Pari Forood MPA'19 is the author of the true-life novel, The Gates of Light. While working as Press Secretary for Congressman Hamilton Fish, Jr., Pari discovers her seventeen-year-old Iranian cousin has been drafted during the Iran/Iraq war. He must flee from Iran or face an almost certain death.
Joining a cast of international characters that include Pakistani black-market passport dealers, members of Francois Mitterrand's inner political sanctum, influential committee members on Capitol Hill and INS agents here in the United States, Pari uses her ties in Washington to help extricate her young cousin whom she has not seen in 14 years.

Pari Forood received her bachelor’s from Vassar in 1980 and her MPA in non-profit management from Marist in 2015. She started her professional career working in the US House of Representatives for Congressman Hamilton Fish, Jr. of NY and has worked on multiple NY State Legislature and Congressional campaigns. Pari is currently the Executive Director of the Miles of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation, a position she’s held since its inception in 2004. In this role, She handles all administrative aspects of the foundation including fundraising, public relations and media, and review and research of grant applications. She is also a voice over talent for radio and television commercials and industry films and serves on various non-profit boards of directors in Connecticut and New York.