PACAN Leadership

Zohreh Mizrahi is the Founder and President of the Persian American Action Civic Network (PACAN). She is senior advisor and partner in the firm of Manesh and Mizrahi, APLC, which she co-founded in 1989. As one of the nation’s foremost specialists in her field, she is renowned for her distinguished work as an advocate on human rights, focusing on women and children.

In addition to practice of law, Ms. Mizrahi is currently teaching as an Adjunct Professor at the University of West Los Angeles. She has mentored and coached countless immigration attorneys, law students and community activists helping them acquire the techniques, confidence and expertise necessary to handle challenging cases of first impression in a high-stress fast-paced immigration practice.

Golnar Djahanbani is a founding member of the board of PACAN. She holds a B.S. degree in Psychology and is an ordained nondenominational Reverend, a state-authorized officiant, with two decades of experience officiating weddings around the globe. Golnar's story begins in Tehran, Iran where she was born. She and her father, General Nader Djahanbani, were establishing the first Iranian Olympic Equestrian team to compete in the Olympic Games in the Soviet Union. Their dream was soon to be realized, until the 1979 revolution broke out.

The Iranian native has studied and traveled throughout the world. These diverse settings have given Golnar a panoramic understanding of human culture and traditions that have been incorporated into her work. Golnar has been a devoted activist and advocate for Autism awareness since her son was diagnosed with Autism in 1990. The mother of two has worked and fundraised with various charities over the years, bringing awareness through her lectures on the importance of early intervention such as the 'Unspoken Taboos' panel at the Iranian-American Women's Leadership Conference about Autism Spectrum Disorder and mental health for the Iranian-American community. Golnar is also a board member at the Institute for Voices of Liberty (iVOL). Golnar's Persian heritage has been a great source of pride in her life. For over 35 years she has been an activist for the Iranian Community involved with events and programs regarding Iran and the Iranian culture.

Dr. Amir Hamidi, a key member and co-founder of PACAN, is an internationally-recognized expert in global terrorism. Highly decorated over the course of his 36 years of distinguished service, he is a seasoned US diplomat, international strategist and public policy adviser. He has collaborated with financial and government institutions, domestically and internationally, and is widely regarded as a visionary on the strategic impact of information.  He served as Country Attaché at the United States Embassy in Abu Dhabi and Consulate General in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Dr. Hamidi's ventures include his role as Chairman of the Board of Falcon Global Strategies, where he specializes in cyber-security, the application of information sharing and information security solutions for government agencies and law enforcement professionals. A certified Human Rights Consultant at the U.S. Institute of Diplomacy and Human Rights in Washington, D.C., Dr. Hamidi's endeavors extend far beyond this realm, reaching charitable, educational, and scientific bodies of work.

Serving as Resident Special Agent in Charge, Dr. Hamidi managed and directed criminal investigations and has consistently represented U.S. DOJ DEA, domestically and internationally. Furthermore, his work as Chief Executive Officer at Threat Deterrence has included the incorporation of a nine-point disruption strategy through Intelligence Led Protection (ILP), bringing threat deterrence to a whole new level. ILP provides end-to-end threat mitigation strategies that are seamless and completely integrated into the customer’s threat environment, often with much greater cost efficiencies than existing capabilities-based approaches.

Susan Azizzadeh is an active and compelling member of the Iranian-American community. Upon her 1978 arrival in the U.S., with a psychology degree from the National University of Iran, she embarked upon a teaching career. Mrs. Azizzadeh has subsequently been affiliated with numerous non-profit organizations.

She has created cultural and educational programs, as well as events to increase awareness of bigotry, bias, and inequality. Serving as President of the Iranian-American Jewish Federation (IAJF) from 2014 to 2022, Mrs. Azizzadeh has effectively united an incredibly diverse community on an international scale through her leadership on topics of social justice, gender equality and human rights. Her commendable hard work and dedication has enabled IAJF to establish strong relationships with many local and federal government officials within the State Department and Department of Foreign Affairs to combat anti-Semitism. 

She has innovatively developed Iranian-American cultural and social platforms, collaborated with multi-ethnic organizations to celebrate diversity as well as to pass the Anti-BDS Bill. An inspiring activist in respect to both human and women’s rights, Mrs. Azizzadeh is a proud advocate of peace, justice, and philanthropy.

Peyman Aghssa is a proven leader in the global auto industry having delivered successful cars and trucks to the market for over 36 years, including such icons as the Ford Explorer and the Mustang Mach-E. He is a mechanical engineer with advanced degrees in automotive engineering, specializing in the areas of vehicle crash safety engineering and simulations. He has patented over a dozen inventions related to battery electric vehicles (BEV) and energy storage systems integrity during crashes, as well as innovations for the Ford Police Interceptor vehicles, keeping our law enforcement officers safe on the roads.

In 1975, Mr. Aghssa emigrated from Iran to the US to pursue his high school and college education. He comes from a military and academic family background and although he moved to the United States as a youth, he has kept his cultural and political ties with Iranian society.  Mr. Aghssa (along with his late father General Aghssa) has been a vocal opponent of the current Iranian regime on social media.

Mr. Aghssa is one of the co-founders of PACAN that was established in 2019 in Los Angeles. He has been an outspoken activist who has consistently exposed the human rights violations in Iran since 1979. Mr. Aghssa holds the hope that Iran will rise from its ashes and that light will overcome the darkness that has overshadowed Iran for over 45 years.

Mandana Nassirkhani is the managing director of PACAN and has dedicated her tireless efforts towards making the PACAN premiere Gala an outstanding success!

Ms. Nassirkhani was born in Tehran, Iran and was forced to leave her homeland at the tender age of eight. Her parents, younger brother and she moved to Germany after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, eventually taking residence in Southern California. Ms. Nassirkhani pursued legal studies, while serving on the Board of the Imperial Iranian Air Force (IlAF) and coordinating special events for membership.

Ms. Nassirkhani is the Marketing Director of a medical facility in Orange County where she designs business solutions to achieve efficient operations and increased profitability. She is also passionate about spending quality time with her two children.

Nader Sadighi boasts an illustrious career as a renowned journalist, political commentator and analyst, and writer-producer. He is widely recognized as one of the most preeminent Iranian-American broadcast journalists having served as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Washington Bureau’s Senior White House correspondent from 2008 to 2018. Mr. Sadighi has also held several fellowships with esteemed think tanks, and is a Board Member of the Phoenix Project of Iran, as well as Angels in Blue, a nonprofit organization which supports American law enforcement.

In 2005 to 2008, Mr. Sadighi hosted a highly rated daily primetime radio talk show at KRSI in Los Angeles, CA. He launched his career as the Senior News Anchor at the National Iranian Television, Iran in 1971. Rising through the ranks to become head of the news department, he began gaining prominence. In 1972 he was appointed Deputy Editor of Channel Two in Tehran, and shortly after held the position of Chief Editor of NITV Channel One Network. By 1976 he was Senior Correspondent stationed in NITV London Bureau.

Mr. Sadighi has numerous accomplishments to his name, including being the editor and narrator of the Emmy-nominated and award-winning documentary series, ‘A Force More Powerful’ and ‘Bringing Down a Dictator’, produced and directed by the renowned Steve York. He is also the author of ‘Role of Oil in Iranian Industrialization’ and ‘The Disastrous Impact of Cultural Revolution in China’. With a wealth of experiences travelling extensively in the Middle East, Asia and Europe, Mr. Sadighi is a sought-after speaker at conferences in the United States and abroad. Ms. Sadighi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the College of Sciences and Mass Communications, Tehran, Iran and a graduate degree from the School of Commerce, Tehran, Iran.

Dr. Natasha Filippides, granddaughter of General Nader Djahanbani, is a respected Professional Psychologist, Life Coach, Author, Guest Speaker, and Equine-Assisted Mental Health Professional. She specializes in helping clients that have found themselves stuck or plateaued in their journey of healing, growth and wellness. Her extensive background in Depth Psychology provides a unique approach to her coaching practice, addressing underlying issues to shift deeply-entrenched patterns, behaviors and relational dynamics. Her particular areas of interest include couples and family relationship coaching, leadership and performance, as well as personal growth and transformation coaching. Dr. Natasha was a competitive equestrian growing up and over the past decade has used her knowledge of human and horse behavior in her work, providing equine-assisted growth and learning.  She is a contributing author to the textbook, Equine-Assisted Mental Health Interventions.  Dr. Natasha is the founder of Depth Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy (DEAP) and currently provides supervision and training for clinicians in the field.

As a community activist and advocate, Dr. Natasha is passionate about giving back to her community. She actively volunteers her time and expertise in support of various causes and is involved with several non-profit organizations including PACAN as well as CAPE (Child Abuse Prevention and Elimination Foundation).

Nicole Sadighi boasts an illustrious career as a researcher, writer, advocate, and renowned public speaker specializing in the fields of foreign policy and international affairs. From 2005 to 2008 she served as a distinguished member of the Los Angeles Iranian-American Sheriff’s Advisory Council and was an esteemed fellow researcher at the Center for the Promotion of Human Rights from 2007 to 2009. She currently holds the distinction of being a member of the Executive Committee at the Persian American Action Committee Network and is on the Executive Committee of the Institute for Voices of Liberty. Ms. Sadighi is also the proud Founder and President of Angels in Blue, a humanitarian nonprofit dedicated to supporting law enforcement. She is the Founder and President of the award-winning production company Persepolis Pictures.

As a celebrated writer, Ms. Sadighi has been a contributing writer and editor for several notable publications including the National Review, American Thinker, Shofar Magazine among others. Her insightful perspectives have earned her regular appearances as a commentator on national, international and local television and radio programs. Ms. Sadighi is highly sought after as a speaker and has delivered captivating addresses for various NGOs worldwide, collaborating with leading global experts on issues of human rights, foreign affairs and international relations. Among her awards and honors are 11 awards and 21 nominations from prestigious national and international film festivals including the Cannes Film Festival for her impactful film, "I Am Neda".

Jilla Rastegar is currently Vice President and Manager of Union Bank, Westwood Branch, where she has been working for over 20 years. She has successfully created a professional, capably-operated and client-oriented environment which earned her branch the number one position in 2012.  Her endeavors and sterling leadership continued to be recognized by upper management as she led her branch towards winning the prestigious President’s Award, consistently in the following years.

Prior to her career in banking, Jilla was an entrepreneur in the international textile field for over 10 years. Among Jilla’s passions are interior design and fashion. She is active with several nonprofit organizations and is a member of PACAN.  She is proud of her two daughters and their contributions to the community and she enjoys spending quality time with friends.

Yasmin Zafar has an extensive background in sales and marketing having worked in the motion picture industry, luxury real estate market, professional talent representation for artists/photographers, and account management in social media marketing. She currently is a marketing and public relations manager with GRiDD Technologies.

Being a mother of two boys, she has served on various school boards and has chaired many fundraising events. Yasmin has been a supporter and volunteer for PACAN since 2021. She is fluent in several languages including Spanish, French and Farsi. Yasmin’s free time is divided between her husband and grown sons, and she is passionate about traveling, entertaining, and spending time riding her horse, Luna.

Tia Goldberg graduated from UC Berkeley with a focus in Legal Studies and Media. Her education focused on pre-law and traditional advertising providing a strong foundation for her professional experience in marketing and social media implementation.

She served law enforcement by working in the Major Narcotics Unit in downtown Los Angeles and the Hardcore Gang Unit in Van Nuys. During her time at the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office, Tia assisted in the coordination of murder trials, trial prep, and acquired and transcribed wiretaps. She was chosen to advocate on behalf of all legal interns with LACDA George Gascón to discuss her unique perspective on policy and community safety. She currently serves as the transportation facilitator in northern and southern California for Get on The Bus, a nonprofit organization founded on reuniting children with family members in prison.

Tia has volunteered with PACAN for three years where she worked as a legal and media intern producing grants and media management. She spearheaded the 2023 PACAN Fundraising Gala where she was in charge of community outreach, the marketing campaign, and donation platform to raise funds and spread awareness on the eradication of human trafficking (the 2023 Gala theme).

Lim Ann Scalercio-Goldberg has an education in Business Administration and Marketing having graduated with a BA from SSU. Her career inspiration is founded on her expertise, attention to detail, and her ability to form long-term business relationships.

Lim Ann’s background includes experience as Director of Marketing for Global Challenge Program where she assisted with life skills, drug rehab and court probation. Her talent also lent her a strong foundation as a Recruiting Specialist for Workers Comp and Medical Insurance. Lim Ann then directed her expertise in sales and marketing towards a stint at Clinique and Lancôme where she was responsible for managing sales associates and increasing revenue. Her inclination towards healthy living and natural beauty led her to her current position as Sales Accountant Executive for two independent female-owned companies offering natural, organic skin and body products. Lim Ann has been a major contributor to the success of the PACAN annual Gala.

Mitra Behnezhad has been an avid promoter of Iranian culture and traditions, and a tenacious proponent of the communal observation of ancient Iranian holidays, such as Yalda, Mehregan, etc. She has organized, raised funds and served as MC of major gala celebrations of Norouz (the Iranian New Year) honoring the Governor of California, Christiane Amanpour and Shardad Rohani.

After receiving her MBA, Ms. Behnezhad pursued Advertising in Manhattan as an account executive, where she oversaw billings exceeding $30 million. Then when Los Angeles beckoned her, she commenced a career in the motion pictures business at the American Film Institute where she managed high-profile events such as "The AFI Lifetime Achievement Award," major studio film premieres, and classic film restoration efforts.

Ms. Behnezhad continued in this path as a business executive involved in the financing of major Oscar-winning motion pictures. She has collaborated with acclaimed producers, secured Japanese and French financing for independent films, and facilitated film completion guarantees through major international banks. She served as her company’s corporate spokesperson at the Cannes Film Festival, Sundance, Tribeca, Hawaii, Venice Film Festival, and many others. She managed her company’s premier sponsorship of the American Cinematheque, Women in Film, Independent Film Project, the American Pavilion at Cannes and the AFI among others.  She also coordinated and spoke at industry seminars world-wide on the financial framework of motion pictures.

Gita Razavi is a physician and author, with a background that spans years of leadership roles in both dermatology and the medical aesthetics practices in the United States.

For more than 15 years, she has been a peer reviewer for dermatology journals, a medical writer and scientific researcher in cosmetic dermatology. Throughout her career, and supported by her advanced scientific studies, Gita has been a purveyor of the most innovative skin treatments for patients.

With a mission to serve her community, Dr. Razavi has independently and professionally engaged in numerous philanthropic activities in Northern California, focused on creating opportunities for talented and bright Iranian-Americans to gain access to education and higher studies. Gita continues her role as a benefactor of a few select non-profits such as Scholarship to Iranian-American Graduates and Undergraduates and PACAN.

Ally Bolour has been practicing immigration law since 1996. He is the Managing Partner at Bolour/Carl Immigration Group, a full-service immigration law firm based in Los Angeles with satellite offices in Salinas, Palm Springs, Monterey, and Fresno, CA. He is a former Elected Director at the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) as well as a former member of the Board of Trustees at the American Immigration Council.

In summer 2022, Mr. Bolour served as an Adjunct Associate Professor of Law at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles. Currently, he is a member of the LA County Bar Association and the LGBTQ Bar Association. Ally is a frequent speaker on immigration issues for American Immigration Lawyers Association and other local, national, and international organizations. He is fluent in Persian.

Ari Bussel is Vice President of Operations at Saybrex International, a privately held family business specializing in the distribution of fine wines and spirits. The company holds a growing collection of rare, limited edition and collectible whiskies in Beverly Hills, London and Holland.

Mr. Bussel received a Master of Science in Operations Research from Stanford University, and Bachelor’s degrees from UCLA in Applied Mathematics and in Economics with a specialization in Computing. He took an extended leave of absence from Stanford to serve as an officer in the Israel Defense Forces. He was also among the founding members and served on the boards of Gen. Shimon Erem’s Israel Christian Nexus, the Western Region of Friends of Israel Firefighters and the Israel Institute for Alternative Energy Advancement. He completed the Salvin Leadership Program of the Anti-Defamation League.

Mr. Bussel divides his time between Israel and the United States, writing about the social, political, military and foreign policy fabrics of the two countries. For the past two decades, his weekly columns appeared in print in Israel Jewish Life, Shalom LA, Muslim World Today and Israeli Week as well as on numerous websites. Mr. Bussel is a member of the foreign press corps in Israel. Since 2008, Mr. Bussel has cooperated with award-winning investigative journalist and author Norma Zager in a series of essays Postcards from America – Postcards from Israel’, and since 2011 in regular radio broadcasts Conversations Eye to Eye, the Jewish Voice on Christian radio.

Mike S. Manesh has been a widely recognized and well-respected attorney, who over the course of the past 30 years, has represented individuals, corporate and family clients, in a variety of legal matters with the primary focus on complex estate planning, probate, financing issues, transactional and corporate structuring.  He has presided over and adjudicated disputes and claims in civil litigation, as a Small Claims Judge Pro Temp.  He has persistently served and assisted the community, as well as taken on worthy causes devoted to providing humanitarian aid and improving overall living conditions of terminally ill or severely handicapped persons.