Firoozeh Dumas
Featured Speaker - Friday General Session

Two Minutes for CATE "Growing the CATE Community through Regional Councils" CATE Vice President and Central Representative, Liz McAninch

CATE President, Michelle Berry, welcomes CATE Members to the 2007 Convention

Carol Surabian, Washington Intermediate School, Dinuba introduces the featured speaker, Firoozeh Dumas

Firoozeh Dumas, Author Firoozeh Dumas was born in Abadan, Iran, and moved to Whittier, California, at the age of seven. She spent time in Iran and California before she attended UC Berkeley where she met and married a Frenchman. Firoozeh grew up listening to her father, a former Fulbright Scholar, recount the many colorful stories of his life. In 2001, with no prior writing experience, Firoozeh decided to write her stories as a gift for her two children. Random House published Funny in Farsi in 2003. Jimmy Carter called her book, "A humorous and introspective chronicle of a life filled with love - of family, country and heritage." Firoozeh has spoken at conferences, schools, churches, Jewish temples and Islamic centers reminding us that our commonalities far outweigh our differencces...and doing so with humor. In April 2005, Firoozeh's one-woman show, "Laughing Without an Accent" opened in Northern California to sold out audiences. Funny in Farsi is now on the California Recommended Reading List and is used in many junior high, high schools and universities.