Our President

Dr. Sharon S. Nazarian is the President of the Y&S Nazarian Family Foundation, with a regional office in Israel named the Ima Foundation. The focus on education and public policy is core to Sharon's philanthropic perspective. She currently teaches as an adjunct professor at the University of California Los Angeles in the Department of Political Science. She is also the founder of the Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies at UCLA and Chair of its Advisory Board. The Center is housed in the International Institute at UCLA in order to provide a systematic and academic study of Israel.

Her undergraduate studies took place at the University of Southern California, double majoring in Journalism and International Relations. She went on to receive her Master's and Doctorate of Philosophy degrees also from the University of Southern California in the field of Political Science, specializing in Political Economy and Economic Development in newly industrialized countries.

Sharon sits on a myriad of boards including American Friends of Hebrew University, American Society of the University of Haifa, the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA), and the Pacific Council on International Policy as well as the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, where she serves on the Executive Committee. Additionally, Sharon is a member of the Board of Trustees for Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences.

She is the daughter of Younes and Soraya Nazarian and has three siblings, David, Shulamit and Sam. She is one of the primary shareholders of Nazarian Enterprises, a venture capitalist group for green reusable energy, and SBE, a successful entertainment group that owns several high-end hotels, restaurants and nightclubs. Currently, she resides in Los Angeles with her three children.