Master Teachers by Satellite for Afghanistan

ABOUT US: MASTER TEACHERS BY SATELLITE FOR AFGHANISTAN (MTSA) is an independent volunteer organization with headquarters in San Francisco, California. Its parent organization is World Family Development & Education Programs, Inc. (WFDEP), a charity which has been incorporated under the California Non-Profit Corporation Law since 1991 and has had tax status under Sec. 501(c)(3) of the US Internal Revenue Code since 1993. Originally focused on social and mental health work with families in California, in 2006 the Corporation Board of Directors changed its name to more accurately reflect its other charitable activities, particularly including children and families in Afghanistan.

Members of the Board of Directors of WFDEP receive no salaries or expenses as Board Members. The Board meets quarterly in person or by conference call to review the activities of its programs.

The Board has designated as Project Manager for Master Teachers by Satellite for Afghanistan Hon. Carol Ruth Silver, whose biography is posted below.   

Board Members as of April 1, 2009 Chair of the Board and Board Member, Hon. Carol Ruth Silver Board Member, Attorney Wahida Noorzad Board Member, Susan K. Diamond Board Member, Sosan Armon Board Member, Paula Fiscal Board Member, Eng. Latif Ahmadi

Biographies of Board Officers

Hon. Carol Ruth Silver, Founder, Chairperson of Board of Directors
CAROL RUTH SILVER is the principal in Law Offices of Carol Ruth Silver in San Francisco, California, specializing in real estate matters including litigation, transactions and particularly mediation. At present she also sits on the San Francisco Assessment Appeals Board and has an active license as a real estate broker. Carol Ruth Silver has a long history as an activist in social and humanitarian causes, from participation in the Freedom Rides (seeking equal rights for African-Americans in the 1960’s) and directing the Delano office of California Rural Legal Assistance (helping farmworkers assert their rights while Cesar Chavez was organizing them) to her most recent cause, assisting the people of Afghanistan in the rebuilding of their educational system. Along the way she founded the Chinese American International School of San Francisco, was a national consultant on Legal Services for the Poor, served on numerous entities of the legal community including the State Bar of California House of Delegates and the Committee on the Right to Legal Service of the American Bar Association. She was elected to and served three terms on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in the 1980’s, and in that capacity she also served as president of two regional organizations, the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway & Transportation District Board of Directors, and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District Board of Directors. In her early life she worked as a clerk at the United Nations at its headquarters, and is a founding member of the World Centre San Francisco, a community group supporting the ideals of the United Nations. Education: University of Chicago College, Bachelor of Arts (with honors); University of Chicago Law School, Doctor of Jurisprudence; Harvard University Kennedy School of Government Institute of Politics, Fellow. Personal: Ms Silver is the mother of two grown sons, and grandmother of two grandsons.



Attorney Wahida Noorzad, Board Member
Afghan-American attorney Wahida Noorzad has been elected to the Board of Directors of the public benefit charitable corporation which is the parent of Master Teachers by Satellite for Afghanistan. She is a practicing attorney in Pleasanton, California, specializing in Adoption, Divorce & Family Law, Bankruptcy Law and Immigration. Born in Kabul, she speaks and reads Dari although she completed her education in California where she accompanied her family. She continues to be in touch with her relatives and friends in Afghanistan.



Sosan Jasmin Armon
Sosan Jasmin Armon, VP and Co-Executive Producer for Ariana Afghanistan Television, was born in Afghanistan and speaks both Dari and Pashto. She has acted in numerous films, as well as producing and delivering news programs for AA-TV. She has a Bachelors Degree in Political Science, from American University of Paris, France, a Masters Degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from American University of Paris, France, and 8 years experience in media and television as a producer with Studios USA, Warner Brothers and Warner Music Group, The Rosie O'Donnell show, and The Sally Jessey Raphael Show. She has been an advocate for human rights issues, women´s rights and empowerment in Afghanistan.



Paula Fiscal
Paula Fiscal-Ballentine is CEO/President of San Francisco Investment Development and Owner of The LP Group-Public Relations and Governmental Affairs Firm. Her background includes Adjunct Professor at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; School of Education, Early Childhood Education Major; Advocate Education Program-Teacher Corps for Corrections; Coordinator for The Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Housing Program, funded by United Migrant Opportunity Services, and recognized as the first successful Section 235 Self Help Housing for relocated migrants; Publisher of Federal Service Monitor and Latin Opinion Newspaper; Political columnist for El Bohemio and El Reportero Newspapers; Guest Host for Good News Television Show; Key Consultant for St. Luke¿s Hospital /Sutter Health Affiliation; Past President of Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) Owner of Levi¿s Plaza Books, an independent Bookstore.She is listed in Who¿s Who and is a Recipient of The Episcopalian Brotherton Award.



Eng Latif Ahmadi
Eng Latif Ahmadi is the head of Afghan Film, the guardian of the cultural treasure which is Afghanistan's trove of documentaries, shorts and major films, from the earliest days of film making. He is legendary for having preserved the film archive from Taliban efforts to destroy it by creating a seamless wall where the entry to the archive had been, and giving to be ceremonially burned some duplicate and superfluous film canisters. In 2008 the Society of American Archivists honored him at a ceremony in San Francisco to commemorate his courage. Latif is also an independent film maker, educator and public speaker. He joined the Board of Directors of Master Teachers by Satellite for Afghanistan in order to promote education in Afghanistan, particularly for girls, through the use of modern technology. He has familiarized himself and his staff with the One Laptop Per Child program, to place small, rugged, low power and low cost, laptop computers in schools in Afghanistan. His special project has been to develop educational materials utilizing images of the ancient Afghan comic hero, Mullah Nasrudin.



Stanley Mayerson, PhD.
Stanley Mayerson, PhD, was a founding member of the Board of the charitable organization that is the parent of MTSA.
He served as President and most recently as President Emeritus, until his death in 2011.
Click to see: Stanley Mayerson obituary.