Pardis Mahdavi

Pardis Mahdavi is an author, educator, and entrepreneur who has published seven nonfiction books and two edited volumes. She holds a BA from Occidental College and two master’s degrees and a PhD from Columbia University. Her acclaimed works include Book of Queens (2023), Riding (2024), Hyphen (2021), Crossing the Gulf (2016), From Trafficking to Terror (2016), Gridlock (2011), and Passionate Uprisings (2008).

Her writing has appeared in Time, Ms. Magazine, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post. An expert in human rights and education policy, Mahdavi previously served as President of the University of La Verne, Provost at the University of Montana, and Dean at Arizona State University and the University of Denver.

Now based in Arizona, she is working on her debut novel Bad Trip Good and enjoys yoga, breakdancing, aerial silks, and traveling the world.