E-Collaborative for Civic Education Organizational Updates
May 26, 2020
Throughout the last few months, there have been numerous changes at the E-Collaborative for Civic Education that we, the Board of Directors, would like to share. We remain steadfast in our commitment to empowering Iranian civil society to advocate for their human rights and inherent freedoms through our projects Tavaana and TavaanaTech.
In December 2019, Mariam Memarsadeghi resigned from her position as co-director of ECCE as well as her position as a member of the organization’s Board of Directors, and is no longer working for or affiliated with the organization in any way. ECCE/Tavaana is grateful for the numerous contributions Mariam has made to ECCE/Tavaana throughout her years of service as co-founder and co-director. Since its founding in 2009, she has played a critical role in the development and success of the organization. Her vision and dedication helped shape ECCE and its Tavaana, TavaanaTech, and Tolerance projects into what they are today – well known and well respected institutions serving the needs of Iranian civil society. We at ECCE continue to wish her great success in her life and professional endeavors.
ECCE is also excited to announce a few other changes to the organization’s management and Board of Directors. As of January 2020, Akbar Atri holds the positions of President of the Board and Director, and Brittany Hamzy holds the Deputy Director role. Esteemed writer and activist, Roya Hakakian, has joined ECCE’s Board. As a writer and journalist her reportage has been featured on network television, and her opinions and essays appear in the New York Times and NPR’s Weekend Edition, and the Washington Post among others. Her poetry in Persian has been included in many anthologies, including the PEN anthology of contemporary Iranian literature. Her acclaimed memoir, Journey from the Land of No: A Girlhood Caught in Revolutionary Iran was one of Publisher Weekly’s Best Books and Elle Magazine’s Best Nonfiction in 2004. She’s the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in nonfiction for her recent book, Assassins of the Turquoise Palace. It was also a 2011 Kirkus Review’s Best and a New York Times Notable Book. She is a founding member of Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, and is a fellow at Yale University’s Davenport College. Born and raised in a Jewish family in Tehran, Roya came to the United States in May 1985 on political asylum. Her new perspective and guidance are sure to be great assets to the organization.
E-Collaborative for Civic Education Board of Directors