50 Iranian-Americans you Should Know: Azadeh Hariri

Iranians have been making significant contributions to business, science, culture and entertainment in the United States since the early 20th century. Today, there are almost one million people of Iranian origin living in the United States. In this series, IranWire profiles the Iranian-Americans you should know, highlighting their achievements and careers, and asking what it means to be part of one of America’s most educated and successful communities.

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Azadeh Hariri is a businesswoman with a passion for education. Since moving to the United States in the early 1980s, she has promoted education for young Iranians living in the United States, and encouraged businesses to contribute to their futures.

Azadeh Maboudi Hariri was born in 1951 in Tehran to a traditional family that built its fortune in textiles, establishing the lucrative Starlight Textile Company.

Hariri completed her own university education in the United States. Soon after her return to Tehran, the pre-revolution Ministry of Commerce hired her as an economic analyst. Later, she left the ministry and became chief operating officer of the family business.

After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the new government confiscated Starlight and made it part of the Mostazafan Foundation of the Islamic Revolution, as it did with many other businesses. Hariri and her family were forced to leave Iran and emigrate to the United States.

“My late grandfather was rich and a factory owner,” Hariri told IranWire, “but when we immigrated to America all our properties were confiscated. When my husband and I arrived in the US, we set out to create a new business with new ideas and plans.”

Out of this came Pacific Groservice, Incorporated, now PITCO Foods, a wholesale retailer and distributor of food, beverages, and consumer products to independent convenience stores, grocery chains, restaurants, and vending service operators in Northern California. Hariri and her husband founded the company in 1982, with Hariri taking on the role of Chief Operations Officer. It has more than 600 employees.

In 1994, Hariri was selected as a member of the dean’s board at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. She is also a member of the board of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

Hariri then went on to set up the Iranian Youth Scholarship in 2000, part of the Iranian Federated Women’s Club. This led to the establishment of the non-profit organization Iranian Scholarship Foundation (ISF), which helps fund undergraduate students to study on university courses, promotes civic engagement and volunteer work in the students’ local communities. As and aims to promote “preserve Iranian principles and culture.” Hundreds of students have been supported under the scheme.

Hariri told Iranian.com, a directory for Iranians living in North America, that she first started recognizing a need for scholarships and educational funding for Iranians in the US when her daughter was going to school in the 1990s. She says she then learned about the Iranian Federated Women’s scholarship fund and wanted to do more. “So I founded the Youth Scholarship Fund” to give up to $10,000 to students,” she said.

Hariri and other donors support the foundation. A committee of professors from Stanford and University of California Berkeley evaluate the applicants, who qualify for assessment by excelling academically at high school level and come from lower-income families. She says the foundation does not have any direct links with organizations in Iran, but Iranians can apply for scholarships if they are hoping to attend a university in the United States.

The iranian.com interviewer said Hariri was making a “positive difference in the lives of academically gifted yet financially constrained Iranians who wish to further themselves in America.”

Hariri is a champion of hard work and endurance. “Do not be afraid of the future and never lose your self-confidence, especially if you are a woman,” she told IranWire. “Look ahead.”

Hariri’s philanthropy also focuses on Moms Against Poverty, a charitable foundation that helps with children’s health and education in many countries, including Iran and Afghanistan.

“The more leaders we have in America who understand Iran and its culture, the better off Iranians will be,” she has said in the past — a belief that has particular resonance  in today’s political and cultural climate. “We must have senators and congresspersons of Iranian descent in 20 years. We must fight ignorance and the only way to achieve that is to make sure Iranians reach the levers of power and decision-making in America. Helping the leadership in the United States is the same as helping Iran.”

Hariri continues to promote understanding about Iran and Iranians, and to highlight the role businesses can play in fostering education and progress.