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Neda Nobari - Transforming Philanthropy and Promoting Higher Education

Neda Nobari - Transforming Philanthropy and Promoting Higher Education

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 Neda is a San Francisco State alumni and Iranian American philanthropist. She immigrated from Iran to the United States in 1978 at the age of 15, attended San Francisco State, and graduated with a Bachelor's in Computer Science in 1984, and from 1985 to 2006, she served in numerous roles including Director and Vice-Chair of Bebe Stores. She also earned her Master's Degree from Dartmouth College in 2015, where she focused her research on the cultural identity of Iranian women in America.After Bebe stores, Neda established the Neda Nobari Foundation, (now called MOZAIK), which focuses on supporting organizations and initiatives associated with the arts, film, and education and service of social justice and cultural awareness. She's also serving on the board for the San Francisco State University Foundation.Let's listen to Neda as she takes us back to her early life as an immigrant, her first days at SFSU, and her connection to the university after graduating.Episode quotes:On serving on the board of San Francisco State University[00:08:10] The common denominator is social justice at the epicenter of the culture of this university; I had not experienced any other university. I just got lucky. I think that from a value perspective, we were just mission-aligned from the beginning; from the way that I was raised in my family, that's just our family values. It was so alive. What I was seeing at San Francisco State from the diversity, I mean, we didn't call them these words back then, but the inclusivity, the humanity decency, it was just there. It's like something you can feel in the air with particles in other human beings around you.What are the aspects of Computer Science degree that were helpful in business?[00:11:50] The computer science degree and just left-brain sort of logic thinking. And solution-oriented thinking, problem-solving. That's been a great foundation for me. And I think not unlike other tools like management skills or communication, I would say these are certain things that you can apply to any field. You could be selling cheese or mini skirts, and it doesn't matter. I think that foundation really helped me grasp the idea of what this business was about. On transitioning away from fashion business to philanthropy[00:20:08] I didn't really understand what the foundation's structure was or how it works. I hired a consultant to show me the roadmap of this philanthropic sector. And then I practiced it on the ground as a volunteer on boards and beyond just cutting checks for 12 years. And I learned how the system works. I did a residential program at Stanford for nonprofit leadership, executive training. It was like a little 12 day little MBA program for nonprofit leaders.I learned the science behind it; the whole social entrepreneurship had emerged about what all this means. And I found that fascinating. It's supposed to be something like a $600 billion industry. It is an industry and a lot of people work in it. After practicing it for all these years, I saw the opportunities to explore new ways of looking at philanthropy and private foundations.On building a participatory community through the nonprofit organization MOZAIK Philanthropy[00:22:53] My older son got involved, and they came up with the brand and the focus on the arts, but really that's just a vehicle for us to model a new way of philanthropy, which is not grant-seeking, sitting there waiting for people to send these grant requests. Then the board or entity then decides who gets how much based on whatever and who's sitting at the table. We've changed that to a participatory model. We bring in community members. We actually give the money to other people to give it away. And in that process of full funding, we bring communities together, like-minded individuals that work on certain focus areas. The ripple effects of that community-building exercise in itself, the discussions that happen, and how these dots get connected have been just the most incredibly rewarding and fascinating process for us.On her strong commitment serve as the board of San Francisco State University[00:27:56] San Francisco State is my alma mater, and I do have emotional connections that impacted me when I was a student there so many years ago, but the bigger reason is my commitment to public education. That's where the common denominator with social justice comes in. Having access to education and higher education is a game-changer for most people. As an international student, San Francisco State and the CSU system were still more affordable than any other option.I don't know what I would have had to do cause I was already working full time while finishing my senior year. I don't know what it would've looked like if I didn't have access to CSU. So public higher ed is key. Show Links:Neda Nobari on LinkedInNeda’s profile on Iranian-American Women FoundationNeda Nobari FoundationMOZAIK Philanthropy
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