On Friday, June 17, 2022, actress, voiceover artist, and entrepreneur Vida Ghaffari was awarded with a Certificate of Recognition for her career achievements by California State Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian at his Van Nuys District office. Nazarian represents the 46th California Assembly District, which encompasses the central-southern San Fernando Valley. This was the first in-person event that Nazarian’s office has hosted in over two and a half years due to the pandemic.

“As a local resident and as a fellow Iranian-American, I was truly honored to be bestowed with this certificate by Assemblymember Nazarian who, through a lot of hard work and dedication, has successfully fulfilled the American dream and is someone who is truly devoted to our community,” said Ghaffari.

Other awardees were Joe Williamson of the Williamson Management Company, Essential Staff Solutions who was represented by Gabriel Avelar, C&M Printing who was represented by Cindy Cleghorn, and Ponchos Taqueria, represented by Alfonso Ceja. 

This event was held in collaboration with the Panorama City Chamber of Commerce. “The Panorama City Chamber of Commerce is honored to recognize small businesses that have made a difference in our community and our Chamber. We want to thank the Honorable California State Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian, whom we have had the honor to work with for nearly a decade to support the business community. We congratulate all the businesses recognized this year, and we thank them for their unconditional support. We look forward to continuing to work with you all for years to come,” said Saul Mejia, President and CEO of the Panorama City Chamber of Commerce.

"Many thanks as well to Saul Mejia for all his hard work on this endeavor and all he does for our community. And big congrats to my fellow awardees," added Ghaffari. 

Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian (He/Him) was born in Tehran, Iran and is of Armenian-Iranian descent. He was elected in November 2012 to represent California’s 46th Assembly District, which includes the Hollywood Hills, Lake Balboa, North Hills, North Hollywood, Panorama City, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Toluca Lake, Valley Glen, Universal City, Van Nuys, and Valley Village.

Since his election, Adrin has diligently worked to create educational opportunities for young adults, increase mass transit in the San Fernando Valley, provide smarter management of vital water resources through infrastructure improvements, protect and expand the film industry, and strengthen our infrastructure for much-needed earthquake resiliency. He chairs the Aging and Long-Term Care Committee, as well as the Select Committee on 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games; he sits on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism, and Internet Media Committee, Health Committee, Transportation Committee, and Budget Subcommittee No. 4 on State Administration. Adrin was one of the founding members of Generation Next Mentorship program, which worked with local public schools to give young people alternatives to a life of gangs and drugs.

Prior to being elected, he served as Chief of Staff to Paul Krekorian in both Mr. Krekorian’s capacity as Assistant Majority Leader in the California State Legislature and Los Angeles Councilmember. Adrin also served as an aide to Congressman Brad Sherman, participated in the prestigious CORO Fellowship in Public Affairs program, and was appointed as Special Assistant to the California Trade and Commerce Agency by former Governor Gray Davis.

Nazarian attended UCLA, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. He and his wife, Diana, live in West Toluca Lake with their children Alex, David-Beg, and Maggie. 

Ghaffari (she/her/hers) has been active on the Tinsel town scene as an award-winning actress, voiceover artist, and entrepreneur. This acting powerhouse is best known for her appearances on the television comedies, Mind of Mencia on Comedy Central, Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC, and the The Mindy Project formerly on FOX. She was most recently featured in Variety twice for her multi award-winning filmmaker Harley Wallen’s Eternal Code, which she co-starred alongside Scout Taylor-Compton, Richard Tyson, Billy Wirth, Kaiti Wallen and Mel Novak. These projects cap off a number of successes for the versatile starlet. Vida also recently worked with Academy Award nominee Eric Roberts and Scott Schwartz (A Christmas Story) on Space Sharks and wrapped another film with Bai Ling and Tom Sizemore. A noted voiceover artist as well, Vida also has a recurring role in the three-time Peabody award nominated Suspense Show on XM satellite radio. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics with a minor in Theatre and Journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park. 

More info about Vida at http://www.imdb.me/vidaghaffari and on social media at @vidaghaffari