Parinaz Zartoshty, EdD

Parinaz immigrated to the United States from Tehran, Iran. Her personal experiences as an Iranian American have informed her professional trajectory and commitment to international education. She earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Cornell University, a master’s degree in international relations from Boston University, and a doctoral degree in educational leadership from San José State University. Parinaz began her career working with several nonprofits before entering the field of international education more than 20 years ago as a part-time international student adviser. Since then, she has held a range of roles within international education, most recently serving in senior leadership positions with a focus on compliance strategy, community building, and campus internationalization.

She has served in volunteer positions with NAFSA, both at the national and regional levels, including Chair of NAFSA's Trainer Corps, Region XII's TLS/IEL KC Representative, Region XII's conference team, and most recently, she is serving as the IEL KC representative as part of the 2025-2027 ACC. Parinaz has presented multiple sessions and workshops, at both regional and national conferences. In 2021, she was the recipient of Region XII's outstanding international educator award. She was a participant in the Fulbright Japan IEA Seminar in 2018 and the Fulbright IEA Seminar in France in 2023.