Davood Rahni reporting from New York

Dr. Akbar Ghahary, the CEO of SAFAS Corporation was interviewed on the Voice of American's Radio/TV program Round Table, hosted by Bijan Farhoodi on Saturday April 19. You may go to the VOA's archives and select the one-hour interview to watch and listen to him at http://www.voanews.com/persian/_-roundtable.cfm

Dr. Ghahary provides an overview of the Iranian-American Community, especially with respect to its duly earned stature on the national agenda. He presents a collective vision and a myriad of venues on which the aspirations of Iranian-Americans of nearly one million strong is envisaged, advocated and advanced. Among such endeavors, full participations in the American political process, has increasingly taken prudent credence and priority as a result, he surmises. 

Specifically, he refers to a number of prominent institutions in which he has and continues to play an active philanthropic and leadership role. Amongst such organizations, he cites The Encyclopaedia Iranica Project founded and headed by the Columbia University's Professor Ehsan Yareshter,  Persian Cultural Foundation which spear-heads sponsoring Iranian related symposia, colloquia, and scholarly outputs including the forthcoming Who's Who Among the Iranian-Americans, the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans  (PAAIA),  and last but not least The Iranian-American Political Action Committee (IAPAC) which supports regional and national political candidates for Office whose visions accommodate the aspirations and priorities of Iranian-Americans in the broader American context.  Amongst candidates currently endorsed by IAPAC are: Gordon Smith (US Senate, R-Oregon), John Campbell (House, R-CA), Michael Honda (House, D-CA), Niki Tsongas (House, D-MA) Jimmy Delsahd (Mayor, Beverly Hills CA), Farah Douglas (City Council, Carlsbad CA) and Dariush Shahinfar (House, D-NY).

Dariush Shahinfar the prominent Iranian-American Attorney from Albany New York is the IAPAC's latest endorsee, who is running for Congress as a democrat on the platform of "Renewing American Promise."

Akbar Ghahary is a pioneer among a progressively growing cohort of visionary philanthropists and benefactors who have sustainably provided substantive intellectual and material resources toward the advancement of the stature of the Iranian-American community.

... Payvand News - 04/22/08 ...