Moj Mahdara & Dr. Roya Rastegar
In Conversation
Farhang Foundation proudly presents
a virtual live talk with the brilliant Iranian couple
who will discuss how their Iranian heritage
has influenced their lives and successful careers.
Moj Mahdara
CEO of Beautycon
and
Dr. Roya Rastegar
Award-Winning Writer and Filmmaker
Help support Farhang Foundation’s free programming!
About Moj Mahdara
Moj Mahdara is an entrepreneur and CEO. She is an expert in the beauty, wellness and CPG market and currently the CEO of Beautycon, a globally-recognized community for content creators, celebrities, fans, and brands. As CEO, she is responsible for driving brand vision for Beautycon and its growth initiatives, launching the brand globally, which include strategic media partnerships, content development, market intelligence, and e-commerce over the past 5 years. Mahdara is an accomplished speaker, business figure and an active investor with international recognition for her expertise in Gen Z and Millennial consumer profiles and behaviors. She has been named to multiple lists over the years, including ones in Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire magazine; Fast Company’s “Most Creative People” list, The Hollywood Reporter’s “Top 25 Most Powerful Digital Players,” Women’s Wear Daily’s “Digital Power Posse” list and Variety’s “Digital Entertainment Execs to Watch,” and has traveled nationally and internationally to present Beautycon’s first market intelligence white paper, FOMO Vol. 1. Additionally, Moj is an active investor, and working on her first book and focused on bringing the industry together via Beauty United.org. Moj is a first generation Iranian-American born in Kentucky, and raised in Pennsylvania and California.
About Dr. Roya Rastegar
Roya Rastegar is an award-winning writer and filmmaker. She most recently produced the documentary series, The Legacy of Black Wall Street (OWN network, June 2021); a romantic comedy feature Venus as a Boy, premiering at Tribeca Film Festival 2021; the widely acclaimed sci-fi thriller, The Obituary of Tunde Johnson (Hulu, June 2020); and Gaga: Five Foot Two (2017) a documentary portrait of Lady Gaga. She also wrote the magical realist film Wildness (2011). She earned her Ph.D. from the History of Consciousness under the guidance of Angela Y. Davis. She has served on the selection committee of marquis American film festivals, including Sundance and Tribeca, and her writing on race and popular culture can be found in Wired, The Nation, and The Huffington Post. She teaches critical race theory, gender studies, and film theory/praxis around the country, most recently at Bryn Mawr College and UCLA. Roya is a first-generation Iranian-American born in Texas, and raised in Atlanta, Georgia.
