Mandana Dayani facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mandana Dayani
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| Born |
Mandana Rivka Dayani
May 1, 1982 |
| Nationality | American, Iranian |
| Education | University of Southern California (BA, JD) |
| Occupation | Creator and co-founder of I am a Voter |
| Spouse(s) | Peter Traugott |
| Children | 2 |
Mandana Rivka Dayani (born May 1, 1982) is the creator and co-founder of I am a Voter, a nonpartisan civic engagement organization and most recently, was the president of Archewell, the media and philanthropic company founded by Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, until 2022. Dayani is an attorney and has held various leadership roles in the fashion, entertainment, and media industries. She led the development and launch of The Rachel Zoe Collection, The Zoe Report, and Curateur at Rachel Zoe, Inc. Additionally, she produced a few seasons of Bravo's The Rachel Zoe Project. Dayani served as the Chief Brand Officer for Everything But The House, a global digital estate sale platform. She also worked as an Executive Producer for the company's TV show project for HGTV. Mandana speaks regularly on activism and leadership, most recently at Fortune Most Powerful Women and Forbes 30/50 Summit in Abu Dhabi with Hillary Clinton, Gloria Steinem, Billie Jean King, and Olena Zelenska. She was also named as one of the Top 100 Influential Jews for the Jewish Year 5782 (2021–22), by The Tel Aviv Institute. Dayani also founded The Learning Series, an event series for women leaders, and serves as an angel investor and an advocate for many social issues.
Early life and education
Dayani was born in Tehran. She fled from Iran with her Persian Jewish family to Ladispoli, Italy, before being granted asylum as religious refugees to the United States through the help of HIAS. She first settled in New York City before moving to Los Angeles. Dayani attended the University of Southern California, where she received her BA and went on to earn a Juris Doctor from the USC Gould School of Law, where she was awarded the USC Summer Fellowship.
Career
Early career
Dayani started her career as an attorney at Paul Hastings LLP, specializing in the hotel and hospitality industry.
She later transitioned to commercial talent representation, where she met fashion stylist Rachel Zoe, becoming her client. Dayani then joined Rachel Zoe Inc, overseeing the launch of several businesses, including the Rachel Zoe Collection, The Zoe Report, Curateur, and Rachel Zoe Ventures, as well as managing licensing, publishing, endorsements, and television production.
In 2015, Dayani left Rachel Zoe Inc to become the Chief Brand Officer of online marketplace for estate sales, Everything But The House. She played a significant role in securing a multi-million dollar venture capital investment and served as the Executive Producer of their TV project for HGTV.
Archewell
Mandana was the president of Archewell from 2021 to 2022. She led growth strategy and day-to-day operations of Archewell, which includes the media businesses Archewell Audio and Archewell Productions and the non-profit Archewell Foundation. During which Archewell launched Archetypes on Spotify, the documentary Harry & Meghan on Netflix, Spare by Prince Harry, and philanthropic endeavors.
I am a Voter.
In 2018, Dayani co-founded I am a Voter, a nonpartisan movement aimed at promoting civic engagement and increasing voter turnout. The organization was founded by 20 volunteer women and CAA. It has partnered with many well-known brands, including NBA, Disney, NFL, ABC, H&M, Tom Ford, Bumble, and Urban Outfitters. Their campaign to boost voter registration has included various celebrities. Their campaign generated over 1 billion digital impressions and 250 media articles upon launch.
The Dissenters
In 2020, Dayani, together with Debra Messing, launched The Dissenters podcast with Dear Media. The podcast features interviews with advocates for social issues, including Glennon Doyle, Sophia Bush, Hillary Clinton, Jane Fonda, Congressman Adam Schiff, Amanda Nguyen, Lena Waithe, Preet Bharara, Jameela Jamil, Christian Siriano, Shannon Watts, Eva Longoria, and Patrisse Cullors.
