Annual Meeting and Election
Persian Cultural Center of San Diego
May 17, 2026
38 Years of Service
Report of Persian Cultural Center’s 2026 Annual General Meeting and Election
PCC’s annual meeting took place on May 17, 2026. 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 Treasurer. 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 (President), Sara Taghavi (Vice-President), Fariba Babakhani-Ghazi (Treasurer), Soheil Bigdeli (Secretary), Parnian Badii, Tayebeh Bahmani, Mercedeh Hashemi, Ali Pirouzian, Hamid Rafizadeh, Shahla Salah, Marshia (Sadeghi) Hashemi, Sara Alavi (Alternate), Mohammad Ayari (Alternate), Masoud Azmoodeh (Alternate), and Baharak Shademan (Alternate).
Executive Board:
Mahmoud Reza Pirouzian – President
Sara Taghavi- 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: Soheil Bigdeli and Sara Taghavi (Chairs), Sara Alavi, Farshad Babakhani, Fariba Babakhani-Ghazi, Tayebeh Bahmani, Hossain Hajimowlana, Marshia (Sadeghi) Hashemi, Shahrzad Julazadeh, Yasaman Nazari, Ali Pirouzian, Mahmoud Reza Pirouzian, Mojgan Poursadighi, Ali Sadr, Abdy Salimi, and Baharak Shademan.
Membership: Ali Pirouzian (Chair), Sara Alavi, Mohammad Ayari, Fariba Babakhani-Ghazi, Tayebeh Bahmani, Soheil Bigdeli, Shahrzad Julazadeh, Ali Sadr, Marshia (Sadeghi) Hashemi, and Sara Taghavi
Public Relations: Mahmoud Reza Pirouzian (Chair), Sara Alavi, Tayebeh Bahmani, Soheil Bigdeli, Hossain Hajimowlana, Shahrzad Julazadeh, Ali Pirouzian, Ali Sadr, Marshia (Sadeghi) Hashemi, Baharak Shademan, and Sara Taghavi
Grant and Finance: Fariba Babakhani-Ghazi (Chair), 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, Hamid Beikzadeh, Farideh Fazel, Mercedeh Hashemi, Hamid Rafizadeh, Shahla Salah, Baharak Shademan, and Marshia (Sadeghi) Hashemi
PCC Charity: Parnian Badii (Chair), Nikoo Atefi, Fariba Babakhani-Ghazi, Mercedeh Hashemi, Shahrzad Julazadeh, Shahla Salah, and Venus Safaei.
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, 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 2025-2026, 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:
- Tasnifkhani with Kourosh Taghavi and Saeid Kamjou at IAC
- Gelareh Sheibani concert at IAC
- ISSD End of the Year Celebration
- Screening “Sea Boys” at IAC
- Mehregan Celebration in collaboration with SDMA, “Sara Naeini & Reza Rohani” at SDMA
- Tasnifkhani with Kourosh Taghavi at IAC
- Hafez Day in San Diego, in collaboration with the San Diego Central Library
- Motherland Concert with Shahdad Rohani and Roudaki Orchestra at Mandeville Auditorium
- College Seminar by the PCC Youth Committee
- Collaboration with Shabakeh Hamkhan and Mosaic Magazine twice
- Screening “The Things You Kill” in collaboration with the Digital Gym Cinema
- Tasnifkhani with Kourosh Taghavi at IAC
- Collaboration with Pacific Art Movement’s Annual Asian Film Festival
- Yalda Celebration with Gelareh Sheibani at IAC
- Turkey Trot 5K Walks by the PCC Youth Committee
- Screening “It was an accident” collaboration with the Digital Gym Cinema
- Persian Music Recital at IAC
- ISSD Mehregan Celebration
- ISSD Yalda Celebration
- Dokhtare Tarsa and Sheikh Sana’an with Shadi Moeini Nejad & Shahrokh Moshing Ghalam at IAC
- Two sessions of Sound & Reiki for Iran at IAC
- Art Exhibition “Dialogue Across Different” with Fereydoun Moezzi, Mehdi Baghaeian & Andre Ghadesmian at IAC
- A Vigil of Mourning and Solidarity for the People of Iran with AIAP and HOI at IAC
- Nowruz Preparation at the Iranian School of San Diego
- Presentation of Haft-seen exhibits at seven San Diego Public Libraries
- ISSD Nowruz Celebration at Lewis Middle School
- PCC Nowruz Open House
- Making multiple announcements regarding Nowruz from KPBS radio and website
- Collaboration with Pacific Art Movement in the San Diego Asian Film Festival Annual Spring Showcase
- ISSD Talent Show at IAC
- Screening “Cutting Through Rocks” collaboration with the Digital Gym Cinema
- Collaboration with AIAP & IABA about Law & Life
- Food Drive by the PCC Youth Committee for the San Diego Food Bank twice a year
- Three Jong e Farhangi programs at IAC
- Two Family Nights at IAC (first Friday of every quarter)
- Seven Virtual One Poem, One Poet presentations (third Wednesday of the month)
- Six Virtual and In-person Film and Discussion sessions (last Sunday of the month)
Iranian School of San Diego: The academic year 2025-2026 was ISSD’s 38th year of operation. This year, ISSD had 317 students attending in-person and virtual classes. The in-person classes were on Sunday mornings. ISSD had a total of 22 in-person classes, 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 also offered. School had three online classes this year. 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 15, 2026, at Lewis Middle School. The End of the Year event and graduation for the Class of 2026 will take place on May 31, 2026.
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, and the ISSD End of the Year program. In addition to the regular dance classes, a Persian 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 also classes and workshops in partnership with SDSU. The Center has a library with more than five thousand books.
Peyk Magazine: For the past 35 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, 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, 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. Over the past year, the Persian Cultural Center successfully received grants from the City of San Diego and the County of San Diego, Conrad Prebys Foundation, Persian Heritage Foundation, and San Diego Gas & Electric.
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 has successfully provided financial, emotional, and practical support to a single mother with an infant, as well as to a refugee father and his young daughter.
Youth: The Youth Committee has been instrumental in supporting PCC and ISSD 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, Mohammad Ayari, Masoud Azmoodeh, Parnian Badii, Tayebeh Bahmani, Mercedeh Hashemi, Mahmoud Reza Pirouzian, Hamid Rafizadeh, and Baharak Shademan. Except for Mahmoud Reza Pirouzian and Hamid Rafizadeh who have served their two consecutive terms and are subject to “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.
2026 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. Mr. Hossain Hajimowlana, Ms. Lila Badiozamani, Mr. Habib Hariri, and Mr. Hossein Ajideh 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 Sadr, Mercedeh Hashemi, Mohammad Ayari, Masoud Azmoodeh, and Parnian Badii. Tayebeh Bahmani, Farideh Rasouli Fazel, and Sara Alavi will serve as alternative board members. These members will serve along with the current board members: Fariba Babakhani, Soheil Bigdeli, Ali Pirouzian, Shahla Salah, and Sara Taghavi. The general assembly adjourned at noon.
The first meeting of the Board of Directors was held on June 11, 2026. Subsequently, the Board elected members of the Executive Committee, who will serve PCC for one year:
- President: Soheil Bigdeli
- Vice President: Sara Taghavi
- Treasurer: Fariba Babakhani-Ghazi
- Secretary: Ali Pirouzian