 1971-1977 she was assistant professor of art in College of Fine arts at the University of Tehran.  In 1977 she immigrated to France.  She is a member of the French Union of Artists.  For more than 20 years she has been in charge of an instructional Jewelry workshop funded by the Association for the Development of Art and Culture (ADAC) in Paris.
Payandeh is an active artist who lives and works in Paris, France.  During her career as a jewelry artist she had numerous exhibitions of her work in France, Italy, Canada, Switzerland, and Iran.
More than four decades of experience and unique techniques are signified in her work. She creates each piece by hand as it gains the unique character of the tool and the hand motion, in contrast with the mass-produced look created by modern tools.  She gets some of her inspiration from the organic forms found in nature.  Nature, culture, history, finery, and ornaments of all kind influence her work.