Azita Ghanizada

Azita Ghanizada is a political refugee and asylum seeker who has broken many cultural barriers in Hollywood. She has worked consistently on film and TV, holding her own opposite Academy Award-winners and nominees such as Rachel Weisz, Mahershala Ali, David Strathairn, Sam Shepard, Michael Shannon, and Casey Affleck. In 2016, she was named one of the "Seven Sundance Breakout Actresses You Must Know" for her work opposite Rachel Weisz in "Complete Unknown." On television, she has appeared on several hit TV shows, including CBS's "United States of Al," HBO's "Ballers," Freeform's "Good Trouble," and Syfy's "Alphas." In 2022, she became the first woman from Afghanistan on Broadway in her Broadway debut in "The Kite Runner" at The Helen Hayes Theater.

Azita is also the Founder and President of the MENA Arts Advocacy Coalition (MAAC). She launched MAAC after lobbying and succeeding in adding the first new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion hiring category into a labor contract in 37 years. Middle Eastern North African, known as MENA, was drafted into the SAG-AFTRA theatrical agreements in 2017. Azita has served as the SAG-AFTRA National MENA Committee Chair and a Global Ambassador to Women for Women International.