National Iranian American Council

The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) was founded in early 2002, and describes itself as "a non-partisan, non-political, non-sectarian, and non-profit organization dedicated to promoting Iranian-American participation in American civic life." 

"NIAC's activities will center around four separate objectives:


 * "Building a database of Iranian American organizations through services and activities that support collaboration and cooperation among grassroots groups.
 * "Encouraging opportunities for the Iranian-American community to represent itself in its own words and on its own terms by promoting media outlets directed at enhancing public awareness and education about the community.
 * "Supporting capacity-building activities for Iranian-American organizations through information sharing, professional development, voter registration and the promotion of philanthropy among Iranian-Americans.
 * "Fostering greater understanding between Iran and the United States by creating opportunities for Iranian-Americans to serve as a natural bridge between both peoples."

"NIAC is launching its Public Service and Journalism Fellowship Program for Iranian-American youth next year, and will aim to award its first group of fellows in Summer 2005 with internship placements." 

NIAC runs the US-Iran Media Resource Project, which is funded through grants by Connect US Fund and the Ploughshares Fund.

Funding
NIAC has been, according to its 2003 annual report, a recipient of grants from the following U.S. foundations :
 * The Open Society Institute
 * Tides Foundation
 * National Endowment for Democracy
 * Kenbe Foundation
 * Kamyar and Goli Foundation

Staff 2006
Source
 * Neda Almubarak, Intern
 * Shervin Boloorian, Legislative Director
 * Marjan H. Ehsassi, Board Member And Director Of Legal Programs
 * Goli Fassihian, Communications Consultant
 * Nathan C. Hunerwadel, Intern
 * Dr. Mohammad Mansouri, Project Manager
 * Sean Murphy, Board Member And Technology Advisor
 * Trita Parsi, President
 * Melahat Rafiei, Development Consultant
 * Ashton Rogers
 * Ehsan Tabesh, Office Manager

Directors 2006
Source
 * Trita Parsi, President
 * Djamshid Foroughi, Secretary
 * Parissa Behnia
 * Shahri Estakhry
 * Hossein Hosseini
 * Mohamad Navab
 * Alex Patico, Treasurer
 * Mojtaba Akbarzadeh
 * Ali Dabiri
 * Elahe Enssani
 * Sean Murphy

Emeritus Board members and former Executive Directors

 * Dokhi Fassihian, August 2003-September 2005
 * Marjan H. Ehsassi, January 2003-August 2003

Advisory Board 2006
On its website, the NIAC listed the members of its Advisory Committee, as of November 2006, as comprising 
 * Abol Ardalan, Phd
 * Michael Chegini, Phd
 * Hadi Ghaemi, Phd
 * Matt Ghaffari
 * Ali Golchin
 * Thomas Greene Phd
 * Ladan Manteghi
 * The Honorable Jim Moody Phd
 * Davood Rahni, Phd
 * Nader Rastegar, MBA
 * Babak Talebi
 * Saeed Tavazoie

Board of Directors (November 2004)

 * Trita Parsi, President, PhD Candidate, Johns Hopkins University
 * Alex Patico, Treasurer, Deputy Director, IIED
 * Jamshid Foroughi, Secretary, Vice President, Citibank
 * Michael Chegini, PhD, CEO and President, Owen Group
 * Marjan H. Ehsassi, Esq.
 * Hadi Ghaemi, PhD, Independent Researcher
 * Ali Golchin, Esq.]]
 * Ladan Manteghi, AARP
 * Sean Murphy, COO, Capitol Advantage
 * Nader Rastegar, MBA

Advisory Board (November 2004)

 * The Honorable Jim Moody, PhD, Morgan Stanley
 * Saeed Tavazoie, PhD, Associate Professor, Princeton University
 * Abdol Ardalan, PhD, President, AAA Consulting
 * Thomas Greene, PhD, Retired US Diplomat
 * Matt Ghaffari, Olympic Medalist

Source
 * Executive Director - Dokhi Fassihian, MA

Publications

 * "NIAC 2003-2004 Annual Report"
 * Trita Parsi, "Washington's Enrichment Fetish", tompaine.com, August 28, 2006.
 * Trita Parsi, "Treacherous Triangle – The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran and the United States", Yale University Press 2007.

Contact

 * Web: http://www.niacouncil.org