With over 20 years of social justice experience, Bakhtiari has advocated for women’s and children’s health, refugee resettlement, environmental justice.
Liliana Bakhtiari is a community leader with over 20 years of social justice experience, who has advocated for women’s and children’s health, refugee resettlement, environmental justice and career training with orphans and human trafficking victims across 24 countries across the globe.
Liliana was born in Atlanta, Georgia to an immigrant father who escaped into the United States in 1981, and a first generation Iranian mother. As someone who was often the victim of discrimination due to her race, religion and gender identity, Liliana learned first hand about the importance of social justice and committed to pursuing humanitarian work across the globe.
She has spent most of her youth years pursuing her passion, traveling the world and becoming a social advocate. She has participated in archaeological excavations in Kenya, joined political rallies in France, and trekked through Southeast Asia, assisting with cultural studies on genocide and Buddhist culture in Cambodia. Along the way, she made her living doing everything from caring for orphaned kangaroos in Eastern Australia, to harvesting fruit in the rainforest. Her activist work has included aiding refugees in building new homes, working with sex trafficking victims, and volunteering at orphanages. Along the journey, she has captured her experiences through photography, film, and writing, which became an integral part of her journeys. Currently Lilliana hopes to make global epidemics relatable through the stories of everyday people
“Rather than overwhelm people with statistics and stories of heartbreak, I hope to show them people who are surviving day to day. I want to give these stories a face, not just numbers. If I can show readers that these survivors are people who laugh, cry, and bleed just like they do, perhaps the issues stop being so unknown. Perhaps people stop willingly choosing ignorance and start getting invested and educating themselves.”
In 2017, Liliana successfully ran a municipal campaign for Atlanta election as a first time candidate, receiving 23 endorsements after launching and managing a multi-platform media campaign with over 20K person reach, planning 30+ events, raising $132K, and receiving 49% of the vote. This elevated Bakhtiari’s profile in Atlanta with state representatives/legislators, neighborhood captains, religious leaders, business owners and city planners.
She continues her work outside of political candidacy by remaining active in Atlanta through different social and political initiatives of impact. She recently launched a mobile art installation in the form of a Georgia school bus, targeting voter mobilization using hope as stronger tool than hate. Painted in collaboration with Living Melody Collective, the bus toured Georgia, engaging suburban and rural voters, and inspiring them to make their voices heard during a critical election season.
Professionally, Liliana served as the Public Affairs Manager of Planned Parenthood Southeast, assisting the VP of Public Policy in our overall goal of increasing public and legislative support Planned Parenthood’s mission. And most recently, she served as Emergency Homeless Response Coordinator for Partners for Home during the initial COVID-19 outbreak, where she managed an operation utilizing vacant hotel space to provide housing to individuals experiencing homelessness who were at high risk or tested positive for coronavirus. Lilliana was instrumental in developing programming to assist individuals who struggle with addiction as they worked to place them in more permanent housing.
Bakhtiari attended Georgia State University to study Anthropology and Journalism/Telecommunications and minor in Political Science. She also sits as a board member in the following organizations: GloATL, Victory Fund, WinList, Georgia Equality (also a chair of the Advancement Committee), and a Governor for Red Clay Democrats.