Dr. Nazee Moinian holds a Ph.D. from the University of St. Andrews, a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) as well as a master’s degree in political science from its Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. During the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Nazee advised Secretary Hillary Clinton’s campaign as a member of its foreign policy advisory group on Iran. She previously consulted on Iranian affairs at the Council on Foreign Relations, where she interviewed foreign diplomats and acted as a liaison between the country’s political figures and their western counterparts. In 2001, Nazee became a United Nations envoy for a variety of Jewish non-profit organizations. Nazee has received numerous academic distinctions, including from Long Island University, as well as training as an international fellow at SIPA and as a Francophone diplomat at Sciences Po in Paris.
She has helped produce several acclaimed documentaries, including 2020’s Nasrin, about the imprisoned Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, as well as 2012’s The Iranian-Americans, which aired on PBS. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications including The Guardian and The Daily Beast.
Nazee serves on the board of trustees of the Jewish Museum in New York City. She is also a non-resident fellow at the Middle East Institute and a council member of the New York State Council on the Arts. Nazee has also been a longtime financial supporter of Democratic causes, candidates, and organizations.
A native Iranian, Nazee was raised in Tehran and immigrated with her family to the United States at the onset of the 1979 revolution. She is fluent in English, French, Farsi, and Arabic, with a working knowledge of Italian. She lives in New York City with her husband and children.