U.S. Azeris Network (USAN) Board of Directors (2009-2010)
On May 6, 2009, the U.S. Azeris Network completed its elections for the USAN 2009-2010 term for the Board of Directors, welcoming four (4) newly elected Board Directors and re-electing four (4) previous Directors for the next term in office.
Dr. Adil Baguirov, Ph.D., Managing Director, holds degrees from the University of Southern California (USC) and MGIMO University, is an author of two monographs and numerous articles on the subjects of technology, energy security, congressional affairs and history of Azerbaijan and the region. He has founded several other Azerbaijani diaspora and Turkic projects, such as Habarlar News List, E-Majlis and Yeni Dostlar discussion lists, Virtual Azerbaijan (VAR) website, and Turkica.com social networking site.
Mr. Bedir Memmedli, CPA, Treasurer and Director for East Coast and Capital Region, is originally from Baku, Azerbaijan. He graduated from North Carolina State University with Bachelor's in Business Management and Master's in Accounting. After graduation, he has held accounting, auditing, and financial consulting positions with various government agencies and private firms. He is a Certified Public Accountant. Bedir is married and has a son.
Mr. Yusif Babanly, MBA, Corporate Secretary and Director for Southern and Midwest Region, holds a Bachelor's degree in American Studies from Western University (Baku, Azerbaijan), Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and MBA in Finance from Lindenwood University (St. Charles, MO). He has been long involved in community work, co-founded Houston Azerbaijanis organization, has served on the Board of United Nations Houston, currently serves as a Board Director of the Azerbaijani-American Council (AAC).
Dr. Jayhun Mollazade, Ph.D., Director for East Coast and Capital Region, is a CEO of a telecommunications company, President of the U.S.–Azerbaijani Council, and former publisher of the Caspian Crossroads journal.
Dr. Bob Guney, M.D., Director for West Coast Region, has resided, studied and worked in Michigan, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Hawaii and Nevada, holds a number of advanced educational degrees from the University of Hawaii, UTESA School of Medicine and University of St. Francis and has been involved in bio-medical research for over 5 years. Dr. Guney has been one of the active members of Turkic community of Nevada for a long time.
Dr. Azer Tebrizli, Director for Northwestern Region, is originally from the great city of Tebriz, splits his time between several states in Midwest and West Coast, where he runs successful businesses. Dr. Tebrizli has several degrees from the leading universities in U.S. and abroad, and is a well known professional in his sphere of work.
Ms. Mehriban Efendiyeva, Director for East Coast and Capital Region, currently lives in the state of Virginia and works at World Bank Institute. She has been an active member of the Azerbaijani-American community in U.S. and was involved in educational, grassroots and cultural presentations with Azerbaijani Women Association (AWA) and USAN. Ms. Efendiyeva, who is a graduate of George Mason University (GMU) and is planning to enter a graduate program in Economics in 2010.
Dr. Nigar Gasimova, MD, Director for Southern Region, currently lives in the state of Texas, and holds a medical degree from the Azerbaijan Medical University. For the past decade, Ms. Gasimova has worked in several leading energy and medical firms in and around Houston; she has been in medical research for 12 years, and is currently running her own consulting business that promotes healthy lifestyle. She has been an active member of Azerbaijani-American community in all these years.
In addition to the Board of Directors, the USAN has a Board of Trustees, consisting of some 100 donors of the organization, and a Board of Honorary Advisors, where a dozen members of academia, business and former members of Congress give their insight.
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The U.S. Azeris Network (USAN) <http://www.usazeris.org/> is a registered non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian genuine grassroots advocacy and voter education network that is facilitating political activism and efforts by the Azerbaijani-Americans and other Turkic-Americans and their associations, organizations, councils, conferences, and other formal, semi-formal and informal groups, on federal, state and local levels. USAN is the first nationwide grassroots organization uniting Azerbaijani-Americans, being created by the grassroots, for the grassroots.
