Annual Meeting and Election
Persian Cultural Center of San Diego
May 18, 2025
37 Years of Service
Report of Persian Cultural Center’s 2025 Annual General Meeting and Election
PCC’s annual meeting took place on May 18, 2025. The annual report was presented and was followed by the election process for new Board of Directors members. The past year’s activities were presented by Mr. Mahmoud Reza Pirouzian-PCC’s chair, and the ISSD and Peyk reports by Mr. Ali Sadr, Principal of the Iranian School of San Diego and editor–in–chief of Peyk, and the Financial Report by Ms. Fariba Babakhani Ghazi, PCC’s Secretary. A summary of PCC’s annual report is as follows:
The Board of Directors and Committee Members for the past year were as follows:
Mahmoud Reza Pirouzian, Baharak Shademan, Fariba Babakhani- Ghazi, Soheil Bigdeli, Parnian Badii, Tayebeh Bahmani, Mercedeh Hashemi, Ali Pirouzian, Hamid Rafizadeh, Ali Sard, Sara Taghavi, Sara Alavi (Alternate), and Marshia Sadeghi Hashemi (Alternate)
Executive Board:
Mahmoud Reza Pirouzian – President
Baharak Shademan – Vice President
Fariba Babakhani-Ghazi – Treasurer
Soheil Bigdeli- Secretary
Ali Sadr- ISSD Principal
Advisory Board: Shahri Estakhry, Shaghayegh Hanson, and Saeed Jalali.
The Board had twelve meetings in the past year. Committees held meetings as needed. At its first meeting, the Board elected its Executive Committee and established the following committees:
Arts and Culture: Ali Pirouzian and Sara Taghavi (Chairs), Sara Alavi, Anahita Babaei, Farshad Babakhani, Fariba Babakhani-Ghazi, Tayebeh Bahmani, Soheil Bigdeli, Hossain Hajimowlana, Marshia (Sadeghi) Hashemi, Shahrzad Julazadeh, Mahmoud Reza Pirouzian, Mojgan Poursadighi, Ali Sadr, Abdy Salimi, Baharak Shademan, and Mehdi Tayaranian Nourani
Membership: Soheil Bigdeli (Chair), Sara Alavi, Fariba Babakhani-Ghazi, Tayebeh Bahmani, Shahrzad Julazadeh, Ali Sadr, and Sara Taghavi
Public Relations: Mahmoud Reza Pirouzian (Chair), Anahita Babaei, Tayebeh Bahmani, Soheil Bigdeli, Hossain Hajimowlana, Shahrzad Julazadeh, Ali Pirouzian, Ali Sadr, Marshia Hashemi, Sara Alavi, and Sara Taghavi
Grant and Finance: Fariba Babakhani-Ghazi (Chair), Tayebeh Bahmani, Cheryl Encine, Shahrzad Julazadeh, Hamid Rafizadeh, and Shahla Salah
Fundraising and Nowruz: Fariba Babakhani-Ghazi (Chair), Sara Alavi, Nikoo Atefi, Mohammad Ayari, Farshad Babakhani, Parnian Badii, Bahar Bagherpour, Hamid Beikzadeh, Farideh Fazel, Baharak Shademan, Venus Safaei, Parnian Badii, Hamid Rafizadeh, Mercedeh Hashemi, and Marshia (Sadeghi) Hashemi
PCC Charity: Parnian Badii (Chair), Nikoo Atefi, Fariba Babakhani-Ghazi, Mercedeh Hashemi, Shahrzad Julazadeh, Venus Safaei, and Shahla Salah
Education (ISSD): Ali Sadr (Chair), Shahnaz Ahamadian, Fariba Babakhani-Ghazi, and Ali Pirouzian
Chaharshanbeh Soori and Sizdahbedar: Hamid Rafizadeh (Chair), Hamid Beikzadeh, and Hamid Shaghaghi
Iranian American Center (IAC): Hamid Rafizadeh (Chair), Fariba Babakhani-Ghazi, Hamid Beikzadeh, Shahrzad Julazadeh, Ali Sadr, and Shahla Salah
PCC Youth: Fariba Babakhani-Ghazi (Chair), Farideh Fazel, and Mercedeh Hashemi
Peyk: Ali Sadr (Chair), Shahri Estakhry, Shahrzad Julazadeh, Shaghayegh Hanson, Reza Khabazian, Ali Sahebalzamani, Rachel Tait, and Hooshyar Afsar
Governance: Ali Sadr (Chair), Fariba Babakhani-Ghazi, Shaghayegh Hanson, Mahmoud Reza Pirouzian, and Shahla Salah
Summary of Persian Cultural Center Events and Activities
During 2024-2025, PCC was active in organizing traditional celebrations and programs for the Iranian American community. PCC also collaborated with other organizations to reach out to the community at large. These events were held in person, virtually, or both.
PCC sponsored or co-sponsored the following programs:
- Stand-up Comedy with Arman at IAC
- Art Gallery Exhibition (by Working Children of Tehran) at IAC in collaboration with DMF
- ISSD End of the Year Celebration
- Avaz workshop with Sahar Mohammadi at IAC
- Food Drive by the PCC Youth Committee for the San Diego Food Bank twice a year
- Collaboration with SDMAPersian Calligraphy Workshop with Master Yadollah Kaboli
- Screening “Jila” Including Q&A session in collaboration with DMF & KCIS
- Mehregan Celebration in collaboration with SDMA, “Siyria Ensamble” at SDMA
- Hafez Day in San Diego, in collaboration with the San Diego Central Library
- Collaboration with Coronado Island Film Festival
- Collaboration with Pacific Art Movement’s Annual Asian Film Festival
- Collaboration with SDMA “Wonders of the Creation”: On the Steps at SDMA
- Yalda Celebration with Shourangizan Ensable at IAC
- Turkey Trot 5K Walks by the PCC Youth Committee
- Kurdish Tanbur Music of Iran in collaboration with UCSD and AIAP
- Avaa Singing Talent Show at IAC
- Concert Tunes of the Zagros
- FarYad Play
- Marjan Farsad Concert at Westview High School
- Art Exhibition by 5 Women at IAC
- The Art of Ney collaboration with the Center for World Music
- Screening “The Seed of Sacred Fig” in collaboration with the Digital Gym Cinema
- Nowruz Preparation at the Iranian School of San Diego
- Presentation of Haft-seen along with literary, cultural, and historical exhibits at seven San Diego Public Libraries
- ISSD Nowruz Celebration at Lewis Middle School
- PCC Nowruz Celebration with Black Cata and DJ Julius at Marriott Hotel La Jolla
- Nowruz Celebration in collaboration with Poway Public Library
- Chaharshanbehsoori with AIAP and HOI at NTC Park
- Making multiple announcements regarding Nowruz from KPBS radio and website
- The Wonders We Carry Inside, in collaboration with the San Diego Symphony
- Sizdabedar with AIAP and HOI at NTC Park
- Toy Drive by the PCC Youth Committee for the San Diego Food Bank
- Collaboration with Pacific Art Movement in the San Diego Asian Film Festival Annual Spring Showcase
- ISSD Talent Show at IAC
- Shahk & Mahak Play at IAC
- Four Jong e Farhangi programs at IAC
- Three Family Nights at IAC (first Friday of every quarter)
- Ten Virtual One Poem, One Poet presentations (third Wednesday of the month)
- Ten Virtual and In-person Film and Discussion sessions (last Friday of the month)
Iranian School of San Diego: The academic year 2024-2025 was ISSD’s 37th year of operation. This year, ISSD had 300 students attending in-person and virtual classes. The in-person classes were on Sunday mornings. ISSD had a total of 24 classes online and in-person, which were separated into six levels, in addition to Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, and Persian classes for adults. Extracurricular classes such as Dance, Drawing, Theatre, and Music were offered as well. In the virtual classes, students from other parts of the country participated as well. ISSD is planning to establish a virtual platform and share information, teaching material, and experience with other Persian language schools around the country.
ISSD’s Persian language program is accredited by all local School Districts as well as WASC. This accreditation allows the high school students to meet their second language requirements by enrolling in Persian language courses at ISSD. ISSD’s six Persian language textbooks, designed for teaching Persian as a heritage language, are being used in several Persian schools nationwide. Audio versions of the textbooks are also available. ISSD maintains an online presence through its website (issd.pccsd.org) and is also engaged on social media accounts such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
The school’s Nowruz program was held on March 9, 2025, at Lewis Middle School. The End of the Year event and graduation for the Class of 2025 will take place on June 8, 2025.
Persian Dance Academy: The Persian Cultural Dance Academy, with a total of fifty-eight students, convened at ISSD every Sunday. The dance students performed at the PCC Nowruz event, ISSD Nowruz program, House of Iran Nowruz Program, Poway Public Library Nowruz Program, and the ISSD End of the Year program. In addition to the regular dance classes, a Persian Zumba dance class was held for adults.
Iranian American Center (IAC): The Iranian American Center (IAC) typically hosts a variety of PCC events and other cultural activities for the Iranian community, including those for the Iranian American Scholarship Fund and Dollar a Month Fund (helping street children in Iran), and also classes and workshops in partnership with SDSU. The Center has a library with more than five thousand books.
Peyk Magazine: For the past 34 years, Peyk has been one of our most successful outreach means. Peyk is PCC’s bimonthly and bilingual cultural publication, mailed to thousands of subscribers in San Diego and other parts of the country. Typically, hundreds of copies of the magazine are also distributed throughout business and cultural centers in San Diego, Orange, and Los Angeles Counties; the Bay Area; Chicago; Washington, DC; Maryland; Dallas; Atlanta; and many other cities. Peyk is also available online at peykmagazine.com. This site offers interactivity, allowing readers to communicate directly and leave comments for the editorial board. Past issues of Peyk are accessible at the Peyk archive at pccsd.org/peyk.
Grants & Outreach Programs: PCC continued its joint programs with local organizations such as City Libraries, San Diego Museum of Art, UCSD, Dollar a Month Fund, Iranian American Scholarship Fund, House of Iran, Association of Iranian American Professionals, Iranian American Bar Association, Pacific Art Movement, Sheed Film, Dornab, Persian Cultural Center of Atlanta, Professional Organization of Iranian Americans, San Diego Symphony, Conrad Perbys, and Racism Awareness Project.
PCC also worked with SDG&E’s “Energy Solutions Partners” campaign. As an “Energy Solutions Partner,” PCC joined other nonprofits and environmental groups in a collaborative effort to make all San Diego consumers aware of how they can save energy and money through energy efficiency. PCC was selected as a partner because of its ability to target a specific demographic and translate important emergency news alerts into Farsi, as necessary.
Membership: The Persian Cultural Center continued advertising and extending the invitation to community members to join. Members get a special discount for PCC events. Moreover, PCC successfully maintained a partnership with various Iranian businesses, securing continued discounts for its members.
Public Relations: Thousands of people all over the world viewed the Persian Cultural Center’s website, www.pccsd.org, Facebook, Instagram Page, Telegram, and YouTube Channel. PCC issues a weekly electronic newsletter that reaches thousands of community members. The PCC website provides quick access to Peyk, our ongoing programs and activities, as well as other cultural information and events. People can visit the website to explore PCC’s numerous activities, renew their membership, and make tax-deductible contributions online. In the past year, several PCC events were featured on KPBS radio in San Diego, KIRN Radio Iran in Los Angeles, and the San Diego Arts and Sol website. These programs not only reached out to the Iranian American community, but also attracted attendees from other communities to our highlighted programs.
The PCC Foundation—A Charitable Organization:
In the past year, this organization succeeded in providing assistance and financial and emotional support to a woman suffering from cancer, at a time when she was unable to work.
Youth: The Youth Committee has been instrumental in supporting PCC and ISSD’s events. Some of the members are actively working as Teacher Assistants at ISSD. They have organized two food and toy drives on behalf of the San Diego Food Bank; provided free-of-charge tutoring for other students, particularly refugees; hosted an Informational Seminar about college applications; organized a hiking trip; and participated twice in Creek to Bay Clean up.
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Special Note of Gratitude: We would like to take this opportunity to thank the following board members who are leaving us. We are grateful for the time, energy, and talents they generously gave to PCC and our community. We look forward to having them back on the PCC Board again.
The following members have served their terms and are leaving the board: Sara Alavi, Soheil Bigdeli, Marshia (Sadeghi) Hashemi, Ali Pirouzian, Ali Sadr, and Baharak Shademan. Except for Ali Sadr, who has served his two consecutive terms and is subject to the “term limit,” the others can run for re-election.
We are continually looking for volunteers to join our committees and subcommittees. Please step forward and GET INVOLVED with various groups to HELP US better serve the community.
2025 PCC Board of Directors Election: After the Board of Directors’ report, candidates to fill the vacancies on the Board introduced themselves and presented their plans for joining the Board. Ms. Shahri Estakhry, Mr. Hossain Hajimowlana, Mr. Ali Khorsandian, and Mr. Reza Kohbodi observed the election, which was performed by secret ballot. After counting the ballots, including the absentees and electronic votes, the results were announced.
The following were elected as voting members of the Board of Directors: Ali Pirouzian, Soheil Bigdeli, Shahla Salah, and Marshia (Sadeghi) Hashemi. Mr. Mohammad Ayari, Sara Alavi, Baharak Shademan, and Masoud Azmoodeh will serve as alternative board members. These members will serve along with the current board members: Fariba Babakhani, Hamid Rafizadeh, Mahmoud Reza Pirouzian, Mersedeh Hashemi, Parnian Badii, and Tayebeh Bahamani. The general assembly adjourned at noon.
The first meeting of the Board of Directors was held on June 11, 2025. Subsequently, the Board elected members of the Executive Committee, who will serve PCC for one year:
- President: Mahmoud Reza Pirouzan
- Vice President: Sara Taghavi
- Treasurer: Fariba Babakhani-Ghazi
- Secretary: Soheil Bigdeli