Speakers 2016

Masih Alinejad

Journalist

Masih Alijenad was born as Masoumeh Alinejad but uses the first name "Masih" (anointed or Messiah) which is the title of Jesus of Nazareth in Islam and Christianity. Alinejad was politically active from a young age and was arrested as an activist for producing leaflets critical of the Government in 1994…click here for more

Mehdi Aghazamani

Mehrangiz Kar

Mehrangiz Kar is an attorney, writer and activist working toward the promotion of democracy, the rule of law and human rights within the framework of Islamic law in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Despite her efforts being frequently impeded and curtailed by the intelligence services of the Islamic Republic, she has been an active public defender in Iran’s civil and criminal courts, and has published regularly in several influential and independent Iranian journals…click here for more

 

Mehdi Aghazamani

Dr. Mehdi Aghazamani

Journalist / Sociologist

Mehdi Aghazamani is a TV host at ‎افق ایران Ofoghirantv‎‎, Radio Show Host/Producer at Radio Iran KIRN 670 AM‎ and Journalist at KETAB‎ …click here for more

Max Amini

Max Amini

Entertainer / Comedian

Max Amini was born in Tucson Arizona, from a Persian heritage was raised on the East Coast and graduated from UCLA’s school of Theater, Film and Television in 2004. As an actor, Max has over 50 film and television credits including NBC’s Heroes, regular appearances on Comedy Central’s Mind of Mencia, and a leading role in the upcoming feature film Beyond Paradise…click here for more

Ali Pourtash

Ali Pourtash

Actor / Comedian

Ali Pourtash has worked in numerous plays, films, TV shows and stage productions in Tehran and in Los Angeles. Pourtash was most recently seen in the 2008 film The Stoning of Soraya M. directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh…click here for more

Homa Sarshar (Master of Ceremonies)

Journalist, Author, Producer and Organizer

Homa Sarshar worked as a correspondent, reporter, and columnist for Zan-e Ruz weekly magazine and Kayhan daily newspaper in Iran from 1964 to 1978. During this period, she also worked as a television producer, director, and talk-show host for National Iranian Radio & Television… click here for more