Roya Khadjavi, a social entrepreneur focusing on contemporary Iranian Art, is a gallerist, independent curator and cultural producer based in New York City. Under Roya Khadjavi Projects, she has organized over 40 exhibitions since 2014 with over 60 artists and has participated as speaker and sponsor in numerous conferences, industry panels and art fairs in the US and internationally to promote the emerging and mid-career Iranian artists living in Iran and the diaspora. She has largely focused on the work of these artists, seeking not only to support their artistic endeavors but also to facilitate awareness and cultural dialogue between artistic communities As a collector and a patron of the arts for over 20 years, Roya  has actively led exhibition committees focused on the art of the Middle East for institutions including the Asia Society, where she sat on the steering committee of the critically acclaimed exhibit Iran Modern in 2013 and  the Guggenheim Museum. 

Prior to her support and promotion of Iranian art, Roya had a 20-year career in the Fashion Industry. She was Vice President of Sales and Marketing North America for Yves Saint Laurent from 1994 to 2000 and Vice President, Divisional Merchandise Manager of Women’s Designer, Eveningwear and Bridge Collection at Lord and Taylor from 1990 to 1994.

Khadjavi co-founded the Institute of International Education’s (IIE) Iran Opportunities Fund in 2008 for which she has continued to fundraise and to contribute as a donor herself. She served as a Trustee and later President of the Board of Trustees of the acclaimed New York based non-profit Art in General from 2012 to 2020. Roya also served as a Trustee of The Lycee Francais de New York, where she served as Chair of the Development Committee and Co-Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee from 2002 to 2011. Roya has served on the  Leadership Committee of the Iranian-American Women Foundation’s New York Chapter since 2014.

Khadjavi is the recipient of IIE’s 2009 Women’s Global Leadership Award for her pioneering efforts to advance, support, and promote international education, and the Order of Academic Palms (Chevalier dans L’Ordre des Palmes Académiques) by the French Minister of Education. 

Roya graduated from Wellesley college with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science.