Maryam Panahy Ansary was born in Iran and educated in France and the United States. She received her degree from George Washington University and since then has devoted much of her time to the promotion of the arts. While living in Iran and prior to her marriage to Ambassador, Hushang Ansary, she served as Chief of Staff to the Iranian Foreign Minister H.E. Abbas Aram.
During her lifetime, Mrs Panahy Ansary has been an active member of many leading charitable organizations in the Middle East and the United States. She served as the Chairman of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art from its founding to 1978. She was a member of the Board of Directors of the World Rehabilitation Fund from 1982 to 1997, where she also served as the founding Chairman of the Fund’s Special Events Committee. Mrs Panahy Ansary joined the Board of Trustees of the Institute of International Education in 1985, where she remains a staunch supporter and where she has served on many committees, including the Executive Committee and the Special Events and Advancement Committee.