board memebers
Gunduz Tahirli, Board Member / President
Gunduz is a businessman and founder of Baku Group companies serving Azerbaijani community in the Washington, DC area. Gunduz is a graduate of Baku State University with a diploma in journalism. Since 1989, Gunduz has worked as a journalist and editor, at different times, specializing as a military and parliamentary reporter, and publicist. He was the chief editor of several newspapers in Azerbaijan until 2001, when he moved to the United States. Gunduz lives in Fairfax, Virginia with his wife and two children.
.jpg/:/cr=t:0%25,l:0%25,w:100%25,h:100%25/rs=w:1209,cg:true)
Farid Talishli, Board Member / Treasurer
Farid is an Economist working for international financial institutions. He is a graduate of the Azerbaijan State Oil Academy and Azerbaijan State Economic Institute. In 2006, Farid defended his dissertation on economics at Lomonosov Moscow State University and was awarded the degree of Candidate of Economic Sciences. Farid has lived in the United States since 2010. He is married and has three children.
.jpg/:/cr=t:0%25,l:0.08%25,w:99.83%25,h:99.83%25/rs=w:600,cg:true,m)
Sevinj Mammadova, Board Member / Secretary
Sevinj is a Doctorate candidate in Education Policy and Administration at George Washington University. She currently holds the Project Director position at George Washington University. In 2008, Sevinj received the U.S. Department of State Edmund Muskie Graduate Fellowship and continued her education in the United States. She earned an M.Ed. Degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, with a specialization in Higher Education Administration from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2010. After graduating from the University of Texas at Arlington, Sevinj worked as Executive Director of the U.S.- Educated Azerbaijani Alumni Association (AAA) from August 2011 to June 2012. Sevinj lives in Vienna, Virginia with her husband and two children.
.jpg/:/cr=t:0%25,l:0%25,w:100%25,h:100%25/rs=w:600,cg:true)
Lala Ragimov, Board Member
Lala is a founder and President of Azerbaijani Women of America (AWA), a non-profit organization, dedicated to preserving Azerbaijani Culture and Heritage, bringing awareness, connecting and enriching community members. Lala holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from George Mason University and Master’s Certificate in Government Contracting from George Washington University. She maintains active Realtor licenses in Virginia and District of Columbia. Prior to becoming a seasoned full-time Realtor, Lala had a successful career in Contracts Management, with a special focus on government contracts administration, contract negotiations, proposal preparation and project finance management.
.jpg/:/cr=t:0%25,l:0%25,w:100%25,h:100%25/rs=w:600,cg:true)
Mahir Iskender, Board Member
Mahir Iskender is the Founder and CEO of Take 5 Global, a strategic fashion sales and communications company with offices in Washington DC and Istanbul. Prior to this, he was the Executive Director of the United States Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce (USACC), facilitating relationships regarding trading and investment between the U.S. and Azerbaijan. He holds two degrees from Azerbaijan Kooperasiya University in International Economic Relations and has leveraged his experience as an innovative business leader with proven strengths in business expansion, marketing, sales, client relations, and technology integration. He currently resides in McLean, Virginia. He is married and two children.