Who We Are

Diana Morales is a Department of Justice Accredited Representative and Senior Paralegal. Prior to joining Pars Equality Center in September 2019, Diana worked in the non-profit and private sector in the Bay Area assisting and advocating for the immigrant community, as well as assisting domestic violence victims navigate the family court system. With a J.D. Degree from Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark in Portland, Oregon, Diana not only brings a practical approach to resolving cases, but also an in-depth knowledge of the law. She holds a B.A. in History from Santa Clara University. Diana is a native Spanish speaker and as an immigrant herself, can relate to the struggles and uncertainties faced by the immigrant community.

GitaHazemiis a Department of Justice (DOJ) Accredited Representative, a certified Paralegal,and she representsclients before the Department of Homeland Security. Before joining Pars in July 2017, Gita worked over 17 years in Tech as a Front-End Developer, and agraphic artist. She holds M.Sc.Degree in Nuclear Engineering from Imperial College inLondon. Her decision to join Pars Equality Center was fueled by her passion to help the immigrant community and support them in attaining citizenship.Gita is also a fine-art artist and a graphic designer.

Gilda Ghajar is an accredited U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) representative at Pars Equality Center in San Jose. She is a certified paralegal and a Notary Public of the State of California.

Previously, Gilda worked as a senior immigration paralegal for an immigration corporation and as a corporate paralegal intern for a law group. Prior to her immigration practice, Gilda worked for an investment firm in San Jose as an accountant intern.

Gilda is a graduate of San Jose State University school of business with a concentration in accounting and has a law degree from Iran.

Saba Jalali isa paralegalat Pars Equality Center, San Jose office. She did her undergrad in Iran and has a Spanish MA from San Jose State University (SJSU). She was a Bilingual Health Education Intern atBreatheCalifornia of the Bay Area, a non-profit organization based in San Jose. Before moving to theU.S.she worked as a Spanish news translator in Iran’s Spanish Radio andHispanTV for more than three years. She joined Pars Legal Team in August 2017 and will soon become a Department of Justice (DOJ) accredited representative, which will allow her to counsel immigration clients, complete immigration forms, and represent clients before the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Saba loves languages and speaks Farsi, English and Spanish fluently.

Madison Ross is a Staff Attorney at Pars Equality Center where she provides legal representation and support to individuals navigating the U.S. immigration system, with a particular focus on humanitarian relief and family-based petitions.
Before joining Pars Equality Center, Madison interned with the Immigrant Center for Women and Children (ICWC), where she primarily assisted with U visa applications for survivors of crime. She is committed to advancing immigrant rights and ensuring access to justice for underrepresented communities.
Madison earned her J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law in 2024 and holds a B.A. from Chapman University, which she completed in 2021. She is admitted to the California State Bar and is fluent in Spanish.

Hamidreza got his BA in IT engineering from European University of Armenia. He got his Master’s Degree in Finance and Investment and Banking from Lincoln University of Oakland California.

He is working as a legal assistant at Pars since 2018 and looking forward to get his DOJ.

Zahra Borhan is an accredited U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) representative at Pars Equality Center in Los Angeles. She is also a senior certified paralegal with extensive experience in family-based immigration matters.

Previously, Zahra worked at a private family law firm as a legal assistant and carried out paralegal duties at the Public Defender Office in Fresno.

Zahra Borhan is an accredited U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) representative at Pars Equality Center in Los Angeles. She is also a senior certified paralegal with extensive experience in family-based immigration matters.

Previously, Zahra worked at a private family law firm as a legal assistant and carried out paralegal duties at the Public Defender Office in Fresno.

Sima Alizadeh has committed her career to serving the low-income Middle Eastern and South Asian communities of the Bay Area and beyond. She has been working as an attorney for over 14 years, mainly in the nonprofit sector. Sima joined Pars Equality Center in 2015. She is a graduate of U.C. Hastings Law School in San Francisco, where she earned her J.D. with an emphasis on International Law. Sima is an active member of the Oregon State Bar. She has been on the forefront of serving individuals affected by the Muslim Ban, and providing legal education in the area of travel ban waiver advocacy. Sima served as faculty for the 2018 & 2019 American Immigration Legal Association (AILA) annual conferences, as well as the & 2018 AILA CA Chapters Conference. In addition to speaking, Sima has helped cowrite two travel ban AILA practice advisories, and she regularly contributes to AILA’s Middle Eastern Interest Group (MEIG) and is on the AILA Afghan Task Force. Sima is committed in serving the Afghan community, and she manages the Pars Afghan Support Project and she has personally provided pro bono immigration legal services to the Afghan community for the last 10 years. Sima was born in Iran and speaks fluent Persian.

Sara Ahrar serves as Immigration Legal Assistant and a DOJ Accredited Immigration Representative at Pars Equality Center. In this position, she is supporting the organization to provide immigration legal services and increase the organization’s capacity to provide pro bono/low bono immigration legal services to Afghan new arrivals.

Sara has her bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, and was able to invent formulas which attests the relevancy of Human’s social psychology to Mathematics; acknowledged by The International Research Center for Mathematical Philosophy in Kabul.

Before moving to the U.S., she worked as Donor Relations and Partnership Assistant with Save the Children, a non-profit organization with international presence in over 120 countries. As part of her volunteer outreach, Sara was a women rights activist in promoting gender equality and empowering Afghan women

Sara speaks Pashto, Dari and Urdu fluently and loves artwork during her spare times.

Goli’s educational background: Bachelors of Art, majoring in Radio/Television.

She started as an intern in the NewsRoom for ABC News in Detroit, MI. After graduation she continued her career as a video/freelancer with automotive companies such as Ford Motor, General Motors, DaimlerChrysler-Mercedes-Benz as well as PBS Station in Detroit, MI as Assistant Director, Video Programmer, and Editor.

She moved on to financial field and worked for Mercury Financial and assisted hundreds of families who were low income to become first time homeowners through Federal/ Governmental loans. She continued in her role as a Loan officer / account manager at General Motors Relocation Mortgage for over ten years.

She moved to CA in Feb. 2010 and been with Pars since 2011. Her involvement with Pars ranges from teaching English Classes, Fundraising, Event Management, as well as Assistant to Mrs. Bita Daryabari.

Sam joined Pars in 2015 as a Case Manager and Building Manager. He possesses a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Iran and Master’s degree in Business Administration from India.

Shohreh joined Pars as an IRS-Certified Volunteer in 2015. She worked in Free Tax Filing Real Human Support, weekend classes, and Silver Club programs. Furthermore, she has worked as a receptionist and in the Social Services programs since 2020.

Before moving to the United States, Shohreh graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Esfahan University and worked as an instructor in Tehran University and Esfahan University of Technology for 8 and 10 years, respectively. Additionally, she has 3 years of experience working for Spadan Immigration Offices.

Fattaneh joined Pars as an IRS certified volunteer from 2016 to 2018.
Her educational background is associated degree in Physics & Accounting. She worked as an accountant for ten years in Iran. She also managed a trading company in Iran focusing on Royal Jelly.
She worked as a supervisor at CVS Pharmacy for five years.

Mr. Faizi joined Pars in 2023 as a Case Worker. He graduated with a master’s degree in International Law from Sharda University. He worked as a Legal Assistant duties in the office of USCRI of San Diego California.
He is helping Afghan refugees and newcomers.

Negar joined Pars in 2023 as front desk receptionist.
She graduated with a master’s degree in graphic arts from Azad University. Nagar is skilled in photography, drawing and painting.
She performs administrative duties in the office environment of San Jose. Welcoming and coordinating visitors and answering calls and providing services to clients is part of her framework.
Answering questions, helping clients needs and providing the highest level of satisfaction has highlighted her presence at Pars Equality Center.

Goharak joined Pars in 2014 as a Case Manager and Vita Tax Site Coordinator.

After an arduous journey through many countries and trying to become a refugee in the United States, Goharak finally arrived in Los Angeles where she enrolled in Glendale Community College to improve her English skills. Starting in 2007, she volunteered for the Catholic Charities Resettlement Agency to assist refugees like herself and to share her experiences with them.

Ali Taheri, an Iranian immigrant who has called Los Angeles home since 2016, brings a unique blend of academic expertise and practical business acumen to his work. With a background in atomic physics from the University of Shiraz and a Master of Business Administration, Ali possesses a solid foundation in both science and business. Before his relocation, Ali held key commercial management positions in major IT companies in Dubai, UAE, where he gained invaluable insights into the complexities of international business.

Driven by a passion for business and marketing, Ali channels his expertise to guide aspiring entrepreneurs at the Pars Equality Center in English and Persian (Farsi). Specializing in entrepreneurship, startups, financial forecasting, and marketing strategies, he offers practical solutions tailored to each individual’s needs. Ali enriches his life and business perspective through his passion for philosophy and history.

Dina Niazi has been serving immigrant communities at Pars since 2023. After working for more than six years as an office supervisor at UPS as well as a professor assistant at GMU, she relocated to California and has been using her own personal experience as an immigrant along with her extensive experience in case management for the benefit of our community. She is also a Notary Public of the State of Virginia.

Dina holds a B.A. in Finance from George Mason University (GMU) as well as an Associate degree in Business Administration from Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA).

Dina has been an asset to Pars by doing various roles such as:

General social services, Event coordinator, Word Education Services (WES) credit evaluator, Vita Tax Certified enroller, Covered California Certified Agent, Upwardly Global enroller, and Senior Planet computer trainer.

Her fluency in Farsi, Dari, and English has made it easier for our immigrant communities to feel more at home.

Mehrnaz is the ESL and Citizenship Program Coordinator/ Instructor at Pars. Mehrnaz has a Master’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).

She has more than 20 years of experience teaching different groups of language learners in IEP programs and university writing courses as well as aiding international students in obtaining desirable scores in standardized tests such as TOEFL and IELTS.

In her free time, she loves to cook and explore new recipes.

Anita joined Pars in 2019 and works as an ESL/Citizenship Instructor and Examiner. She has a Master’s in Linguistics and is certified in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL). She is specifically interested in how the production of language is affected by perception.

In her free time, she likes to read and to dabble in learning new languages to add to the ones she already knows.

Hranush started working at Pars in 2018 as an ESL/Citizenship Instructor. She has a Master’s in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL). Also, she has more than 5 years of experience teaching ESL and loves exploring grammar with her students.

When she does not teach, she enjoys travelling with her family or just having an ice-cream with her son.