Our Vision

IAAB encouraged and supported new expressions of Iranian-American identity and leadership in order to build a more cohesive community. IAAB envisioned a community in which:

• every young person feels resolved and empowered in their identity,

• local communities are proactive and responsive in addressing their own needs,

• there is an emphasis on volunteerism, civic engagement and philanthropy,

• alternative fields of study and career paths are supported,

• a growing pipeline exists of confident and inspiring individuals who play a leadership role in the Iranian and broader community,

• Iranians feel connected to and collaborate with other diaspora communities and communities of color.

Who We Are

IAAB hosted the largest network of Iranian-American student leaders and young professionals. Formed in 2003 by students, IAAB was the first Iranian-American organization to create spaces for critical dialogue and reflection.

In 2004, IAAB held the first International Conference on the Iranian Diaspora, a groundbreaking program bringing together scholars, leaders, and other key stakeholders to discuss and respond to community challenges.

Learning from successes of other diaspora communities, IAAB quickly recognized the need to tap into the Iranian community's greatest asset: its youth. In 2006, IAAB created an intentional youth space, Camp Ayandeh, that supported emerging high school leaders in their identity formation and provided them with the community and necessary tools to lead the Iranian-American community into the future.

Camp Ayandeh and Camp Javan, its sister camp for middle school students, grew into the largest network of Iranian youth in the world with hundreds of successful student leaders positively impacting virtually every industry including technology, government, not-for-profit, medicine, and academia. 

“IAABers,” a term coined for staff and alumni, are change-makers and inspiring leaders in their communities. Our programs empowered members to be more informed about themselves and the world.

For the Iranian diaspora community, IAAB was the leader in supporting a new generation to be active problem-solvers for local and global challenges. IAAB was sunsetted in 2020 at the height of the pandemic.

Our History

The idea for IAAB began in 2003 when two students began talking about what they, as young Iranians in the diaspora, wished for the Iranian-American community. That casual conversation between young collegiate women grew into IAAB’s first conference, and ultimately the organization that continues to have an impact in the community to this day.

After the first conference, some were already describing IAAB as having started a movement. What seemed implausible in 2004 materialized into the enormous impact IAAB has had in our community. From helping shape an open-minded, communicative Iranian diaspora to getting our youth involved and empowered, IAAB’s progress helped reshape the diaspora over nearly 20 years.

In the history of IAAB there has been an undercurrent of looking outward to what is needed in the community around us, inward at what we can provide that is unique and will have an impact, while pooling together all the resources we can and holding the highest expectations of ourselves to provide the best quality organization possible.

As a community organization led by young people, we often found ourselves facing the challenge of proving ourselves to outsiders that didn’t quite know why we were necessary for Iranian Americans or why we would make such sacrifices for a cause. IAAB demonstrated to our community, donors, friends, other organizations, and the media that our combination of passion, vision, and commitment to quality made us invaluable for our Iranian diaspora community.

Being in IAAB was about making an impact and continuing that conversation that started in 2003 about a community vision - one that we worked to crystallize and actualize for nearly 20 years.