August 23, 2011 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Saghi Agha-Khan [email protected] (301) 556-9145 CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR AND RAMIN ASGARD TO ALSO BE HONORED AT THE PASSING THE TORCH OF SUCCESS ON SEPTEMBER 18, 2011 PAAIA is building on the unprecedented reception of its signature event, Passing the Torch of Success, in Washington DC, by announcing that Christiane Amanpour, host of ABC’s “This Week with Christiane Amanpour”, and Ramin Asgard, Director of Voice of America - Persian, will also be honored at this event. The event, tickets for which are selling out quickly, will be held at the George Washington Lisner Auditorium on Sunday, September 18, 2011. To view the promotional video for this event, see the following link: http://youtu.be/sOqMMaIJxHc. The event will feature 10 well-known and highly accomplished Iranian Americans who will share the stage to pass their life and professional experiences to the next generation of leaders. Co-hosted by actor/comedian, Maz Jobrani, and former CNN anchor, Rudi Bakhtiar, the event will honor: Christiane Amanpour (Anchor of ABC’s “This Week with Christiane Amanpour” and former Chief International Correspondent at CNN) Ramin Asgard (Director, Voice of America – Persian, former Political Advisor to US Central Command, Former Director, Iran Regional Presence Office in Dubai) Anousheh Ansari (First female private space explorer & First Space Ambassador, serial entrepreneur, co-founder of Prodea Systems) Nazanin Boniadi (Actress: Charlie Wilson’s War, Iron Man, Next Three Days, General Hospital, How I Met Your Mother) Nazie Eftekhari (Founder, Chair & CEO, HealthEZ, Inc.) Nariman Farvardin (President, Stevens Institute of Technology, Formerly Senior VP for Academic Affairs & Provost – University of Maryland) Firouz Naderi (Director, NASA Solar Exploration Program, former Associate Director, NASA’s JPL, Former Mars Exploration Program Manager who headed the Program during the successful landing of the rovers on Mars) Vali Nasr (Author & Former Senior Advisor, Obama Administration, on Middle East and South Asia Issues, Professor of International Politics at Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy – Tufts University) Pardis Sabeti (Asst. Prof., Center for Systems Biology & Dept. of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University) Faryar Shirzad (Global Head of the Office of Government Affairs, Goldman Sachs, former Special Assistant to President Bush for International Economic Affairs & member of White House National Security Council) The event will begin at 3:00 pm (doors open at 2:30 pm) at the George Washington University Lisner Auditorium in Washington DC. Ticket prices are $25 students (with identification) / $50 non-students. Tickets are available for purchase at: Online: www.ticketmaster.com, keyword: PAAIA or http://www.ticketmaster.com/Paaia- Passing-The-Torch-Of-Success-tickets/artist/1615848 By Phone: 202-397-SEAT In Person: Lisner Auditorium (730 21st Street NW, Washington DC 20052) – Open Tues. – Fri. 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. For additional information about the upcoming Passing the Torch of Success event, please contact [email protected]. ABOUT PAAIA ~ The Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, nonsectarian, independent organization that represents the domestic interests of the Iranian American community before U.S. policymakers, opinion makers and the American public at large. PAAIA seeks to achieve its mission by focusing on three major areas of activities: Community Building, Image Building, and Influence Building. Please visit www.paaia.org for more information. .