Our Story

Yara Leadership Society is the vision of its founding directors. They, independently of each other, had been exploring the creation of a women’s leadership-focused organization dedicated to advancing the Iranian-Canadian community. They joined forces in January 2018 to establish Yara, which in Persian means the one who gives a supportive hand to others.

Yara identifies Iranian-Canadian success stories and celebrates and champions the individuals shaping them. Many of these individuals happen to be women.


Yara strives to:

S showcase leaders of Iranian heritage who will be a source of pride and inspiration to the next generation of Iranian Canadian women and provide leadership guidance.

H highlight the contribution of the Iranian-Canadian community nationally and globally.

E establish a network and act as a forum where these leaders and aspiring leaders connect.

Yara accomplishes this through conferences, networking events, and virtual discussions. It engages both women and men in the pursuit of its vision: lead together, strong together.

Our Team

Yara Leadership Society has been initiated by a team of professional Iranian-Canadians passionate for equal rights and equal opportunities.

Board Members

Shahram Tabe-Mohammadi

Shahram Tabe-Mohammadi is an environmental scientist working with (more…)

Parna Sabet-Stephenson

Parna Sabet-Stephenson is an advocate for women's advancement, and has led (more…)

Atoosa Mahdavian

Atoosa Mahdavian is a commercial litigation lawyer with more than 20 years of experience. (more…)

Advisory Board

Tina Tehranchian

Tina Tehranchian

An award-winning financial advisor since 1991, Tina Tehranchian is a senior wealth advisor at Assante Capital Management Ltd. (more…)

Roxana Tavana

Roxana is a Partner responsible for leading our growth in the Toronto market by continuing to build relationships with families and enhancing our value proposition. (more…)

Saeideh Fard

Saeideh began her career as a Chartered Accountant at PWC. She holds both (more…)

Payam Akhavan

Payam Akhavan is an international lawyer and professor at McGill University (more…)

Reza Moridi

Dr. Reza Moridi served as Ontario Minister of Research, Innovation and Science (more…)

Maryam Ghiai

Maryam is a senior executive with international experience in a diverse (more…)

Yara Leadership Team

Arezoo Irannejad

Arezoo Irannejad

Arezoo is a Senior IT Consultant at Capgemini Consulting firm (more…)

Ghazal Dehghany

Ghazal Dehghany is a registered Architect and Development Director with 10+ years of experience in design and construction of mixed-use developments in the GTA. (more…)

Maryam Nehrir

Maryam is a certified career coach with extensive professional experience in the education and employment sectors. (more…)

Niki Khatami

Niki Khatami is legal counsel in the investments legal team at Sun Life Financial. (more…)

Shima Heidari

Shima Heidari is a lawyer and was the recipient of the Rising Star Award (more…)

Yasna Beheshti

Yasna is a lawyer by training and has been practicing civil litigation for over a decade. (more…)

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