Tea and empathy are hallmarks of Coastline Community College foundation’s executive director
A bent for giving led Mariam Khosravani to create an organization that bonds women of Persian descent.
By Theresa Walker (Published: OC Register, Nov. 1, 2014 Updated: Nov. 5, 2014 1:41 p.m.)
Tea and empathy are hallmarks of Coastline Community College foundation's executive director
She keeps a pot of hot water and tea bags handy on the credenza behind her desk.
The tea pot in her Fountain Valley office is testament to the two worlds that Khosravani bridges: She’s an Iranian-American, a woman with roots in Iran. And as executive director of Coastline’s foundation, she raises money that supports the college’s 18,000 students.
Compassion underscores her leadership.
Eager to provide a way for other successful women from her native country to come together, Khosravani got Coastline’s backing for two conferences in 2011 that attracted hundreds of Persian women from around the nation.
The popularity of the conferences prompted Khosravani to start a separate nonprofit, the Iranian-American Women Foundation. She serves as president for the 1,400-member group, which was founded in 2012.
The organization’s seventh Women’s Leadership Conference will take place today in Los Angeles (previous events have been held in Washington, D.C. and New York). About 500 Iranian American women of all ages and faiths are expected to attend the sold-out event.
Khosravani’s dream is to hold the conference overseas where women in Iran can attend, perhaps in Turkey.
Khosravani left Iran about 10 years after the start of the Iranian revolution in 1979. She was in her 20s and part of an exodus of Iranians who fled after the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
She last visited her homeland in 1992.
Many immigrants from Iran, like Khosravani, settled in Irvine and nurtured a now flourishing Persian community. She became a U.S. citizen, finished college here, and spent years in the field of philanthropy – often as a volunteer – before landing her job at Coastline in 2001.
The Register spoke with Khosravani about her journey, the Iranian-American Women Foundation, and what she hopes to accomplish.
Q. What was your life like growing up in Iran?
A. I was growing up in a very affluent neighborhood in the north part of Tehran, which is the capital of Iran. I have two brothers. I had a good life.
My dad was working for the government and then he had his own business. And my mom was a housewife.
Complete Interview is Available at www.ocregister.com
