33 Facts About Goli Ameri

Goli Ameri is an Iranian-American businesswoman and former US diplomat.

Goli Ameri is the co-founder of StartItUp, a mobile technology platform that provides resources to aspiring entrepreneurs.

Goli Ameri formerly served as Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Values and Diplomacy for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and US Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Goli Ameri serves on the board of trustees of Freedom House, as well as on the Center for Middle East Public Policy advisory board of the RAND Corporation, a group of public and private sector leaders that provide guidance and support for RAND's Middle East research.

Goli Ameri came to the United States as a student in 1974 to attend Stanford University.

Goli Ameri is the author of over fifty market studies and wrote a bi-monthly industry analysis column for Telephony magazine.

Goli Ameri has been quoted in such publications as The National Business Journals, The Oregonian, The Seattle Times, The San Jose Mercury News, and Internet Week and has been invited as a speaker and moderator to industry conferences worldwide.

Goli Ameri was a trustee and the Vice Chair for Development for the Catlin Gabel School, overseeing fundraising activities for the scholarship fund and teacher education.

Goli Ameri is fluent in English, French and Persian, as well as conversant in Spanish.

In October 2007, Goli Ameri was named as one of the "100 Most Powerful Women in the Northwest" by The NW Women's Journal for her UN service and her position on the Advisory Board of the National Education for Women's Leadership program at the Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University.

Goli Ameri received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor on May 11,2008.

Goli Ameri appeared in the 2012 PBS documentary "The Iranian Americans," which chronicles the history of Iranian immigrants to the United States after the 1979 revolution in Iran.

Goli Ameri has periodically written op-eds about Iran, including in The Wall Street Journal and The Hill.

In 2004, Goli Ameri defeated small businessman Tim Phillips and software executive Jason Meshell to become the Oregon Republican Party's nominee for, in a challenge to then-three-term incumbent Democrat David Wu.

Goli Ameri's campaign gained a great deal of attention from political insiders in Washington, DC because of her fast-paced fundraising skills.

Goli Ameri was dubbed one of the National Republican Congressional Committee's "Super Six" candidates.

Goli Ameri did not focus on the issue initially, but heavily pushed it in the closing days of her campaign.

Wu won the election with 58 percent of the vote; Goli Ameri received 38 percent, and Dean Wolf, the Constitution Party candidate, received 4 percent.

In 2004, Ameri was appointed by George W Bush as one of three public members of the United States' delegation to the 61st session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, which meets annually in Geneva, Switzerland.

Goli Ameri was confirmed retroactively by the United States Senate for this position on May 26,2006.

Goli Ameri has spoken at events on Middle East issues, democracy promotion and UN reform nationwide, including a testimony before the United States Helsinki Commission's Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe hearing, "The Iran Crisis: A Transatlantic Response," as well as at the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco, the World Affairs Council of Oregon, and the Conference on World Affairs at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

In cooperation with the World Affairs Council of Oregon, Goli Ameri organized and hosted a visit by eight East Asian United Nations Ambassadors as part of a public diplomacy trip to Portland in the spring of 2007.

On November 15,2007, Goli Ameri was nominated by President Bush to serve as Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, succeeding Dina Habib Powell and presiding over the Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Goli Ameri was sworn in for the position on March 19,2008.

In Dubai, Goli Ameri met with alumni and officials of the International Visitor Leadership Program, which brings foreign participants to the United States each year to meet and confer with their professional counterparts.

In late May 2008, Goli Ameri traveled to Brazil to review US public diplomacy efforts and meet with local leaders.

Goli Ameri concluded her trip with a meeting with Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev, where the two stressed the importance of American-Azerbaijani relations.

In July 2008, Goli Ameri traveled to Indonesia to meet with educators, cultural experts, and alumni from US-Indonesian exchange programs.

Goli Ameri appointed "The Nanny" star Fran Drescher as a United States Public Diplomacy Envoy on September 8,2008, joining Michelle Kwan and Cal Ripken Jr.

Goli Ameri traveled to China and Vietnam as part of her duties in September 2008.

On July 1,2010, Goli Ameri was appointed by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies as Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Values and Diplomacy.

Goli Ameri retired from this position on July 1,2012.

Goli Ameri has partnered with several cities in Southern California to provide mentorship and other guidance to small business owners and entrepreneurs planning to start their own businesses, including the cities of Long Beach and Bakersfield.