Tara Aghdashloo is an award-winning writer, director, multidisciplinary artist and poet born in Iran. She is a published author who has worked as an essayist and journalist before transitioning to film. In 2020 she completed a masterclass at the London Film Academy by renowned filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf, who remains as her mentor. Since then, her three short films have been commissioned by BFI Network, Canada Council of the Arts, BBC, Ontario Arts Council, and Toronto Arts Council among others, and competed at festivals globally, with over 20 nominations and 10 wins. Tara’s debut narrative feature is a UK-Canada co-production supported by Telefilm Canada and Ontario Creates. Tara is a vocal intersectional feminist and advocate for global south and human rights in the SWANA region. Previous to filmmaking, she’s worked as a writer, journalist and documentary-maker with works appearing on BBC, Channel 4, Financial Times, Harvard Business Review, The Guardian, and many more. 

Niki Karimi, Iranian Actress, filmmaker, writer, photographer, and producer, was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1971.  At school, she became interested in theater and writing and started her career by directing plays. In 1989, Karimi started acting in cinema with The Bride. The movie was extremely successful and became a cult in the history of Iranian cinema. After that, she played in more than forty films and won many national and International awards.
In 2001, Karimi made a documentary " To Have or not Have " which focused on couples who are suffering from infertility and also couples who decide not having a child from beginning. Her feature directorial debut was with 2005’s Yek Shab ( One Night ). This film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival's Un Certain Regard. She made her second feature film, Chand Rooze Baad ( A Few Days Later ), in 2007, which was shown at the Rome Film Festival. "Soote Payan" ( Final Whistle ) is her third feature film, which premiered at the Pusan Film Festival.

In 2020, she shot her fifth film, “ Atabai " in Azerbaijan, Iran, for which she received the award for best film and best director from the Iranian critics society.

She has been a Jury member in important festivals like Cannes , Berlin , Locarno, and many others.

Iran Davar Ardalan is an award-winning AI strategist and storyteller with a career spanning NPR, National Geographic, and the White House Presidential Innovation Fellowship program in Washington D.C. She is currently at Booz Allen, where she has led groundbreaking research in large language models and risk mitigation, and drives modernization, AI integration, and digital transformation across mission-critical initiatives. In 2025, she was a finalist in two categories of the Booz Allen Gen AI Academy Awards for her innovative work in generative AI and storytelling. 

A veteran journalist, Ardalan served as Head of Weekend Programming at NPR News, overseeing the editorial direction and production of national shows across the network. She later became Executive Producer of Audio at National Geographic, where she led acclaimed, award-winning podcasts. She is the co-author of AI for Community (Taylor & Francis, 2025), advocating for the role of AI in cultural heritage.

Also an artist and member of the Annapolis Arts Alliance, her AI Currents series, featured at Gallery 57, uses handcrafted acrylic and collage to explore AI’s patterns and limitations. Ardalan’s pioneering AI research has been recognized in The New York Times and her news productions honored with multiple Webbys, an Ambie, Signal Awards, a NASA team leadership award. She is a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. Ardalan was also featured in Zippy the Pinhead. When she’s not shaping the future of AI or layering paint in her studio, Ardalan finds joy on the open water, sailing the Chesapeake with her husband, an environmental engineer, and their blended family of eight children and almost five grandchildren, a lively crew bound by love, laughter, and the rhythm of the tides.

Mahsa Motamedi is a senior executive with over 25 years of global leadership experience across the film, entertainment, and advertising sectors. With a strong foundation in brand development, strategic partnerships, and international event management, she has played a pivotal role in positioning key institutions and destinations at the forefront of the creative industries.

She began her career in advertising in the UK before transitioning to the UAE, where she held leadership roles that helped shape the region’s media and cultural landscape. Her career spans major milestones, including more than a decade at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), where she served as Executive Director of Marketing & Operations. At DIFF, Mahsa led multidisciplinary teams and oversaw wide-ranging functions across marketing, communications, sponsorship, and operations, contributing to the festival’s emergence as the leading film event in the MENA region. 

She later joined the Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF) in Saudi Arabia as Director of Operations & Events, where she played a key role in the successful launch and rapid global recognition of the festival.

In her current role as Marketing & Business Development Director at Film AlUla, Mahsa is leading the strategic positioning of AlUla as a world-class film production destination. Her efforts have been instrumental in developing the organization’s global marketing and industry outreach, launching AlUla Creates to support local creative talent, and forging high-profile partnerships that have earned Film AlUla international accolades — including the Emerging Location Award and Film Commission of the Year at the Global Production Awards.

Widely recognized for her ability to navigate complex cultural and industry landscapes, Mahsa continues to be a trusted leader in the evolution of the MENA region’s creative economy, known for her strategic insight, stakeholder engagement, and commitment to meaningful impact.

Farzaneh Majed is ROI Institute Partner and Balanced Scorecard Institute Strategic Partner and Advisory Board Member with over 20 years of successful business development, change management and innovation experience who has a passion for excellence and thrives on driving change. Farzaneh’s extensive career at the global level has resulted in many successful initiatives being adopted lucratively. She believes in simplifying processes and delivering results through strategic planning and effective execution.

As the Partner of the ROI Institute, Farzaneh is a Certified ROI Professional (CRP) and has conducted both Impact Studies as well as Impact Evaluations.

Farzaneh has coached the Procurement Department of a public hospital in Saudi to develop a team that is going to be responsible for measuring the results of their purchases. 

Farzaneh has coached faculty members of a Saudi governmental body for the past 7 months on conducting an ROI study on a programme they have attended.

In addition to leading ROI Certification courses, Farzaneh has personally conducted an ROI study which took 12 months for a governmental body in Saudi Arabia.  They wanted to measure the impact and ROI of Strategic Planning and Strategy Execution. She not only designed and developed the programme for them, but also, assisted them in collecting Action Plans for Level 3, Application, followed by developing objectives for Level 4 – Impact. They actually achieved a positive ROI. 

As the CEO and Managing Partner of Transform Alliance (TA), Farzaneh is committed to assisting organizations to achieve transformation through the engagement of their people with TA’s alliance partners. Having identified the mission of the organization, clients are guided and closely monitored on the journey from Strategy Formation and Implementation of Change Management. A key focus throughout is the end result and measurement of the ROI on each project.

Farzaneh is an advocate of Inclusion and Collaboration and owes her success to putting herself in the other person's shoes and seeing the world from their perspective and seek a win-win solution. As Partnership Director, she transformed the relationships Informa had developed with key accreditation and certifying bodies as well as Informa’s pool of subject matter experts. She was instrumental in identifying new talent to ensure the sustainability of the business.

Farzaneh established the Training, Learning & Development Division of Informa (Former IIR Middle East) and was selected as Centre of Excellence for Training among Informa Group and achieved Innovation Award for continuous improvement. 

Farzaneh is a Key Performance Indicator Professional (KPIP), Balanced Scorecard Master Professional (BSMP) and has a Master’s Certificate in Project Management from George Washington University. She has an Honours degree in Combined Sciences (Statistics & Biology) from the University of Brighton in the UK.

Shirin Amani Azari is an Iranian-born Swedish mother of a thirteen-year-old daughter. She lives with her family in Kent, working as a psychotherapist during the day, while pursuing her great passion for writing at the same time.

At the age of twelve she left Iran and has never returned. Her Swedish life began in the city of Uppsala, where she lived until a year before she emigrated with her husband to London in 1997.

Her first book, Once Upon a Time in Tehran, was published in New York in 2009. This proved to be a success through various book signings in New York and London, one of which, at Harrods, had a great turn-out. She was also interviewed by the three most-viewed Iranian television companies in England and USA; Tapesh, Manoto TV and her recent interview was with Sina Valiollah on MBC Persia. She won awards from the BBC Persian Service and had a further book signing in New York in 2010. Once Upon a Time in Tehran was published in both hard and soft cover.

Once Upon a Time in Uppsala was written with the hope of raising awareness of an immigrant life as seen through the eyes of a twelve-year-old child. The author's intention is te help other children in the same situation, children who are silently suffering in a world where hostility to immigrants and refugees is growing, to find their own voice, which will aid their integration into society.

Shirin is committed to her charitable work, in which she is a strong believer. She offers her services to the Medical Alliance for Health Services Abroad (MAHSA), believing in the future of young people in Iran.

Restoring stories such as tales from Persian folklore is a passion for her, and she has referred to this in both her books. She believes that a story can tell us more than any academic lecture. Tales create magic and wonder, and teach us about life, ourselves and others.

Her previous writing experiences include articles published in the International Journal of Psychotherapy and The Therapist, amongst other journals in the field of her profession.

Shaadi is a Senior Managing Consultant at IBM with over 12 years of experience in AI strategy and implementation, guiding multinational clients across diverse industries. A passionate AI leader and strategist, she specialises in responsible and ethical AI adoption, combining deep technical expertise with strong business acumen. Shaadi is also a vocal advocate for flexible working, currently embracing a 4-day workweek. She believes that technology has the power to enable people to design work around the lives they want to live.

Samira KM is a passionate acupuncturist specialising in the five elements, Theta healing, and spinal energetic facilitation. Additionally, she serves as a mentor and teacher for undergraduate students at the School of Traditional Five Elements Acupuncture. With a background in mathematics and civil engineering, Samira pursued various career paths before finding her calling in holistic healing. This journey included roles as a performer, dancer, pastry chef, chocolatier, and assistant to the president of the UK’s pastry team.

In 2017, Samira experienced a transformative moment when she faced physical, mental, and emotional challenges. Acupuncture proved to be instrumental in her journey of self-discovery and healing.

Dedicated to holistic approaches that address the interconnectedness of body, mind, and spirit, Samira is committed to bridging the gap between different healing modalities. She strives to raise awareness and empower individuals to explore diverse avenues of healing that resonate with them.

Bibi Kasrai is a dynamic entrepreneur, philanthropist, and culinary innovator and influencer based in San Diego, California. In 2009 and as the founder and CEO of Harvard Cookin' Girl, she created a unique space that brings together individuals of all ages to explore and enjoy healthy globally inspired cuisine. Her establishment has garnered recognition from prominent media outlets, including Nickelodeon, NBC, VOA, BBC, CBS, and Harvard Business Review, and has received acclaim not only from educators, school districts, and parents alike but also major corporations around the world who have hosted the corporate team building events at her studio​.

Before venturing into the culinary world, Bibi had a distinguished career at the World Bank, and in the nonprofit development. She served as the Chief Development Officer for organizations such as the J. Craig Venter Institute and the XPrize Foundation, where her efforts contributed to significant initiatives like the $30 million Lunar Prize. Her tenure at Scripps Health and Walker Digital further highlights her expertise in major gift fundraising and public relations.

Bibi's academic credentials are equally impressive. She earned her MBA from Harvard Business School and holds both a BA and MA in television journalism from Moscow State University. Fluent in multiple languages, including French, Russian, Persian, English, Spanish, Polish, Bulgarian, and Italian, she exemplifies a commitment to cultural diversity and global understanding. ​She has been named one of America’s best mentors by the Insight Institute.

Beyond her professional pursuits, Bibi actively engages in philanthropic endeavors. She served as a volunteer advisor to the Encyclopedia Iranica board, has launched the VivaIranica! -a campaign to encourage cultural philanthropy among younger generations. During the Woman, Life, Freedom campaign she launched the Myshare4freedom campaign that raised funds to assist the injured youth. Additionally, she manages the Kasrai Foundation, honoring the poetic legacy of her father, Siavash Kasrai, a notable Iranian poet. ​ She has recently launched her own videocast called “Khooneye Ma” on youtube.

Mana Shamshiri studied Philosophy, Ethics and French at The University of Bristol, then a Masters in International Law with a focus on Environmental Law at SOAS, University of London.

She went vegan at the age of 18 due to ethical considerations for animals and later compounded her belief in leading a vegan lifestyle by understanding the impact that plant-based eating has on health and the environment.

She started her blog and social media platform @theiranianvegan during the COVID-19 pandemic, after noticing a lack of cultural representation in the vegan world. Through creating engaging content and plant-based Persian recipes, she draws on Iranian history and anthropology to show that plant-based eating does not come at the cost of losing our culture and heritage. She is anchored by the mission to introduce a growing health and climate-conscious population to Iranian cuisine and culture, and to use food as a vehicle to foster cross-cultural understanding. It was met with a hugely positive reaction and a rapidly growing organic audience.

In 2022, she left a career in law to pursue her passion: to lead, educate and influence people to be more conscious about their food choices. The demand led her to run London's first ever and only plant-based Persian restaurant, Mana's Plant-Based Persian Cuisine. The 4-month pop-up in King’s Cross received the Diner's Choice Award by OpenTable in 2022. She went on to teach sold-out cooking classes and run supper clubs, including fundraisers for Iran.

She has been interviewed for the LSE Middle East Centre's podcast. She has been featured on Manoto TV on multiple occasions to speak about Persian vegan food and facilitate cooking demonstrations. She has been featured in several magazines and has recently been named as one of 150 women leaders of the future by the vegan women's summit.

More Speakers to be Added Soon!