Melahat Rafiei has won numerous awards for 
her hard work including the John F. Kennedy, Jr Award from the California Democratic Party for service to the Democratic Party in 2007 and recognitions from the California State Assembly and the US House of Representatives. Melahat has a reputation for being proactive, hardworking, and having a knack for conflict resolution. She brings people together to build consensus, is pragmatic in her approach, and able to advance the issues Democrats care about most.
Melahat has a long and proven record of success in managing public outreach, awareness, fund-development and issue-based advocacy campaigns for nonprofits, candidates for public office, and business. She is the Principal and founder of Progressive Solutions Consulting, a premier political consulting and fundraising firm based in Long Beach, California, founded in 2010.
Prior to founding Progressive Solutions Consulting, Melahat served as Executive Director of the Democratic Party of Orange County where she led efforts to improve voter outreach, catalyze grassroots organization, and increase awareness of issues affecting the county.
Melahat understands, firsthand, just how diverse the Golden State truly is. She has lived in numerous cities throughout the state, from Milpitas in northern California, where she attended elementary school, to the Moreno Valley in the Inland Empire, where she lived during middle school, and onto Anaheim Hills, in Orange County, where she attended high school prior to attending college at Cal Poly Pomona. Melahat later lived in Diamond Bar and Phillips Ranch as well as Long Beach. Her consulting practice is currently located in downtown Long Beach and she resides in the City of Orange. Her direct, personal experiences with different cities across the state is an asset to her already long list of accomplishments and experience.
Melahat first became active in progressive politics in 2003 while working for the Dean for America campaign, during which she became increasingly responsible for the local campaign, fundraising, events and overall organization. She has also worked for the Voter Registration and Education Fund, consulted for National Iranian-American Council, and is a spokesperson to the media who is able to discuss politics and public policy issues important to the Democratic Party. Melahat has been interviewed by major national and international media outlets including: PBS SoCal, KOCE, KDOC, NBC Channel 4, Orange County Register, Los Angeles Times, Daily Pilot, National Public Radio (NPR), Voice of America, and various community newspapers throughout Southern California.
Melahat’s experiences as a young child who came to the United States at the age of 5, as a political refugee from Iran, are an integral reason why she is such a fierce believer in the democratic process and the freedoms upheld by the Democratic Party.
In the spring of 1983, with little more than the clothes on their backs, Melahat’s family came to America, fleeing from political persecution in Iran amidst the uprising of a hostile, oppressive regime. After two treacherous months on the run in countries like Pakistan and Israel, the entire family was granted political asylum to the United States through the American embassy in Rome, Italy.
On May 12, 1983, the Rafiei family arrived in San Jose, California with less than $500 cash and nowhere to go. Like so many Americans before them, through hard work, determination and because of the opportunities made possible in The United States, Melahat’s parents were able to build a good life for her and her siblings, making it possible for them to live the American Dream.
With your vote, Melahat Rafiei can continue giving back to the country she fervently loves and believes in. If elected, Melahat would be the first Iranian-American elected to the Democratic National Committee. With your help, Melahat will be able to use her experience and key strengths to work hard for the Democratic Party and be a representative of inclusion and diversity in the DNC.
Melahat currently lives in Orange with her son Kian and Ms. Daisy, her Chihuahua.