Mahnaz Aflatooni Javid
President
Mahnaz has a doctorate in Educational Leadership. She has taught as an adjunct faculty at the University of Washington Computer and software systems, worked at Microsoft, most recently as Director of Readiness, and is currently Sr. Vice President of Global Learning and Talent Management at Avanade, a high tech consultancy in Seattle, Washington. Mahnaz is one of the founding members of Mona Foundation. She is committed to, and has been involved in social and economic development projects around the world for the past several years. Mahnaz is married to Shannon and is the proud mother of Paul and Ali.
Rita Egrari
Treasurer & Director of NW Office
Rita has a Ph.D in Public Health from UCLA with an emphasis on maternal and child health in developing countries. She started volunteering at Mona Foundation in 2003, and has served on its board since 2005. She leads the Northwest Office for Mona Foundation. Rita firmly believes that education, particularly the education of women and girls, is a powerful tool in breaking the cycle of poverty. She is married with three children and lives in Seattle, WA.
Sima Mobini
Secretary and Director Southern California
Sima has a Master's Degree in Structural Engineering from UCLA. She has worked in both private industry and public organizations for fifteen years and in 1997 stepped out to spend more time with her three children, with the ultimate hope of getting involved with meaningful projects that serve humanity. She learned about Mona Foundation in 2003 and has been volunteering ever since. Since her involvement with Mona Foundation she has traveled to some of the projects and these experiences have taught her the value of socio-economic development and have enhanced her life. The site visits have proven to her that there are truly gems inside every individual regardless of their race, sex or nationality and that what is needed is to recognize and discover these gems.
Gouya Zamani
Director, Northern CA Office
Gouya is the former CEO and founder of OroNero and Gouya Shoes. She has extensive experience working and managing businesses in China, Brazil and Italy. Gouya's companies have created private label designs for Nordstrom, Gap, Piperlime, Aldo and other key fashion houses in the US and Canada. Gouya and her husband created the Zamani Trust in 2009 to enable grassroots initiatives for girls and woman in the third world countries. In 2009 she traveled to Tanzania and Haiti to support Mona Foundation projects. She firmly believes that "Education alone can alleviate ignorance and prejudice; it impacts good health and economic opportunities." Her mission is "to inspire and mobilize people of all religions and backgrounds to speak out and take action for the underprivileged children of the world.
Diane Samandi
Director, Southern CA Office
Diane has been a lingerie designer for over thirty years. In 1980, Diane founded Jonquil, a romantic, old Hollywood inspired lingerie line well known for its lavish laces and intricate detail. A favorite with brides, Jonquil is one of the most sought after lines in the lingerie world. In 2007, Diane created In Bloom by Jonquil, giving the feminine, graceful elements of Jonquil a fresh, flirty flair.
Recently, after a meeting with Dr. Leelee Luders from the Mona supported project CORDE, Diane realized a dream when she combined her creative energy for design with her passion for building capacity at the grassroots. Diane facilitated a meeting between CORDE and the factory in Cambodia that produces the In Bloom line. As a result, CORDE has started a program to educate the employees at the factory. The curriculum will focus on maternal and child health as well as child education. All parties involved, from the factory workers, to the factory owners, to the members of CORDE, are excited about this opportunity to make a difference in the lives of so many.
Duy-Loan Le
Director
Duy-Loan came to America with nothing but clothes on her back at the age of 12. Duy-Loan graduated as Valedictorian of her high school at 16. In 1982, Duy-Loan graduated from UT with BSEE Magna Cum Laude and started as a memory design engineer at the age of 19 with Texas Instruments. Duy-Loan received her MBA in 1989. In 2002, Duy-Loan became the first Asian and the first woman to get elected to the rank of Senior Fellow (equivalent to Senior VP). Today, she continues to be the only woman to hold this title in TI's 80 years history and only 1 of 4 Senior Fellows worldwide. Duy-Loan holds 23 patents with 7 pending applications. In 2002, Duy-Loan was elected to the Board of Directors at National Instruments, traded on NASDAQ, becoming the youngest and the only woman on that board to this date.
Duy-Loan's service to the community is extensive. Among many of the things that she does in America and internationally, she enjoys most providing education assistance for children and supporting social economic developments projects in 12 different countries through two 501c3 foundations Mona Foundation and Sunflower Mission. Duy-Loan Le is married to her husband Tuan N. Dao for 27 years. She has two boys, Quy-Dan 17 and Quy-Don 13.
Rita Egrari
Treasurer & Director of NW Office
Rita has a Ph.D in Public Health from UCLA with an emphasis on maternal and child health in developing countries. She started volunteering at Mona Foundation in 2003, and has served on its board since 2005. She leads the Northwest Office for Mona Foundation. Rita firmly believes that education, particularly the education of women and girls, is a powerful tool in breaking the cycle of poverty. She is married with three children and lives in Seattle, WA.
Sima Mobini
Secretary and Director Southern California
Sima has a Master's Degree in Structural Engineering from UCLA. She has worked in both private industry and public organizations for fifteen years and in 1997 stepped out to spend more time with her three children, with the ultimate hope of getting involved with meaningful projects that serve humanity. She learned about Mona Foundation in 2003 and has been volunteering ever since. Since her involvement with Mona Foundation she has traveled to some of the projects and these experiences have taught her the value of socio-economic development and have enhanced her life. The site visits have proven to her that there are truly gems inside every individual regardless of their race, sex or nationality and that what is needed is to recognize and discover these gems.
Diane Samandi
Director, Southern CA Office
Diane has been a lingerie designer for over thirty years. In 1980, Diane founded Jonquil, a romantic, old Hollywood inspired lingerie line well known for its lavish laces and intricate detail. A favorite with brides, Jonquil is one of the most sought after lines in the lingerie world. In 2007, Diane created In Bloom by Jonquil, giving the feminine, graceful elements of Jonquil a fresh, flirty flair.
Recently, after a meeting with Dr. Leelee Luders from the Mona supported project CORDE, Diane realized a dream when she combined her creative energy for design with her passion for building capacity at the grassroots. Diane facilitated a meeting between CORDE and the factory in Cambodia that produces the In Bloom line. As a result, CORDE has started a program to educate the employees at the factory. The curriculum will focus on maternal and child health as well as child education. All parties involved, from the factory workers, to the factory owners, to the members of CORDE, are excited about this opportunity to make a difference in the lives of so many.
Payam Zamani
Northern California
Payam Zamani, chairman, president and CEO, is a veteran entrepreneur in online commerce. A pioneer in the online automotive industry, Zamani has extensive experience managing companies, building management teams, developing viable business models, raising capital and creating strategic relationships. Zamani was co-founder and CEO of Autoweb.com (now a part of Autobytel.com), one of the first online car buying services. In addition to developing the concept and strategy for the company and hiring the management team, he was responsible for significantly growing revenues and taking the company to profitability. He grew monthly traffic to 3.4 million unique visitors, expanded the dealer network to over 5,000, developed key strategic relationships and prepared the company for its Initial Public Offering. As Vice Chairman, he directed the acquisition strategy, including acquiring the Automotive Information Center. Autoweb had a run rate of $45 million in revenues and a market cap of more than $500 million when he left the company in 1999. Zamani is a graduate of University of California, Davis. He is also a graduate of Stanford University's Executive Leadership Program.
Gouya Zamani
Director, Northern CA Office
Gouya is the former CEO and founder of OroNero and Gouya Shoes. She has extensive experience working and managing businesses in China, Brazil and Italy. Gouya's companies have created private label designs for Nordstrom, Gap, Piperlime, Aldo and other key fashion houses in the US and Canada. Gouya and her husband created the Zamani Trust in 2009 to enable grassroots initiatives for girls and woman in the third world countries. In 2009 she traveled to Tanzania and Haiti to support Mona Foundation projects. She firmly believes that "Education alone can alleviate ignorance and prejudice; it impacts good health and economic opportunities." Her mission is "to inspire and mobilize people of all religions and backgrounds to speak out and take action for the underprivileged children of the world.
Sam Veazey
Northern California
As Chief Financial Officer of Reply.com, Sam Veazey holds executive management responsibilities for the company's finance, accounting, financial planning, and analysis functions. Veazey has over 20 years of experience directing financial strategy for rapidly-growing companies.Before joining Reply! in 2005, Veazey was the Vice President of Finance and Controller for CenterBeam, Inc., an I.T. outsourcing services company. Prior to CenterBeam, Veazey was the Corporate Controller at Neoforma, where he built the finance and accounting department and oversaw completion of a private round of financing, as well as navigating the company through a $180 million IPO in January, 2000.
Dr. Tina Edraki
Northern California
Dr. Edraki comes from a long line of educators and believes education is extremely important. She believes that every individual is entitled to an education, no matter who they are or where they live. She also believes that education promotes both individual and societal progress. This is the reason why she supports the Mona Foundation, because its objectives and vision are in line with her beliefs.
Gaellen Quinn
Executive Director
Gaellen graduated from Georgetown University and has over 25 years experience in corporate and entrepreneurial business. Her wide travels sparked an interest in social economic development and she spent three years as an unpaid volunteer to a project in the Amazon. She has a Masters Degree in International and Community Development with a focus on multi-stakeholder processes and fundraising management. She volunteers to help community building efforts and preservation of native culture in her home community. She’s also an award-winning novelist. Her themes, related to development, explore what causes individuals and societies to effloresce or to decline.
Susan Fairchild
Engagement & Operations Director
Susan is a philanthropy and nonprofit professional passionate about alleviating global poverty. Susan’s passion was galvanized during her experience living and working in a rural community in Timor-Leste in 2003-2004. While in Timor-Leste she worked closely with the local government to help build and strengthen their capacity. Upon return to the United States, Susan completed her Masters in Public Administration with a focus on nonprofit management and international development from the University of Washington – Evans School of Public Affairs. She has over seven years of experience at Social Venture Partners (SVP) in building close working relationships with their donor community, connecting them to their passions, and maximizing their engagement and impact. Susan left her position at SVP in 2011 to re-align her skill set with her desire to focus on global poverty alleviation. Susan is also a Trustee of the World Affairs Council, where she is helping to guide their strategic planning efforts. Susan believes that investing in the education of girls and women is the most leveraged way to raise the standard of living for everyone.
Sarah Rohm
Marketing & PR Director
Sarah brings over 12 years of experience in project management, business operations, marketing, and nonprofit program management. She holds a BA from the University of WA in Global Studies and Business, and a MA from Seattle University in Nonprofit Management. Sarah began as a volunteer with Mona Foundation in 2004 and has been part of the Mona Foundation staff since 2008. Prior to Mona Foundation, she lived and worked in Washington D.C. at a leading Nonprofit Management company doing program management for an international nonprofit. Sarah is originally from New England, but has lived and traveled all over the world, now coming to settle in the great Northwest, the home office of Mona Foundation, with her husband and three children.
Rada Bittner-Rozenberg
Accountant
Rada holds a BA in Accounting in Economics from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She has eleven plus years of experience working as an accountant/bookkeeper in the construction, tourism, retail and non-profit industry. Rada was born in Latvia and has lived in Israel, Canada, and Hawaii and now resides in the Seattle area with her husband and two sons. Her favorite charitable causes in addition to supporting grassroots educational initiatives are cancer research and wildlife conservation.
Mark Moran
Graphic Designer
Mark Moran has over 12 years of experience in the web and graphic design fields with experience as a project manager, producer and creative director.He has worked for such clients as Warner Brothers, Disney, Artisan Entertainment, RKO Pictures, Edko Films and many more. For 10 years he served as the webmaster and head designer for Jet Li and was also a founding member of the team that created the popular website, Rotten Tomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com). Most recently he spent two years in Hong Kong developing the artist-focused social networking community, Alive Not Dead (www.alivenotdead.com).
Ali Javid
Volunteer
Ali believes that all people regardless of race, economic status, gender, religious belief, or any other differentiating factor has a right to education and that the Mona Foundation is helping providing that right. He personally has visited a number of Mona’s projects in SE Asia, India, and Africa. He has seen the affect and is happy to volunteer his time. His focus has been on business development for the foundation in order to scale and affect more and more lives around the world.
Esther Schorr
Volunteer
Esther has been involved in philanthropy…'paying it forward' …in one way or another for most of her life. She's been active as a consultant and volunteer with numerous arts, education-related, and community service organizations - in parallel with a career journey that has included founding a health education company, working for a major accounting and consulting firm doing systems development and user training, and working at Microsoft as a marketing manager. Esther has traveled abroad to assist with training clinical users of a health records system in Zambia to help better manage treatment and improve medical outcomes. She is also starting a private foundation to help empower patients to take charge of their own health care decisions. Esther works closely with the Mona Foundation as well, lending ongoing expertise in project management, marketing, online communications and volunteer recruitment. She lives in Mercer Island, Washington with her husband and three children.
