The Foundation for Democracy in Iran is a private, non-profit organization established in 1995 with grants from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), to promote democracy and internationally-recognized standards of human rights in Iran. The IRS approved the Foundation's application for non-profit status under Section 501(c)(3) in 1996. We invite donors to research FDI's tax status through this official IRS website by selecting "are eligible to receive tax-deductible contribution" then inputing our Employer Identification Number (EIN): 52-1950558.
Governing Board
Nader Afshar (Chairman)
Mr. Afshar is President of Middle East Consulting Associates, and has a Master of Science in development planning from London University, and a Master of Philosophy from the City of London Polytechnic’s School of Business Studies. Mr. Afshar has worked extensively with the United States Information Agency and the Voice of America Farsi Service.
William Nojay (Secretary-Treasurer)
An attorney with Hiscock & Barclay LLP, in Rochester, New York, and
previously with Coudert Brothers in Manhattan, Bill Nojay brings legal
and compliance expertise to FDI. During a long career of civic
activism, Mr. Nojay has served as a volunteer election monitor with
the
International Republican Institute in Ukraine (2004) and Afghanistan
(2005), and has provided pro bono assistance to pro-democracy and
freedom movements in Cambodia and elsewhere. He has a JD and a
Certificate in International Law from Columbia University Law School
and an MBA from Columbia’s Business school. Bill was elected to the New
York State Assembly in November 2012 and currently serves as a citizen
legislator in addition to his other duties.
Herbert I. London
Dr. London is the President Emiritus
of the Hudson Institute,
professor emeritus and
the former John M. Olin Professor of Humanities at New York
University.and dirctor of numerous charities and not-for-profit
institutions in New York City and Washington, including the Rose-Hulman
Institute of Technology, the Foundation for Individual Rights in
Education, the Council on Foreign Relations, the New York City Cultural
Affairs Commission, and the International Institute of Strategic
Studies.
Kenneth R. Timmerman (President and CEO)
The Foundation's activities are coordinated by Kenneth R. Timmerman, an investigative reporter and author who came to Washington in 1993 after nearly two decades in Europe and the Middle East. Mr. Timmerman published The Iran Brief, a monthly investigative newsletter on strategy, policy, and trade, from Paris between 1994 and 2000. His ground-breaking book on Iran, Countdown to Crisis: The Coming Nuclear Showdown with Iran, was published by Crown Forum in 2005. In January 2006, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 2006 by former Swedish deputy premier, Per Ahlmark. He is also the author of Shadow Warriors: Traitors, Saboteurs and the Party of Surrender, and a novel about Iran, Honor Killing, Ken was the Republican nominee for Congress in Maryland's 8th Congressional District in 2012.Advisory Board
Menashe
Amir
Mr. Amir is a long time Persian language broadcaster on the Israel
Radio International, a channel of Kol Yisrael (“Voice of Israel”).
He is also a leading Iranian expert in Israel and a chief editor of the
Foreign MinistryPersian web-site. Menashe Amir was born and grew
up in Iran, and immigrated to Israel in 1959. He worked as a journalist
and a broadcaster for over 50 years, An estimated 5 million iranians
listen to his daily radio program in Persian.
Pooya Dayanim
As
president of the Iranian Jewish Public Affairs Committee (IJPAC), Pooya
Dayanim has worked publicly and behind the scenes on behalf of jailed
and kidnapped Iranian Jews, and to promote the pro-democracy movement
in Washington, DC and beyond. He was elected to the Executive Committee
of the Iran
Referendum Movement at its inception, and also played a key role in
the successor movement, Solidarity Iran. He writes occasionally
for National
Review on-line, and is regularly quoted in national news stories on
Iran.
Iman Foroutan
Dr.
Foroutan is chairman and CEO of Virtual NGO, LLC, and holds issued and
pending U.S. pattents related to online contest systems. He is the
architect of the Virtual NGO software platform that was first
introduced in September 2010 as the launching pad of The New Iran, a
grass roots organization designed for teh systematic cooperation of the
Iranian opposition. Dr. Foroutan has worked for many years as as
an information systems consultant to the U.S. Air Firce, the U.S. Navy,
and Northrup Grumman Corporation for the B2 bomber. He is a founding
member of Iran of Tomorrow Movement and S.O.S. Iran.
Frank Gaffney
Mr. Gaffney is the Founder and President of the Center for Security Policy, based in Washington, DC. He is also a frequent newspaper columnist and news website contributor. In April 1987, Mr. Gaffney was nominated by President Reagan to become the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy, during which time he was the Chairman of the High Level Group, NATO’s senior politico-military committee.
Amil
Imani
An
Iranian-American writer and pro-democracy activist, Amil Imani has been
warning of the dangers of radical Islam in America and internationally.
Born in Tehran, Imani moved to the United States during the radical
Islamic Revolution of 1978/79. Amil’s writings can be found on his website. He is also
director and co-founder of Former
Muslims United, and the 2010 recipient of the prestigious “Speaker of the Truth
Award” from the Endowment for Middle East Truth. His latest
book, Obama Meets Ahmadinejad,
is available from Amazon.com
Dr. Arash Irandoost
Dr.
Irandoost is the founder of the Pro-Democracy Movement
of Iran (PDMI). A tireless activist on behalf of
Iranian refugees and the pro-freedom movement, he has been in the
forefront of exposing the pro-Tehran lobby in the United States. A
former university professor, Dr. Irandoost writes frequently about the
dangers posed by the Islamic Republic and radical Islam.
Reza Kahlili
Writing
under a pseudonym to protect his family inside Iran, Reza Kahlili is
the author of
A Time to Betray, his
memoir of working inside the IRGC for more than a decade as the CIA's
"eyes and ears" inside the Iranian regime.
, was published in May 2010.Mr.
Woolsey served as the U.S. Director of Central
Intelligence from 1993–1995. He also served as Ambassador to the
Negotiation on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, Vienna, 1989–1991;
Under Secretary of the Navy, 1977–1979; General Counsel to the U.S.
Senate Committee on Armed Services, 1970–1973; Delegate at Large to the
U.S.-Soviet Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START); and Delegate aLarge
to the Nuclear and Space Arms Talks. In 2008 he joined
VantagePoint Venture Partners as a venture partner. Jim received
his BA from Stanford University (Phi Beta Kappa), and his MA from
Oxford University — where he was a Rhodes Scholar — and an LLB from
Yale Law School.
Former Board members:
Hon. David M. Beasley
Gov. Beasley first ran for political office as a 21-year old student at Clemson University and became the youngest member of the South Carolina House of Representatives. He rose to become House Majority Leader and Speaker Pro Tempore, before mounting a successful campaign for governor in 1994. As Governor of South Carolina, David Beasley was best known for combining Christian ethics with conservative economics. Since leaving office, Gov. Beasley has been a senior advisor to Merrill Lynch, managed a family-owned bank, and incorporated the Center for Global Strategies, Ltd., an investment group that promotes ethnical development in the Third World. In 2003, he received the prestigious Profile in Courage award from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.
Joshua
Muravchik (founding member)
Dr. Muravchik has been a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute since 1987. Prior to that, he was a Fellow in Residence at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and Executive Director of the Coalition for a Democratic Majority. AEI Press published his 1991 study, Exporting Democracy, and The Imperative of American Leadership, in April 1996. His latest work, Heaven on Earth: The Rise and Fall of Socialism, was published by Encounter Books in 2002.
Peter
W. Rodman (founding member)
Mr.
Rodman was director of National Security Programs at the Nixon Center
for Peace & Freedom until July 2001. His most recent book,
America Adrift: A Strategic Assessment, was published by the
Nixon Center with a forward by Henry Kissinger. From 1984-1986, Mr.
Rodman served as Director of the State Department Policy Planning
Staff, and was Deputy Assistant to the President for National
Security Affairs from 1986-1990 under Presidents Reagan and Bush. Mr.
Rodman also served at the NSC during the Nixon and Ford
administrations. Since July 2001, he has been serving as Assistant
Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs.
Dr.
Mehdi Rouhani (founding member)
As the spiritual leader of the Shiite community in Europe, Dr. Rouhani worked for many years to promote understanding among the world’s great religion. The brother of Grand Ayatollah Sadegh Rouhani, who has been under house arrest in Qom since 1985, Dr. Rouhani became a tireless advocate for ending absolute clerical rule until his death in Paris in January 2000. Dr. Rouhani studied in Qom and Nadjaf (Iraq), and was awarded the title of Mujtahed, one of the highest achievements of Islamic scholars, at the age of 28 in 1958.
.