Listen Podcast editor Megan Vahdat sit down with Beverly Hills Mayor Sharona Nazarian to discuss her journey to public office and the challenges facing the city today.

Megan Vahdat: I’m Megan Vahdat, and this is “Persian Perspectives Today,” a podcast that explores the viewpoints of Iranian leaders in arts, science, education and politics in the UCLA community and beyond. Today, I am joined by Dr. Sharona Nazarian, the mayor of Beverly Hills. She is the first Iranian American woman to hold this role.

An immigrant and advocate for inclusivity, Mayor Nazarian has been deeply involved in the city’s leadership for decades. Prior to serving on the City Council, she contributed through roles on the Beverly Hills Public Works Commission and the Human Relations Commission, among others.

Since being sworn in as mayor in April 2025, she has introduced an ambitious slate of initiatives focused on public safety, civic engagement and community unity, including programs such as “BHPD Live Link” for real-time police communication, “BH Fire Watch” wildfire preparedness measures and a series of community-centered outreach events designed to strengthen local participation in city governance.

Thank you so much for joining us today, Mayor Nazarian.

Sharona Nazarian: It’s my pleasure. I’m really excited to be here with you.

MV: You’ve received national press attention for your historic role as the first Iranian American woman mayor of Beverly Hills and the first Iranian Jewish woman to be the mayor of any city across the nation. You come from a country where women’s voices have been increasingly restricted, and today you serve as one of the most visible women leaders in local government. To start off today’s interview, can you tell us about your journey to the United States and the circumstances that led to your emigration?

SN: Yes, well, thank you so much for that. My family and I left Iran when I was a child due to religious persecution. You know, Iranian Jews have a long history of living in Iran over 2500 years – from the time of Queen Esther – but it wasn’t a safe time, so I had to leave with my mom and my little brother, waiting for my dad because he wasn’t allowed to leave the country. So we moved to Israel. We waited for him there. I was there for about a year. I had to learn the language. I remember being very excited anytime math came up because I understood that well. Then, when he was finally able to leave, we moved to the United States.

MV: Now you have a very public life with freedoms and opportunities that many women in Iran your age do not have. Do you ever stop and think about what your life might have looked like had you never left Iran?

SN: I think about the youth in Iran often. They have a very special place in my heart, and it actually guides a lot of the decisions I make and where I choose to speak – what I choose to speak about. When the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement happened, I would speak about it often from the diaspora. I went to probably every single rally there was – not because I have family there right now but because it’s a human rights issue, and it’s important for us to be a voice for those that don’t have one right now. If we want to be a voice for women, we have to be a voice for all women. It was important for me to be able to support our sisters living there and discuss the persecution they were experiencing.

MV: You now have the freedom to speak about these issues so passionately. You’re very involved in public life, policy conversations, and daily communications. I think this is especially notable considering that English is not your first language. What was it like growing up in the U.S. with English as your third language? Were you accepted by the non-Iranian community around you?

SN: It’s interesting: as immigrants, we’re taught to keep our head down and work hard. It was hard. It was quite challenging, but I never had a victim mentality. That was something that was important for our family. We just worked hard. One thing my family always pushed was to study hard because education was the one thing nobody could ever take away from you. So we all did very well in our studies, my brothers and I, and that was important for our family and my mom. She would always say, even as a woman, we want to ensure everybody gets a strong education. That was something we prided ourselves on.

MV: You mentioned you were very passionate about learning, school and your academia – in addition to growing up as an Iranian American – and the significance of being an immigrant in a new country. You just referenced the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement, but was there a moment prior to that where you became politically energized or that first made you interested in politics while you were in school? I’m curious to hear about the background related to that.

SN: Yeah, it’s always interesting to think about that because I’m a psychologist. I was always used to being in the background and listening, not really being a public speaker. There were certain things happening around me and in our communities, and I felt like we needed stronger leadership. As opposed to complaining about it, I decided to get involved and do something about it.

It was in our nature to always give back. It was in our nature to always volunteer for different organizations, to give back to our community. I felt so blessed to be a part of my Beverly Hills community, and so I became a commissioner for Human Relations. From there, I was asked to apply for a position for LA County for alcohol and other drugs, and I served as a commissioner and then a chair of the commission where I helped restructure the commission and really bring it to life. And that got me the endorsement of LA County, our district supervisor.

I also became public works commissioner because sustainability is something that’s important to me. I think we need to plan for the future for our children and to be aware of steps we take that are reasonable but are for the betterment of our environment. I was really excited and honored to be able to serve as that on that commission as well. Throughout all of these years, people would say, “You should run for office.” But it wasn’t something I was planning or something I was interested in at the time. But sometimes you have to follow your path in life and see where it takes you. You know, they say you plan, and God laughs. This was my destiny.

MV: I think many might not expect a path from somebody who’s earned their doctorate in clinical psychology – which is incredible – to transition then into public office. Can you tell us about how your background, as somebody who studied psychology in so much depth, has really influenced your policymaking, your interactions with those around you and your campaign?

SN: Oh, well, thank you for that. It’s helped me tremendously. I’m a psychologist – we’re taught to listen, and so I think that, as politicians, that’s something that, a lot of times, people omit. It’s important to listen. It’s important to listen to your constituents. It’s important to listen to the community to see what their needs are. Where there are issues that need to be addressed. To me, I feel like open lines of communication are really key to have successful governing. One of my initiatives is responsive governing. I feel that it’s so important for us to listen and also to respond and to communicate. As a psychologist, it’s really helped me because I’m able to communicate well, I’m able to listen, and we’re able to come up with solutions together. Only when we work together are we able to be successful.

I have a program that’s called “Straight Talk with Sharona,” and it’s a way for people to come to City Hall. We sit down. We have different speakers every month. We had the police chief on last month. We talked about crime being down by 30% in the city of Beverly Hills, which is fantastic. We talked about our real-time watch center having 3,000 cameras in the city that are monitored, and we have drones, automated license plate readers. But best of all, we have the finest police department, the brave men and women who serve our community. So we talk about that, and then we open it up to the community for them to be able to ask any questions, bring up any topics or any issues that they have, to be able to address it. Because only when we work as a community are we able to find solutions.

MV: Clearly, you have a very unique perspective and role in our community. You just mentioned your initiatives to bring others into City Hall who don’t often have a voice and to give them a platform to connect with members of our community, our police chief, et cetera. So I want to transition to discussing the city you now serve. Beverly Hills, of course, is both a local community and a globally recognized name. As someone who’s lived there for so many years and has been involved in so many aspects of its government, what are some of the biggest problems you see today in the city?

SN: Well, first of all, I think that Beverly Hills is really a unique island all its own because we have a very diverse community that people don’t realize. We have single family homes, but we also have 60% of our residents who live in multi-family residences and 10% who live under the poverty line. I’m always happy to bring some awareness to that.

When I was running for office, I knocked on 3,100 doors. I went door to door, and it was probably one of the best experiences of my life. It really helped me to learn about the inner makings of our city, learn about the various demographics and people who live in our community and what their needs are. That’s really a gift, and it was my pleasure to be able to experience that. Right now, what every community experiences is safety. Safety is the number one priority for all communities, whether it’s around wildfires or just basic general safety. As I mentioned, crime is down by 30%, and Beverly Hills is also a leader in being proactive and taking steps necessary to be able to address issues that our community faces.

MV: You discussed a lot of those initiatives during your installation in 2025. During your speech, you also affirmed your focus on combating climate disasters and environmental challenges. I know that UCLA students are especially interested in hearing about this because so many of us were impacted by the 2025 LA wildfires.

[Related: JANUARY 2025 FIRES]

You recently unveiled the Beverly Hills Fire Watch Initiative. Can you tell us about that undertaking and its significance? I think a lot of us on campus are curious to hear more.

SN: Yeah. Thank you for that. I think that, first of all, what we witnessed during the wildfires was tragic, and we mourned as a community together. Now it’s time for us to work together to try to rebuild. I did participate in efforts with our assemblymembers, and our supervisors and the various council members from surrounding cities because we all have to partner together. There are no borders when tragedy strikes. We all have to work together as local leaders.

One thing that I did after the fires occurred is I asked our fire chief to take me to the affected areas because I felt it was important for us to see and witness firsthand what was happening. From there, we took proactive steps to try to be prepared. We’re still passing legislation, and we’re still setting policies to protect our community and to be proactive.

One of the issues that we came up with was the Beverly Hills Fire Watch, which is a camera in the brush area to detect fire before it spreads. I also wanted to do an emergency drill that we just did a couple of weeks ago for the entire community – with sirens that we have in Beverly Hills – with instructions. It’s almost like when you’re in school you do a fire drill. Why not for a city? So we did our fire drill, and it really gave the community an opportunity to be able to prepare and get set up. We also put in new policies for the homes that are in the hillside so that if there is, for example, high wind and fire watch warnings, you can’t park on the street. In case there’s a need for a fire truck it could go quickly. There were a lot of different things that we, policy wise, put in that really are a reflection of how forward thinking our community is, being leaders, and being proactive to plan ahead.

MV: A lot of us saw bits and pieces of the planning of the fire commission online. You spoke on Instagram about the fire drill and preparedness, and you reflected on it later on social media. We see parts of your journey online and through speeches, but I know that’s only a very small part of the incredible work that you do every day. Can you walk us through more broadly what an average day is like on the job, beyond what the public sees?

SN: Thank you for that. There’s a lot of planning. First of all, we have the best staff any city could ask for. We’re really so grateful to our incredible staff members, whether it’s police, fire, our city manager and everyone from there and beyond. We really are blessed and fortunate to have a very highly sophisticated, devoted and energized staff that really supports our initiatives. So I’m very grateful to my staff. I wake up very, very, very early, and I go to bed very late.

MV: I can imagine.

SN: Every day is different, and it’s about being present and trying to be there for my community. First of all, there’s a lot of emails that people don’t realize, and there’s a lot of internal meetings that we have, so all of those are on one side. But there’s also events, and it’s about supporting our businesses, It’s about supporting our school community. It’s about supporting our police and fire. It’s about planning ahead. There’s a lot involved every single day, and sometimes we could start very early in the morning, and then with everything that happens and all of our meetings, and then there’s a gala or an event or something that we need to go to. So it could be very long and challenging days, but I love every minute of it.

MV: You talked about a lot of the behind-the-scenes meetings that we don’t see. In fact, previously in this interview, you mentioned knocking on 3,100 doors and that 10% of Beverly Hills lives below the poverty line. I think that’s very distinct from the sort of stereotype of how Beverly Hills is represented and understood. I think Beverly Hills, and the Iranian community in particular, is also associated with this stereotype of perhaps materialism and overindulgence. As someone who knows the city beyond those narratives, what is the Beverly Hills you see? How do we push back against or reshape portrayals like the “Shahs of Sunset” type version of Iranians?

SN: Beverly Hills is one of the most unique, beautiful communities. We have a very diverse group of people from all walks of life. Our Iranian community is very prominent. We have people from all different professions, whether it’s doctors, and attorneys, and people in real estate and commerce – that’s the usual – but we also have so much heart. We have parents who care, parents who put in every day, working very hard so that their children can have a better life. We have immigrants who had to leave everything behind and come here and work tirelessly to be able to offer their children a better life.

We’ve always valued that sense of togetherness, being there for one another, supporting one another. There are so many different charities in our community, people that support those who are less fortunate. I may be biased, but I love our city. I love everyone who lives there, and who visits and our businesses. It’s so it’s so beyond that global Ritz and glamor there. There’s so much heart, and passion, and kindness and love in our city.

MV: That version of Beverly Hills is sometimes different, unfortunately, than the impression of Iranians that is so present on our news, in our media landscape, the sort of caricature of Iranian culture you describe as so distinct from your lived experience as a resident of Beverly Hills and as a mayor there. In addition to Iranian politics right now, we, as an Iranian community, are experiencing a lot of division, political polarization and discontent between families and religious backgrounds. How, as someone who is so deeply involved in politics within our community, can we limit this sort of political polarization and become more unified like the Beverly Hills you describe?

SN: First of all, I’m a local representative, so the more polarizing divide is not something I try to engage in. My mayoral theme for this year is unity because my goal is always to bring people together. It’s to bring people from different backgrounds, and different religions and different customs. That’s what makes our life so beautiful. It’s to be able to bring us and unify our goals. I really try to stay away from polarizing views and try to find middle ground. That’s always been my goal.

I’m a bridge builder. I try to find common ground. I try to listen and, if there is a conflict in any form, I try to hear both sides and try to find that perspective that will be able to bring peace, be able to bring unity, be able to bring fairness. That’s really my goal as an elected representative, as a friend, as a mom. These are the things I try to do to bring more common ground and unity in our lives.

MV: You’ve received a lot of press attention related to that idea of a common ground, perhaps more of a centrist political ideology. You’ve described yourself as a Democrat who is “absolutely not woke.” Can you explain your overall political compass? How would you characterize your ideological approach?

SN: I feel that we’re in a world that’s so divided right now, and I don’t think any party is perfect. It would be great if we had a new party that was centrist, just bridge building. That was something of the past. Now there’s so much political divide, which really makes governing difficult, because, as opposed to sitting down and trying to find common ground, a lot of representatives are trying to stand and be firm in their beliefs. For me, I feel very fortunate that, as a local-elected leader, my goal is always to to unify our community. We could have so much more peace by finding that common ground.

MV: Your initiatives to find the common ground seem to be a very large part of your campaign and your proposals throughout the city. Because a lot of people are divided along party lines, many college students feel discouraged, disillusioned or maybe uninterested in participating in politics. I know youth involvement in particular has been a large part of your work through initiatives like your Youth Innovation Circle. I’m curious, why do you think young people across the political spectrum feel disengaged, and what message would you share with UCLA students who feel discouraged or disconnected from government?

SN: Wow, that’s so important. The first thing I want to say is to our youth, young professionals, our young adults – you matter. Your opinion matters. Educate yourself. Learn. We live in a world where we need to break free from a victim mentality. We need to break free from almost following the herd. If you have a perspective, talk about it, share your views. Get into leadership positions.

I keep encouraging our young people to get involved, apply for commissions, apply for different positions. The worst that could happen is you don’t get it, but you got that experience, and you’re able to move on to the next. My innovation circle is so meaningful to me. As a mom of three young adult sons, it’s important for me to listen to them. They have such a different world view than I do, and they’re also the future.

Why do we do this as elected representatives? It’s to set the path for the future. How can we set the path if we don’t listen to our young people? I love my innovation circle. They’re fantastic. They come, We meet every month. They have different programs they put together. We just did a tech week. We did coffee and beats, We have other other programs coming up. We’re going to be doing a collaboration with Erewhon to have a Beverly Hills smoothie – you should go check that out. We need to have respect, whether it’s with our seniors – they like to be called “active adults” – or our teens or our young professionals. All of it is important for us to be able to converse together, to be able to have common ground and respect one another, because we’re able to grow and learn.

I also have this thing that’s called “Sunday Socials with Sharona,” and that’s where our active adults come and meet with our teens and our innovation circle members, and they play Backgammon, and we’re going to be helping them with their technology. They’re going to be sharing their stories. We do karaoke. I mean, it’s just really a great time for everyone. They have fun. We have young kids there. We have our seniors, and it’s a really beautiful way to bring unity and bridge the generational gap.

MV: I know there’s so many young women here at UCLA and beyond who want to live up to what you just advocated for, to have their voice heard, to bridge a generational gap, to speak to people of all ages and generations, to voice their opinions about matters in the city and beyond. But many young women who are interested in politics are facing increased scrutiny. From your experiences, are there challenges that a woman political leader faces that a man does not, and have you ever felt underestimated in your career?

SN: The direct answer to that is obviously yes. When I was running for office, or whenever, whenever I applied for a position, I would always say, “I want you to select me, because I’m the best candidate for the job, and I will work very hard.” Everyday, when I wake up, I’m like, “All right, how can I improve? How can I make it better?” And just to challenge myself. Yes, as women, we have to work extra hard. I don’t believe in having a victim mentality, and I always push through. I would encourage anyone who wants to get involved to just start. Don’t hesitate. Don’t second guess yourself. Just move forward, Go for it. I really believe that, if you have the heart and the passion for it, the rest of it will all fall into place, and you’ll find your path just like I did. There was a point in time I’m like, I’m not sure what I want to do, and it just kind of worked itself out.

MV: I think your perspective as a very prominent figure in our culture and our society will resonate with a lot of students who are considering public service or political careers. To finish off today’s interview, I want to ask about your political aspirations for when your term concludes. Do you have any aspirations for political involvement on the state level? What do you expect to be your next chapter?

SN: I get this question a lot, and, right now, I am absolutely honored to be able to serve as the mayor of Beverly Hills.

MV: Well, we’re very excited to have had you on today and to have heard your perspective. We’re looking forward to cheering you on for the next steps.

SN: I really appreciate it. Thank you so much for the time. Megan, you’re wonderful. I appreciate it.

MV: Thank you. This episode of “Persian Perspectives Today” was brought to you by The Daily Bruin podcasts you can listen to. This episode and all other Daily Bruin podcasts on Spotify, Apple podcasts and SoundCloud, the audio and transcript of today’s interview are available at dailybruin.com. I’m Megan Vahdat. Thank you for listening.