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Biographical: Mahdis Keshavarz (born September 7, 1976) is an Iranian born New York based media strategist, journalist, socio-political media liaison, human rights activist, and former youth television host. Keshavarz parents immigrated to the United States from Iran in 1979.

A 1998 graduate of the University of Washington, she studied communications and international studies. She is currently the principal of The Make Agency and works as a liaison between prominent NGO’s, cultural figures and artists. Keshavarz is the wife of business mogul Shaahin Cheyene.

Early Work: As a teen in the early 1990’s Keshavarz worked at a former Mayor Rosemary Ives Office Youth Liaison in the City of Redmond where she was one of the founders of the Old Fire House. She was a teen host of Get Real, a public access television show in Seattle. Keshavarz acted in Edge of Quarrel (2000), a drama about a Straight Edge Punk kid who returns to his hometown after college to discover the local Punks and Straight Edge kids involved in a conflict with one another.

Work: Keshavarz launched her public relations career in 1998 upon college graduation. As a marketing coordinator for the Atrieva Corporation she began working in design, writing, branding, analysis, and editing. By the following year relocating to New York, Keshavarz helped organize the 1999 Hague Appeal for Peace Conference as a consultant and program assistant. She worked directly with senior members of the United Nations, including the office of Secretary General, and various governments.

Her career fast tracked, landing her in the position of Vice President of Riptide Communications beginning in 2000. While there, Keshavarz continued to cultivate her strong interest in addressing social justice and human rights issues. While at Riptide she worked on high profile cases for organizations like the Center for Constitutional Rights. At the forefront of the media efforts against the war she was a central PR figure around cases at Guantanamo and anti-war [] and anti-death penalty efforts.

She is a board member of the Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association.

Keshavarz works on behalf of select clients and for her companies and offers crisis communications in politics as well as media strategy on arts and cultural issues.

Mahdis Keshavarz has taken the lead media position on select human rights issues concentrating on Middle Eastern matters. She has placed thousands of news stories and op-eds with various media outlets – including The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, BBC, The Village Voice, and Al Jazeera – on behalf of her clients. Her client roster includes international dignitaries, Hollywood stars and numerous film festivals and events focusing on the Middle East community for both a domestic and an international audience.

An accomplished advocate of human rights and social justice issues, Keshavarz has written for the online magazine Slate and has appeared as a commentator on BBC and Democracy Now! She serves on the advisory board for the Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association.

Today Keshavarz oversees numerous national and international accounts addressing political, artistic, and cultural issues. Her best known work includes the representation of:


 * Individuals:
 * Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan
 * Reverend Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou
 * Simin Behbahani
 * Josh Wolf
 * Dean Obeidallah
 * Greg Bennick
 * Negin Farsad
 * Barbara Olshanksy
 * Joshua Colangelo-Bryan
 * DJ K-Salaam
 * Kathy Engel
 * Reza Baluchi
 * Robert Karimi
 * Tina Foster
 * Wafaa Bilal
 * Frances Moore Lappe
 * Family of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui
 * Farid Mercury
 * Farid Mercury


 * Films and Festivals:
 * Shirin Neshat; Women without Men
 * Parvez Sharma; Jihad for Love
 * Annemarie Jacir, Suheir Hammad; Salt of This Sea
 * Arab American Comedy Festival
 * Arab & Iranian Film Festival
 * CinemaEast Film Festival
 * Zayed University Film Festival
 * Zayed University Film Festival


 * Organizations:
 * Alston Bannerman Fellowship Program
 * ALWAN
 * AMEJA (Arab and Middle East Journalists Association)
 * Arab American Family Support Center
 * ArteEast
 * Asia Society
 * BoomGen Studios
 * Center for Social Inclusion
 * Chelsea Art Museum
 * Child Foundation
 * Climate Crisis Coalition
 * Echo Chamber
 * Elan Magazine
 * European Union (EU)
 * FEN Magazine
 * Gaza Freedom March
 * Global Social Economy Group (GSEG)
 * International Justice Network
 * Iranian American Alliances Across Borders
 * Iranian American Bar Association
 * Machik
 * Mecca.com
 * Mercado Global
 * Nomadic Wax
 * Non-Stop Media
 * NY2LA Taxi
 * Pangea Day
 * Peace Boat
 * Poliglot Theater
 * Reed Space
 * Social Science Research Council (SSRC)
 * Soliya.net
 * Tehran Bureau
 * The Moth
 * The Streaming Museum
 * Third Wave Foundation
 * UC Irvine 11
 * UNDP
 * UNICEF
 * United for Peace and Justice
 * United Nations
 * Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO)
 * WISE Women’s Conference
 * Books:
 * Ferentz Lafargue; Songs in the Key of My Life
 * Giuliana Sgrena; Friendly Fire
 * John Pilger; Freedom Next Time
 * Strange Times, My Dear
 * Sumbul Ali-Karamali; The Muslim Next Door
 * Ferentz Lafargue; Songs in the Key of My Life
 * Giuliana Sgrena; Friendly Fire
 * John Pilger; Freedom Next Time
 * Strange Times, My Dear
 * Sumbul Ali-Karamali; The Muslim Next Door


 * Special Events:
 * Art Reoriented
 * (re)Orientalism
 * Bootleg Islam
 * Cooking con Karimi con Castro
 * Greetings Without Flowers
 * I Come in Peace
 * Peoples Republic of Peace (PROP)
 * Told/Untold/Retold at Mathaf Arab Museum of Modern Art
 * The Watch List
 * The World is Ours
 * ZOOM Art Fair
 * The World is Ours
 * ZOOM Art Fair


 * Causes and Philanthropy:
 * Member of The Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association (AMEJA) - a non-profit organization for media professionals of Arab and Middle Eastern descent.
 * Former Groups and Associations:
 * Advisory Board, Center for Social Inclusion
 * Advisory Board, Alston Bannerman Fellowship Program
 * Member of The Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association (AMEJA) - a non-profit organization for media professionals of Arab and Middle Eastern descent.
 * Former Groups and Associations:
 * Advisory Board, Center for Social Inclusion
 * Advisory Board, Alston Bannerman Fellowship Program
 * Advisory Board, Center for Social Inclusion
 * Advisory Board, Alston Bannerman Fellowship Program


 * Honors:
 * Photo Essay: Best Dressed Iranians 2010
 * Photo Essay: Best Dressed Iranians 2010
 * Photo Essay: Best Dressed Iranians 2010

LINKS:


 * http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=64...
 * http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranb...
 * http://www.slate.com/authors.mahdis_keshavarz.h...
 * http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/23/po...
 * http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2010/11/23/came...
 * http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranb...
 * http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=...
 * http://www.theimaginationage.net/2008/12/unders...
 * http://www.payvand.com/news/08/jun/1253.html
 * http://fsrn.org/audio/jan-05-2004/3896
 * http://www.ocregister.com/articles/muslim-25934...
 * http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/tag/wafaa-bilal...
 * http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/a-camera-in-t...
 * http://zomobo.net/producers-guild-of-america
 * http://www.parkingallery.com/?p=1092
 * http://blip.tv/grittv/grittv-mahmoud-darwish-tr...
 * http://www.democracynow.org/2003/12/29/up_to_40...
 * http://wilpf.blogspot.com/2009/03/media-strateg...
 * http://www.scribemedia.org/2011/05/13/muslim-ne...
 * http://www.cuny.tv/bio/mahdis_keshavarz
 * http://www.ahlanlive.com/photos/christie-s-duba...
 * http://www.flixster.com/celebrity/mahdis-keshav...
 * http://www.iranianalliances.org/studentsummit
 * http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar6zHNQUjB4
 * http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ameja