Meet Our Board Of Directors

Yalda Modabber - Executive Director and Board President

Yalda Modabber is Golestan’s Executive Director. As such, she is currently responsible for all strategic, administrative, and operational duties including program development, organizational strategy, scheduling, recruiting (staff and students), training, marketing, expansion, procurement, bookkeeping, and facility maintenance.

Ms. Modabber, is a former molecular immunologist, and later consultant to for-profit and non-profit organizations. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Ms. Modabber moved to Iran as a kindergartner and returned to the U.S. at the age of 9 years. As an undergraduate, Ms. Modabber majored in Psychology, with an emphasis on Child and Developmental Psychology, finishing a dual degree in Experimental Psychology and Human Biology. Ms. Modabber went on to pursue a career in biomedical research and spent 8 years at Harvard Medical School, first as a research associate and later as a graduate student. In 2000, Ms. Modabber changed her career path and became a consultant for startups, Fortune 50+ corporations and non-profit organizations as a strategist and evaluator.

In 2005, Ms. Modabber, posted an ad on the Berkeley Parents Network, in search of an Iranian daycare, preschool, or co-op program for her first-born son, then two years old. She received a response from another mother that led to a weekly playgroup and eventually became Golestan. Ms. Modabber was hired as Golestan’s full-time Executive Director in 2008. Both of her sons have attended the school.

Sara Rahimian - Chief Financial Officer

Sara Rahimian is Golestan’s Chief Financial Officer. As such, she is responsible for maintaining the financial books and records of the organization, producing accurate and timely financial reports, and providing information and assistance to the Executive Director on such matters.

Ms. Rahimian is an Iranian-American business owner and software engineer. Ms. Rahimian currently owns and operates two businesses. One is a franchise of Baby Boot Camp in Berkeley, a stroller based fitness program for prenatal and postpartum mothers. The second is a web engineering firm, Slick Logic, which specializes in web development, search engine optimization, and online marketing.

Ms. Rahimian has a B.S. from UC Berkeley in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science as well as a certificate in Business Management through UC Berkeley Extension. Prior to starting her own businesses, Ms. Rahimian worked for 7 years as a developer, project and product manager at Motion Control Engineering. She also was part of the organizing committee for the Sacramento-based annual Iranian Food Festival from 2004 through 2006, which drew over 4,000 participants from the Iranian and greater Sacramento communities each year to an annual Persian New Year celebration at California State University Sacramento.

Firuzeh Mahmoudi - Secretary

Firuzeh Mahmoudi is Secretary of Golestan’s Board of Directors. She is responsible for maintaining accurate records of all board meetings and correspondence. Ms. Mahmoudi also plays an active role in fundraising for the organization.

Ms. Mahmoudi is the founder and the International Coordinator of United4Iran (united4iran.org), a global network for human and civil rights in Iran. Firuzeh Mahmoudi is an Iranian-American mother, global coordinator, project manager, and environmental scientist. She earned masters degrees in Environmental Science and Public Affairs at the School of Public Affairs in Bloomington, Indiana and received her bachelor’s degree in Economics from UC Berkeley.

From 2002 to 2006, Ms. Mahmoudi served as the International Coordinator of the global coalition Health Care Without Harm, which has 350+ member groups in over 50 countries.

Ms. Mahmoudi acted as the main liaison to agencies such as the World Health Organization, the World Bank, and the Hesperian Foundation. Ms. Mahmoudi fostered the development and engagement of member groups through providing strategic and technical support and organizing and facilitating regional and international meetings.

Since 2005, Ms. Mahmoudi has been leading a $23 million United Nations project aimed at reducing the volume and toxicity of health care waste in eight low-income countries around the world. She is currently on the board of MOMS (Making Our Milk Safe), an environmental-health NGO with the mission of protecting the health of our babies by eliminating the growing threat of toxic chemicals and industrial pollutants in human breast milk. She is also an advisor for the nonprofit organization Hardy Girls Healthy Women (HGHW) which is a dedicated to the experience of equality, independence, and safety for girls and women in their everyday lives.

Negar Baharlou – Board Member

Negar Baharloo is active in devising and executing outreach as well as marketing and fundraising strategies for Golestan.

Ms. Baharlou is a great Iranian art enthusiast. She studied Ancient Iranian Art History and Archaeology at UC Berkeley and Islamic Art at New York University, where she received her master's degree. She traveled to Iran and Turkey to visit the many cities and historical sites she had studied and worked at The Metropolitan Museum of Art for several years in the Islamic and Near Eastern galleries. After several years, she decided to make a career change to marketing.

Negar Baharlou is currently a Senior Brand Manager at Ubisoft Entertainment, one of the world's largest video game publishers, with studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 28 countries. Prior to that, she was a Consumer Promotions Manager at The Clorox Company, a Marketing Manager at Linkshare, and an Assistant Marketing Manager at McClanahan Children's Publishing. Negar has an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management.

Elham (Ellie) Han – Board Member

Ellie Han manages Golestan’s Parent Association and is also active in outreach, marketing, and collateral for the organization.

Ms. Han is an Iranian-American who lives in Kensington and works in San Francisco as the Chief Operating Officer of SFE Jewelers, a family owned wholesale jewelry manufacturing company.

Ellie left Iran in 1979 and studied in France before immigrating to Marin County in 1981. She earned a BS in architecture and design from the University of Arizona. After college, Ellie's interest in marketing and design brought her back to the Bay Area where she began work at Media Industry producing commercials for a local advertising company. Her combined interest in marketing and design ultimately drew her to her family business where she currently works designing custom jewelry for private clients as well as large retail manufacturers. Having studied and traveled abroad, Ellie speaks fluent Farsi and some French.