Daniel Khalessi (2013)

Alumni Profile: Daniel Khalessi (class of 2013)

Daniel was our first student to receive the Iranian Studies Certificate, awarded to students who completed 25 units of in-depth study on Iran. Daniel has gone on to receive M.A.s from the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs at Yale (’15) and the Yenching Academy of Peking University (’16). He has worked at the U.S. Department of Treasury's Middle East and North Africa Office and the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Daniel traveled the Silk Road for a research project on Central Asia and represented Stanford and Yale on student delegations to Korea and Japan. Most recently, he co-founded Public Lobby, a startup with a new app called Fireside that allows users to submit video questions directly to civic leaders.  

On his experience at Stanford, Daniel says, "The Stanford Iranian Studies Program gave me the opportunity to deeply study the history of my ancestors and the introspective lens to more fully understand what it means to be an American of Iranian descent. The children of immigrants carry a special duty -- to use their diverse talents to continue building the United States and giving all Americans a voice in our democracy. That is why I co-founded Fireside, a video platform that enhances communication between American citizens and policymakers.”