Goli Ameri

Goli Ameri
12thAssistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs
In office March 19, 2008 – January 20, 2009
Preceded by	Dina Powell
Succeeded by	Ann Stock
Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Values and Diplomacy,IFRC
In office July 1, 2010 – July 1, 2012
Succeeded by	Joelle Tanguy
Personal details
Born	Goli Yazdi (1956-09-26)September 26, 1956 Tehran,Iran
Nationality	Iranian American
Alma mater	Stanford University(BA, MA)

Goli Ameri(Persian:گلی عامری;néeYazdi;born September 26, 1956) is an Iranian-American businesswoman and former U.S. diplomat. She is the co-founder of StartItUp, a mobile technology platform that provides resources to aspiring entrepreneurs.She formerly served as Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Values and Diplomacy for theInternational Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societiesand U.S.Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs.Ameri ran for theU.S. House of Representativesas aRepublicanin 2004, and is a former U.S. Representative to theUnited Nations.She serves on the board of trustees ofFreedom House,as well as on the Center for Middle East Public Policy advisory board of theRAND Corporation,a group of public and private sector leaders that provide guidance and support for RAND's Middle East research.

Early life and education

Ameri was born inTehran,Iran.She came to the United States as a student in 1974 to attendStanford University.There, she earned aB.A.inCommunicationsandFrench Literatureand, later, herM.A.in Communications. She also studied at theSorbonneinParis,France.She became aU.S. citizenin 1989.

Career

Ameri was founder and president of eTinium, Inc., atelecommunicationsconsulting firm inPortland, Oregon.She is the author of over fifty market studies and wrote a bi-monthly industry analysis column forTelephonymagazine. She has been quoted in such publications as The National Business Journals,The Oregonian,The Seattle Times,The San Jose Mercury News,andInternet Weekand has been invited as a speaker and moderator to industry conferences worldwide.Prior to founding eTinium, Ameri was a director at U.S. Leasing, a former division ofFordCredit andFleet Bank,inSan Francisco.

She served on the steering committee of theBabsonin OregonM.B.A.program, and was a member of the Oregon Steering Committee on the Campaign for Undergraduate Education for Stanford University.She was a trustee and the Vice Chair for Development for theCatlin Gabel School,overseeing fundraising activities for the scholarship fund and teacher education.Ameri has also taughtJunior Achievementclasses in Oregon. She is fluent inEnglish,FrenchandPersian,as well as conversant inSpanish.

In October 2007, Ameri was named as one of the "100 Most Powerful Women in theNorthwest"byThe NW Women's Journalfor 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 atPortland State University.

Ameri received theEllis Island Medal of Honoron May 11, 2008.The award is given annually to 100 recipients to pay tribute to the experiences and individual achievements of immigrants to the United States.

In 2012, theCarnegie Corporation of New Yorkincluded Ameri in its annual list of "Immigrants: The Pride of America," which was published on July 4, 2012 inThe New York Times.She also 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.

Ameri has periodically written op-eds about Iran, including inThe Wall Street JournalandThe Hill.

2004 campaign for Congress

In 2004, Ameri defeated small businessman Tim Phillips and software executive Jason Meshell to become theOregon Republican Party's nominee forOregon's 1st congressional district,in a challenge to then-three-term incumbent DemocratDavid Wu.

Ameri's campaign gained a great deal of attention from political insiders inWashington, D.C.because of her fast-paced fundraising skills.She was dubbed one of theNational Republican Congressional Committee's "Super Six" candidates.

The contest received national attention when, late in the campaign, Wu admitted that he had been disciplined for attemptedsexual assaultof a female classmate while he was a student at Stanford in 1976. Ameri did not focus on the issue initially, but heavily pushed it in the closing days of her campaign.Wu won the 2004 election, but ultimately resigned in 2011 due to another sexual assault allegation.

United Nations

Goli Ameri with former UN Secretary-GeneralKofi Annan

In 2004, Ameri was appointed byGeorge W. Bushas one of three public members of the United States' delegation to the 61st session of theUnited Nations Commission on Human Rights,which meets annually inGeneva,Switzerland.

In the summer of 2005, President Bush appointed Ameri as the head of the United States' delegation to theUnited Nations General Assembly,which is headquartered inNew York City.There, she worked onUN Management Reform,the creation of theUN Human Rights Counciland, due to her background in the field of high-technology, on theInternet GovernancePortfolio. She was sworn in by then-U.N. AmbassadorJohn R. Boltonin September 2005 and served until the end of the session in December. She was confirmed retroactively by theUnited States Senatefor this position on May 26, 2006.

Ameri has also spoken at events onMiddle Eastissues, 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 theCommonwealth Club of Californiain San Francisco, theWorld Affairs Councilof Oregon, and the Conference on World Affairs at theUniversity of Colorado at Boulder.

In cooperation with the World Affairs Council of Oregon, 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.

Assistant Secretary of State

On November 15, 2007, Ameri was nominated by President Bush to serve as Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, succeedingDina Habib Powelland presiding over theDepartment of State'sBureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.The Bureau is largely responsible for the United States government's public diplomacy efforts abroad. After a series of Senate hearings in January and February 2008, she was confirmed by the Senate for the position on March 13, 2008.Ameri was sworn in for the position on March 19, 2008.

Goli Ameri at the Bai Nian Vocational School inBeijing,China.

As part of her duties, Ameri has traveled to different regions of the globe to promote cross-cultural understanding. Her first trip, in May 2008, was to the Persian Gulf, where she visited theUnited Arab Emirates(UAE) andQatarto promote cultural and educational diplomacy in the region. InDubai,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 addition, she met with Sheikh Hahyan bin Mubarak Al-Nahyan, UAE Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Chancellor ofZayed UniversityinAbu Dhabi.In Qatar, Ameri delivered remarks atQatar University.

In late May 2008, Ameri traveled toBrazilto review U.S. public diplomacy efforts and meet with local leaders. In the capital city ofBrasilia,Ameri met with Brazilian Minister of Education Fernando Haddad and Minister Eliana Zugaib, acting head of the Cultural Section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. While there, Ameri also announced an additional $1 million investment for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs'Fulbright Programand signed a new Fulbright Agreement with the Brazilian Foreign Ministry.

In June 2008, she traveled toAzerbaijan.During her trip, she signed an agreement on behalf of the United States with Azerbaijani Minister of Education Misir Mardanov to increase the number ofAzerbaijanistudents studying in the United States.While in the capital city ofBaku,Ameri also met with the President of theNational Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan,Mahmud Karimov and the leadership of the Academy's Manuscripts Institute, promising American help in preserving the country's ancient manuscripts.She concluded her trip with a meeting with Azerbaijani presidentIlham Aliyev,where the two stressed the importance of American-Azerbaijani relations.

In July 2008, Ameri traveled toIndonesiato meet with educators, cultural experts, and alumni from U.S.-Indonesian exchange programs. While in the capital city ofJakarta,Ameri met with the Director General of Higher Education, Fasli Jalal, from the Ministry of National Education. Ameri also visited the American Indonesian Exchange Foundation (AMINEF) to meet with Fulbright Program alumni, board members, and staff.

Goli Ameri and U.S. Public Diplomacy Envoy Fran Drescher.

Ameri appointed "The Nanny"starFran Drescheras a United States Public Diplomacy Envoy on September 8, 2008, joiningMichelle KwanandCal Ripken Jr.as the third celebrity appointed to this role. Drescher supports American public diplomacy efforts, including raising awareness of women's health issues, cancer awareness and patient empowerment. Drescher's first trip was to Romania, Hungary, Kosovo and Poland.

Ameri traveled toChinaandVietnamas part of her duties in September 2008. In China, she met officials from theMinistry of Education.While in Vietnam, Ameri opened a new consultancy and information office of the U.S.Institute of International EducationinHo Chi Minh City.

As part of the U.S. government's Iraqi relief efforts, Ameri traveled toBaghdad,Iraq in October 2008, where she announced her bureau's Iraq Cultural Heritage Project efforts to renovate and improve theNational Museum of Iraq.

Ameri's term as Assistant Secretary of State ended with the rest of the Bush Administration on January 20, 2009.

Red Cross and Red Crescent

On July 1, 2010, Ameri was appointed by theInternational Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societiesas Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Values and Diplomacy. In this position, she was tasked with increasing Red Cross and Red Crescent influence with policymakers and governments to better understand the needs of the people the organization serves worldwide.She retired from this position on July 1, 2012.

StartItUp

After her tenure at the Red Cross, Ameri co-founded StartItUp, a mobile technology platform that provides a range of resources including assessment, training, mentorship and a social network to aspiring entrepreneurs.The company 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 ofLong BeachandBakersfield.

See also

• List of Assistant Secretaries of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs

External links

• Start It Up,official website
• United States Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs,official website
• Official White House Nomination,press release on her 2007 nomination to be Assistant Secretary of State
• An All-American Race in Oregon,2004 NPR Piece on Ameri-Wu campaign
• FEC Fundraising Rankings for 2004 Congressional Challengers,slightly out-of-date, as it lists Ameri as #2, FEC filings from the campaign show almost $2.2 million raised overall, making her #1.