Staff & Board

Mitra Jun Jalali joined NIAC Action as a Senior Political Advisor in April 2022. In this role she works with state and local Iranian-American candidates running to advance NIAC’s values of civil and human rights, peace, and inclusive communities in offices across the country, and supports the development of NIAC’s political program and NIAC Academies for the empowerment of Iranian-Americans in public life and public policy.

Mitra is a City Councilmember serving Saint Paul, Minnesota. In 2018, she became the first Iranian American elected to office in Minnesota history. She has previously worked as a middle and high school social studies teacher, community and labor union organizer, and policy and press aide to former Congressman Keith Ellison (MN-5) and Congresswoman Niki Tsongas (MA-3). She ran for office on a platform of tenant protections and affordable housing, climate action, safety beyond policing, and building community wealth.

Mitra is the proud daughter of immigrants from Seoul, South Korea and Tehran, Iran. She was born and raised in her home state of Minnesota, where she proudly resides, and is excited to bring her lifetime of unique personal and professional experiences to expanding the impact of NIAC and its members.