2019 Women’s Equality Day

OUR VOTE, OUR RIGHTS, OUR FUTURE

From Right to Vote to Equal Rights

Sunday August 25th 

 EVENT Location: Rolfe Hall, UCLA

TIME: 3 - 5 pm, Doors open at 2:30

You are cordially invited to this Public Event which will be presented in English. Program Participants:

* Dr. Marie Nubia-Feliciano - Talk titled "Why We Must Act" is about feminist movement, grassroots movement, coalition building and why it matters today

* Carina Reyes - Talk titled "Reproductive Justice: An Intersectional Approach to Body Autonomy" is about Reproductive Rights under attack in US and what can we do to resist and persist for Equal Rights

* Kiyana Asemanfar - Talk titled "How Voting is Changing for LA and Orange County Voters in 2020".

* 2019 Women's Equality Day Award will be presented to Mr. Reza Gohrzad, journalist and political commentator for his exemplary public service and dedication to promoting gender equality.

* Philippe Anthony Grant, Ph.D. - Master of Ceremony

* Q&A will follow

Sponsors:

1) Iranian-Persian American Association of Greater Long Beach (IPAA-LB)

2) Center of Reproductive Rights (CRR)

3) Common Cause California (CCC)

4) Mediators Beyond Borders (MBB)

5) "Pasadena Celebrates 2020" in affiliation with National Women's History Alliance

6) Women's Intercultural Network (WIN)

EVENT Location: Rolfe Hall, UCLA

PARKING structure 3 is best accessed from Sunset Blvd.

Drop off possible at the Portola Plaza Circle.

Philip Grant is an anthropologist, sociologist, historian, and translator from Persian and French. His commitment to feminism grew during his four years of collaborative fieldwork with Iranian-American activists from the One Million Signatures Campaign which formed the basis of his PhD dissertation in anthropology at UC Irvine. After graduating in 2012 he went to the University of Edinburgh in Scotland as a postdoctoral fellow in the Social Studies of Finance where he drew on his earlier experience in the investment management industry to co-author the book Chains of Finance, a sociological study of investment management, one of the many areas of contemporary life with serious gender issues. Together with his family he moved back to Los Angeles in 2016 where he now works as a freelance editor and translator, while continuing his own research. He is presently combining his interests in gender, power, class and violence by studying the Zanj Rebellion, an uprising of East African slaves, peasants, poor townspeople, and Bedouin in 9th century Iraq and Iran; and the regulation of markets and morality in the classical Islamic world.

Master of Ceremony: Philip Grant is an anthropologist, sociologist, historian, and translator from Persian and French. His commitment to feminism grew during his four years of collaborative fieldwork with Iranian-American activists from the One Million Signatures Campaign which formed the basis of his PhD dissertation in anthropology at UC Irvine. After graduating in 2012 he went to the University of Edinburgh in Scotland as a postdoctoral fellow in the Social Studies of Finance where he drew on his earlier experience in the investment management industry to co-author the book Chains of Finance, a sociological study of investment management, one of the many areas of contemporary life with serious gender issues. Together with his family he moved back to Los Angeles in 2016 where he now works as a freelance editor and translator, while continuing his own research. He is presently combining his interests in gender, power, class and violence by studying the Zanj Rebellion, an uprising of East African slaves, peasants, poor townspeople, and Bedouin in 9th century Iraq and Iran; and the regulation of markets and morality in the classical Islamic world.

Marie N-F.

Keynote Speaker: Marie Nubia-Feliciano holds a Ph.D. in Education. She also holds a master’s degree in Counseling, with an emphasis in student development in higher education, as well as a bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences. Her research interests focus the experiences of individuals and communities at the boundaries. She teaches part time for Chapman University and UC Irvine, where she instructs on such topics as leadership, ethics, race and ethnicity, and identity. She currently resides in Southern California with her family. Marie Nubia-Feliciano is also founder and CEO of the Colégas Group, a company that provides professional development and public speaking opportunities. Dr. Nubia-Feliciano was born in Vieques and raised in Culebra, Puerto Rico. Briefly living in New York, and later permanently moving to California as a young child with her family, she has developed a keen interest in the world of education. She has experienced all the possible educational options available in California: completed her K-12 in public schools, then proceeded to the University of California for her bachelor’s, California State University for her master’s, and eventually Chapman University, a private institution, for her doctorate. Her dissertation focused on the experiences of Afro-Puerto Rican women as they develop their racial and cultural identity. Her master’s thesis focused on the transition issues experienced by first and second year medical students as they move from life before medical school to life after medical school.

Carina R.

Speaker: Carina Reyes is a co-founder and co-host of Con Las Comadres, a transnational media project that which centers the knowledge and labor of Women of Color. As a Boricua feminist and single mother, much of her writing and photography explores themes of marginality, intersecting identities and decolonization. Carina was first politicized during the Occupy movement in Los Angeles but has since be involved in environmental, immigrant and womxn's rights movements. Mostly recently, she worked at California Latina for Reproductive Justice as a community organizer. Currently, Carina is focused on is completing her undergraduate education UCLA as well as expanding Con Las Comadres. www.conlascomadres.com

Kiyana A.

Speaker: Kiyana Asemanfar is the Policy Manager at California Common Cause,where she advocates for and implements policies to advance voting rights, limit big money in politics, and support independent redistricting practices. In 2018, Ms. Asemanfar led the Election Protection Program. Previously, she worked on electoral campaigns in several states including Iowa, Nevada, and California. She is a graduate of the University of Southern California with a B.A. in Political Science and a B.S. in Business Administration.

Reza Goharzad

Awardee: Reza Goharzad is a journalist, political commentator and editor, best known for his hosting the Farsi language political and news shows ''Politics& Society '' at KIRN radio and “The Chalesh & Pouyesh” on Andisheh television. Reza Goharzad was born on 1955, in Tehran, Iran. His interest in journalism bloomed in his early life, serving as a school reporter for a youth magazine and covering cultural events such as film festivals, books and art. At the age of 16, Goharzad became a freelance writer and earned money by ghostwriting for Iranian renowned newspaper "Ayandegan." At the age of 18, as he entered Tehran University’s School of Sociology, Goharzad began work as an art instructor at the "Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults” and eventually became the Assistant Art Director to renowned Artist Parviz Kalantari. Goharzad’s long career at the Institute abruptly ended after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, after which he and his co-workers, all artists and writers, were fired. At the onset of the Iran-Iraq war, Goharzad was drafting to the military. When he returned, he served as the Head of Publication in the Ministry of Budget & Planning while doing book editing independently. As a result of the war and the tumultuous political environment in Iran, Goharzad and his family immigrated to the United States in 1986. Being an immigrant in a strange county with a foreign language, Goharzad was forced to begin his career again from the bottom. In the early chapters of his new life, Goharzad undertook freelance writing jobs for Iranian newspapers and magazines as well as book editing. He served as the Editor in Chief of "Touca" children’s Persian language magazine, a columnist in "Gap" weekly Persian magazine and as a political columnist in "Hamsayegan" monthly magazine. He Founded and published "Jaam va Jaan", a bimonthly and bilingual health and psychology magazine for the Iranian community internationally, "The Prestige" English magazine covering successful Iranian driven endeavors and the Iranian “Who’s Who.” From 2000 to Present, Goharzad has been the connection between the Iranian community and the United States’ political scene, covering current events, presidential conventions and elections on radio & television . Goharzad continues to edit books and to date, has edited dozens of books since immigrating to the United States, in a range of topics , such as 4 volume books about Holocaust and other Genocides (1915-2015) written by Dr. Ardeshir Babaknia has earned US librarians award. Beyond journalism, Goharzad is an active member of several charities, a human rights activist and an advocate of secular democracy. Goharzad has been married for over 37 years and has two adult daughters.

Program Details