PAAIA presents Profiles of Iranian Americans.

It's no secret that in the past three decades, Iranian Americans have garnered significant achievements in all aspects of American life. We are at the forefront of scientific and medical breakthroughs; we are major protagonists in the world of high technology entrepreneurship; we occupy tenured positions at the nation's most distinguished universities; we are professional athletes and world record holders; we have been nominated for Academy Awards; we are partners at prestigious law firms, as well as senior executives at Fortune 50 companies.

And yet, in 2001, when after several mission failures, NASA successfully launched the Mars Odyssey, few of us knew that one of our own was at the helm of that critical success. Even fewer people knew when last year, a 22 year old Iranian American broke the world record in Women's 50 meter backstroke.

Through a series called "Profiles of Iranian Americans," Rudi Bakhtiar, PAAIA's Director of Public Relations will celebrate the many successes of the Iranian American community and project an accurate image that does our community justice as one of the most accomplished immigrant groups in America.

Join Rudi as she sits down periodically with some of the most captivating Iranian American personalities as they share, in their own words, their personal compelling journeys on the road to success.

Our hope is that by highlighting their individual, and often surreal, achievements, we can not only project an accurate and positive image of our community, but also inspire our children to take pride in their heritage and actively preserve their Iranian American culture.