Why Bagche?

Music Language and Art

The name “Bagche” means “a small garden” in Farsi. Gardens are celebrated in Persian literature and culture as places to cultivate and reconnect with nature and one’s roots. The name “Bagche” was chosen for that reason and also to honor the legacy of a family that contributed immensely to children’s education, music and art: the “Baghtcheban family.” Today, we still listen to and marvel at the operatic creations of Samin and Evelyn Baghtcheban in our classes and wonder what we, as a community, can do—over forty years later—to reinvigorate and build upon the splendor of their ambitious work. Our goal is to provide a space for children to reconnect with the culture of their parents. In doing so, we celebrate the most revered aspects of the Iranian cultural heritage: the Persian language, poetry, philosophy and art; our festivals; our history of cultural tolerance and inclusion; and our respect for civil and ethical conduct among other things. We draw on these common grounds to find strength and promote cultural awareness and diversity within our community. We hope that Bagche would provide a prism through which children can understand and make informed conclusions about the their heritage, identity, ethics and worldview.
What do we do?

What we do is two-fold: on one hand, we offer Farsi language classes for children and youth, and on the other hand, we hire and support the artistic endeavors of local Iranian artists and educators. In order to provide an effective, fun and well-rounded educational experience, we incorporate music, movement, art, and visual aids in every class. To learn about our regular classes, go to classes. Finally, with an eye to the future, we hope to work with our local community and national organizations to design cultural awareness and youth leadership programs.

Board of Directors
The board of directors is tasked with overseeing Bagche's business operations, setting strategic goals and ensuring financial sustainability. The directors are elected annually.

Farshid Alizadeh-Shabdiz

Director

Marzieh Mirhashemi

Director

Mahnaz Zeinali

Director

Homa Sarabi

Director

Marzieh Sadr

Director
Our Team at Bagche
Our team is made up of a dedicated group of officers and teachers. Officers are in charge of daily operational activities, communication and program execution and teachers are engaged in designing and executing the curriculum.

Zeinab Chaichi

Teacher
Zeinab Chaichi was born and grew up in Tehran and finished her BFA (Bachelors In Painting) and MFA (Masters in illustration) at University of Art, Tehran. She has experience of working as teacher, illustrator and designer at preschools, elementary schools as well as College level. In 2009 she moved to the United States to pursue her profession as an artist and attended the MFA program at University of Missouri, working primarily in fibers, painting, and drawing. During her school years and after her graduation she worked as a freelance artist, illustrator and designer as well as teacher and Gallery assistant. As an artist she explores themes of women’s rights, gender, tradition, and religion. Her work traces the intricacy of how identity is woven along these dimensions. She transgresses the norms and rules of religion and traditional cultures to mine issues such as the psychological and emotional conditions of objectified women and the violation of women’s rights. In summer 2022 She moved to Boston along with her family and started working with Bagche. She collaborates with Bagche team as teacher, illustrator and educational material designer. As her hobby she illustrates and designs imagery to print on merchandise for different Persian and American celebrations such as Nowruz and NewYear. In her free time She loves learning about Arts, psychology, music and new languages. She also spends lots of time playing and discovering nature along with her husband and two little sons.

Parvaneh Kashi

Teacher
Parvaneh has a BS in Education specializing in Elementary education. She has been an elementary teacher for 30 years in Iran. Parvaneh joined Bagche as a teacher in 2022.

Fatemeh Dousti

Teacher
Fatemeh Dousti holds a BS in insurance management and a Masters in Business Administration. She is currently studying Enterprise Risk Management at Boston University. Fatemeh joined Bagche at the end of 2021 as a Financial Assistant. She has been working at an insurance company as a risk manager with +10 years of hands-on experience in various industries such as petroleum, transport, construction, and manufacturing.

Camelia Eftekhri

Teacher
Holding a BS in accounting, Camelia started ballet and classical persian dance at the age of 15. She worked as a dance instructor for both children and adults. She is proud to be a founder of an academic dance company named ‘’Namava”. She has traveled around the world to integrate different types of European and Asian dance into her work. Camelia is passionate about teaching Farsi and her vision is to bring her Persian roots to her art as a performer in the West. She is grateful to introduce Persian culture to Iranian children living in Boston through dance, performance and music. Camelia has been collaborating with Bagchefor Music, Art and Language since 2020.

Niloufar Keyhani

Teacher
Niloufar Keyhani holds a Bachelor of Arts in Painting from Azad University of Tehran (2009). She has been selected for the Boston Center for the Arts (BCA) studio residency program (2021). She has been in 2 solo shows and almost 25 group exhibitions in Iran, Italy, Lebanon, the USA and Croatia. She was an Artist-in-Residence at Scuola Internazionale di Grafica di Venezia, Italy (2013). In 2018, she was the recipient of the Boston Cultural Council Opportunity Fund Grant and Opportunity Fund from the “UBCF.” Niloufar joined Bagche in 2019 teaching Farsi, art and illustration to different age groups, leading Bagche art exhibitions at Bagche cultural events.

Nasrin Afzali

Teacher
Born in Tehran. Raised in Tehran and Mashhad. Bsc in Atomic-Molecular physics from IUST. Worked as a physics teacher for two years. Got her master's in Women’s Studies from the University of Tehran, and started working with Zanan magazine, and later with Iran Welfare Organization. She is specialized in gender and sexuality, women’s rights, and human rights.

Amir Tabatabaei

Teacher

Marzieh Mir

Sheida Roghaee

Staffs

Mahdieh Reese

Mahdieh Reese is a highly skilled Operations Business Analyst with expertise in data analysis, project management, business analysis, process improvement, data visualization, and data modeling. She holds a Master of Science in Business Analytics from the University of Massachusetts Boston and a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Physics from Iran. Mahdieh's passion for language education led her to volunteer at Bagche, where she helps to promote her data visualization expertise and project management skills to assist children learning a foreign language in the United States. She is now serving as the school's social media coordinator and event planner. As a firm believer in the value of learning a second language, Mahdieh is committed to helping children born to foreign parents connect with their motherland culture through learning their mother language. She believes that this is crucial for children to thrive in today's globalized world. Aside from her professional work, Mahdieh enjoys a range of hobbies, including exercise, travel, cooking, baking, and reading.